My cat totally goes nuts when you touch her back..

Hello all,

I have a indoor female cat, about 10-11 years old, and she goes absolutely crazy when you touch her anywhere on her back near the base of her tail. This spot has always been kind of sensitive for her. When you pet her and pet all the way down her back she would do this weird thing where her head would bob and sometimes her tongue would dart in and out. We thought nothing of it, and in fact thought it was kind of cute. Mind you, we didn't go out of our way to do this to her, but when it happened it was just "one of her things."

Lately though, if you go anywhere near this spot she howls and almost goes into what looks like a seizure. It's actually kind of scary. And I'm not talking pressure. If you so much as scrape your hand up against this area of her back she completely loses it. Obviously I can't separate the fur there to get a good look at her skin, but I did try shining a flash light on the area and I didn't notice any redness underneath. She also doesn't seem to be losing any hair in the area. She doesn't attempt to scratch or lick at this spot on her own either...so at least it seems as if it isn't causing her discomfort when it is left alone.

I haven't noticed signs of fleas on her or our other animals, and they are on regular Advantix treatments.

I will probably take her to the vet, but they will most likely have to put her under anesthesia to examine her. You have to see how she loses it when you touch her there to understand. I don't see how they could examine her if she's awake.

Anyhow, I was just curious if anybody has experienced anything like this before.

Thanks in advance.

One of my cats HATES for anybody to touch his back or belly or back paws. He will growl, hiss and try to bite. I don't know exactly why he does this either. I just attribute it to him being sensitive/fussy. My other cat and he play pretty rough sometimes and he doesn't react to the rough play in a way that alerts me to think there is a serious problem with his back, tummy or paws.

I know some cats can be sensitive, however, your cat sounds like her reaction is getting worse... if she howls she is probably in pain...?

I agree the vet is a good idea. Maybe give them a call and explain what's going on so you'll know ahead of time if they will have to examine her under anesthesia. Then there won't be surprises when you get there.

Welcome to the CatSite Forums rob_d!!

Her symptoms match those found in cats with Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome. My older kitty, Odo, has some degree of it, though not as severe as you describe--in his case, it is mostly just the rippling skin upon contact. Here are some articles that discuss FHS--there are a lot of different ideas about this disorder, and not a lot of research:

http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/86/...resthesia.html
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1998
http://www.cathealth.com/hyperesthesia.htm
http://www.petplace.com/cats/feline-...sia/page1.aspx

Thanks for all the info everyone.

The FHS stuff was interesting. I will definitely mention it to the vet. I haven't noticed many of the symptoms they mention. She doesn't seem to get hallucinations and her moods don't change. I also haven't noticed her grooming excessively. Also, I haven't noticed the rolling skin they mention. But her reactions to having that part of her back touched definitely produce some sort of muscle spasms.