Involuntary Twitch when relaxed

My cat has devloped an involuntary twich when relaxed * no not a sleeping twitch . When he is sitting or laying his ear constantly flaps down * one side of his ear and i can feel a twich and pulse through his body and his leg moves it is continuous all day , not a short seizure or anything like that i dont know what this could be from it started two weeks ago? any thoughts? he seems very disturbed

Your first step is to take him to the vet. Is it possible he got into something toxic? Does he go outside? Do you have house plants?

A check up with blood work is the way to go. I'd ask about parasites, too, perhaps he just needs to be dewormed. Don't buy OTC dewormers though, they are not safe.

My FIV+ cat Curly also does this when he is asleep, he has a natural twitch at the end of each breath when he is sleeping. 

I think it is a good idea to get him checked. Remove any live plants from your house and carefully check for any toxic things he may be rubbing on with his fur and subsequently licking his fur with- any or all of those things could be harmful to him. If you let him outside, be aware this time of year is NOT a good time for him to be outside when people are fertilizing, treating weeds, and adding chemicals to their grass and shrubs.

And also I agree with the other poster- do not give him any hartz or other cheap flea or deworming products. Sadly these are well known among cat lovers to be extremely dangerous and yet the companies that make them are so powerful that they have not been pulled from the market despite overwhelming reports of animal seizures, deaths, and disablement from using them. 

I would probably get him checked with the vet if possible.  Does he seem to be in any pain or distressed in any way?  Might be what the other posters suggested, something toxic.  If that is the case the vet will be able to help you hopefully.  The part that I find a little unsettling is that it has started in just the past couple of weeks.  I can't help but think he's gotten into something or possibly developed a neurological issue. 
 

i went to the vet they are about as worthless as DRs if its not directly in there face to find a problem ie a hit by a car they just aren't willing to get to the bottom of it.  i have no houseplants he does not go outside , his basic blood panel was normal it wasn't the expensive bloodwork, he is suffering and uncomfortable its about every three seconds

I recommend you find another vet. Is there a vet school near you?

You might want to read up on Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome (FHS) This does sound kind of like it, to me, but I am not a vet. There are videos of it on Youtube.
What do you feed him?

I know how distressing this must be for you, and him, too. It's awful when there is something wrong and we don't know what to do to help.

its not a skin rolling twitch, its a pulse going through his whole body

i feed him, solistic,BG before grain quail, avoderm, sometimes he gets taste of the wild dry but i cut that out as cats do better without dry.

I did some Internet research for you. I personally agree with what otto said, because when I researched involuntary twitching in felines, I came across only (http://www.cathealth.com/skin-and-fur/feline-hyperesthesia) feline hyperesthesia, neurological disorders, and plant or herb toxicity. I really reccomend you find a better, trustworthy vet that will do everything they can to help you and your kitty. Some vets can be terrible, and dismissing a client and telling them that they can not figure out the issue shows me that they do not care about either the client or the animal. I have had problems with vets in the past, and trust me, it is possible to find a vet that will help you. Call local vets and tell them what the other vet said and ask what they would reccomend. That is pretty much all I can say, but my heart goes out to you and your kitty.

I despise vets very few are helpfull, i lost a cat to seizures 4 years ago and i did more research than a slue of vets.  this is another impossible to diagnose and my cat suffers every three seconds its more of a tremor going through like electricity in his whole body, nothing ever shows up in blood , and once again im lost. if i lose him i dont know if i can deal with it.

I'm sorry you have had bad luck with vets, but for your cat's sake you need to keep trying, to find one who can help you with him.

That's a good diet you've got him on, is he eating?

Is he peeing normally? Is he having bowel movements? Does he play and go about his normal activities?

I too had a seizure kitty. He took phenobarbital all his life. I went through four other vets before I found a vet I was happy with.

If this is happening every 3 seconds, then surely the Vet can witness it happening?  Did the (useless!) Vet witness it?  Did they think it was causing your baby pain.  You obviously feel it is causing him to suffer, so I really think you need to try to find another Vet. 

