Yesterday afternoon I mentioned to my wife that I hadn't seen one of our cats all day. We found him sleeping in the closet in the exact same spot he was in the morning. We checked on him and he seemed sleepy but happy otherwise.
Today around noon I made a trip to the store and when unloading groceries I noticed that he was the only one not in the kitchen "helping". We went to the closet and found him there again. My wife picked him up and brought him out into the bedroom and put him on the floor. He immediately "freaked out" like there were tiny monsters all over the floor chasing him. He seriously seemed like he was hallucinating or possessed. We tried everything we could think of to calm him down but he just got worse until we let him hide.
We decided to take him to the emergency vet thinking he got into something poisonous. 4 hours, $500, and several blood tests later, the vet couldn't find anything wrong with him medically. We brought him home and put him in a room away from the other cats and have spent most of the night with him and it seems to be getting worse if anything. He acts like there are things crawling all over the floor. He lunges and bites at them randomly.
Upon doing some research tonight, I came across Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome and the symptoms are remarkably similar to how he is acting. He is VERY sensitive at his tail (although hasn't been biting it), acts very agitated but very clingy when you hold him, and is cleaning himself constantly. He is eating just fine but hasn't used the litter box yet. When we put him near it he sees the "monsters" and tries to run from them only to find them everywhere he goes. It's really sad.
I don't mind bringing him to our normal vet tomorrow but it seems most things I've read about this say that there is no real way to diagnose FHS. All of his organs are functioning and he has no fever. I don't know what to do next. Anybody with experience on this that can offer some advice would be greatly appreciated.
He is 3 years old. Lives exclusively indoors. Eats only California Natural dry food.
Thank you.
Today around noon I made a trip to the store and when unloading groceries I noticed that he was the only one not in the kitchen "helping". We went to the closet and found him there again. My wife picked him up and brought him out into the bedroom and put him on the floor. He immediately "freaked out" like there were tiny monsters all over the floor chasing him. He seriously seemed like he was hallucinating or possessed. We tried everything we could think of to calm him down but he just got worse until we let him hide.
We decided to take him to the emergency vet thinking he got into something poisonous. 4 hours, $500, and several blood tests later, the vet couldn't find anything wrong with him medically. We brought him home and put him in a room away from the other cats and have spent most of the night with him and it seems to be getting worse if anything. He acts like there are things crawling all over the floor. He lunges and bites at them randomly.
Upon doing some research tonight, I came across Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome and the symptoms are remarkably similar to how he is acting. He is VERY sensitive at his tail (although hasn't been biting it), acts very agitated but very clingy when you hold him, and is cleaning himself constantly. He is eating just fine but hasn't used the litter box yet. When we put him near it he sees the "monsters" and tries to run from them only to find them everywhere he goes. It's really sad.
I don't mind bringing him to our normal vet tomorrow but it seems most things I've read about this say that there is no real way to diagnose FHS. All of his organs are functioning and he has no fever. I don't know what to do next. Anybody with experience on this that can offer some advice would be greatly appreciated.
He is 3 years old. Lives exclusively indoors. Eats only California Natural dry food.
Thank you.
