My cat is doing a strange nervous twitch licking thing

Get your cat to the vet ASAP - this can be an episode of mini-seizures or an allergic reaction to something!

After you call the vet, can you check to see if he has fleas?

As already mentioned, it could be anything from fleas, food allergy or environmental toxin in his sytem that he ingested. If the skin on his back does a rippling motion, it could even be something called feline hyperesthesia.

A vet visit is important to get a correct diagnosis. Keep a journal of the time these episodes take place, how long they last, the number of 'attacks', physical symptoms etc. Also, have you started using anything new in the house? Cleaners, sprays, burning candles etc? That could also be a source of the problem.

My Siamese cat has had the same problem for about 11 years, he has only grown out of it lately. I have had him checked by the vet, his skin checked, blood tests and tried various different foods and adding fish oil to his diet. Nothing has worked and the vet finally put it down to a nervous condition, Siamese can be highly strung. Get it fully checked by your vet and if you get the same results as me, you will just have to keep him away from anything that streesses him. Heat can sometimes bring it on to. Mine just got used to things over the years and it happened less and less frequently. Always make sure that the cat has somewhere to go and hide if it is a stress problem. Good luck

Spunky did this for months. The vet had no idea what was causing it. They had ruled out allergies. Finally he developed something they could treat. He had a several gum infection. It was horrible. We thought we would have to put him down. After several months of treatment he was healed and no more twitching. We still don't know if they are related but whatever the treatment was he is cured. I would have to ask mom how they treated him. I know a biopsy was sent to Uni Penn & they were stumped at how bad the infection was & how to treat it.

I know this is a bit late, but I just now read your thread, my spookie, started doing this after he had is yrly vaccinations in November. So I did some research
and I came upon this website called Shirleys Wellness Cafe, I think that's right?
I started reading and I'm telling you it scared me, the side effects from
yearly vacc. well you'll just have to read about it, actually I was looking for
the dangers of vacc.s for your children, and through that I saw the article
about vaccinations of animals. Like why can a humans vacc. last a lifetime, and we are told to bring our beloved pets in yearly. Also, vaccinations of the young cats, they said, the vaccines have so many things of the diseases, that it could overstress the system. That is why they want you to keep a close eye on them after the shots. I have noticed that my cats don't feel
up to parr after being vaaccinated, some have even run a fever.
And it said to never get the injections that are all combined! Go to that website, you can than make your own judgement! I just found it interesting
that some of the replies said that they're vet. didn't know what it was!!!
If they do know about the vacc. they sure aren't going to tell us because that is repeat business for them. Something else, they give the same doses
to a adult cat as they do for a 6 mos. old kitten or (whatever the age is to start shots, I forgot right now for some reason)
I hope more people happen to read this even though I responded so late to your thread!
Monique