One of my cats does "something" really weird, and I'm not sure I can even describe it, but I can feel it when it's happening, because it happens when he's draped across my shoulders.  He will start vibrating, but not the same as purring, because it will happen in his back end only.  First time it happened I thought maybe he was getting ready to spray, but thought that was awfully strange since he was stretched out across my shoulders.  It doesn't happen often, and only when I am preparing their meals, but only once in awhile, so it's not specifically food related.  BUT, he doesn't seem to be in any distress.  It's just plain weird!

that you can find a Vet that can get to the bottom of this mystery

Is there any possibility it could be cerebellar hypoplasia? Here is a link, it may be this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebellar_hypoplasia_(non-human)

Were potassium levels checked in the blood work? Low potassium may be a cause of seizures.

Here is a discussion of seizures in cats from the Manhattan Cat Specialists: http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/seizures.html

No matter what, you will need a vet to treat your kitty.

As to cerebellar hypoplasia, it's unlikely. I have a CH kitty, and while it is very rare, the symptoms can develop later in life rather than shortly after birth. But CH is characterized by overall spasticity, and particularly when alert and interested in / excited by something, not when resting. Ming Loy can't walk straight, and shakes all over when playing or watching birds outside (sometimes she looks like her head will shake off!), but when she's relaxed or sleeping, there are no tremors.

Hi! I was just checking this site to find out what I can about the same thing with my cat. It's frustrating, I know. Plus, (s)he, the cat, cannot tell you what is going on that only adds to the frustration.

My cat is one years old now and has that involuntary twitch. It is mostly in his hind quarters. He does not seem to be in any pain nor annoyed with it. He's had it since he was a baby.

However, his history is that his sister died of a neurological condition called Storage Disease. It is very rare. I don't mean to scare you, but it has something to about too many enzymes, or not enough, that causes the brain to misfire and eventually "scramble" the brain. Most Vets will not know, nor will have never heard of it, because it is so rare. With knowledge of this history, I have been very aware of any twitching he might have. Lately, it seemed more pronounced and therefore why I am on this site now looking for answers.

I was told by a neurological vet from the shelter that if he was to get this disease, it would be most likely to show up when he is 3-6 months old. We turned that page, and yet I felt like until he was one, I would not rest easy. That page too has turned, but he still has this twitch. Not any worse, I think, but not any better. 

I have to admit to not wanting to bring it up again to my vet for fear of what they might tell me. 

I have read recently that it can be simply a sign of a overly rambunctious cat. In fact, that was the exact word they called him at the shelter! I thought it was funny, but I now wonder if his twitching causes him to go a bit koo-koo at times (I know he's still young, and a male, but I have to wonder). I figure it is sort of like restless leg syndrome. He can sooth himself, and when he does you can literally feel his whole body relax. I have never experienced a full body "sigh" before with any cat I've had. Frankly, it is quite incredible. However, he will still continue twitch sometime later. It is weird, it always when he is "relaxed" that the twitching begins. 

I took a video of him doing this today and I am going to see another Dr who might be able to help. But I feel like my next step will be to contact that neurological vet. I too do not have plants, nor don't let him out, but I did give him his first Frontline - just incase (we travel to VT and I let them out on the deck) - but maybe I'll stop that. I'd like to say that this was caused by the Frontline, but I know better. 

I'll be looking into potassium and other dietary stuff as well. But we did just have his levels all checked as his one year check up was last month, and he did have some blood in his urine, but nothing that suggested a potassium deficiency, and the blood in his urine can be treated with diet. 

Please let me know how your cat is doing and share anything you might find. 

Yours in the struggle. 

Two more things:  1. I use Solice too (did I spell that right) there is a common ground....... 2. Also, you might want to get your house checked out for mold. Not suggesting anything, but if you had a cat with seizure problems before and now this, it just was a thought that popped into my head. 

If you have that video, it would be good to see what he is doing. I don't have a lot of experience with this on the board but maybe others can chime in further to your video :-)

Hi! I'm having a hard time trying to figure out how to up load the file to this post.  They will not "allow" me to attach something. I do "not have permission". LOL. Honest to God that was the pop up that told me "no". I tried the video clip button on here and it's asking me for a URL. It is just a quicktime movie; under a minute. So I dunno. I have a email into the moderator and I hope they can help me. It's an interesting video for sure. I just watched it again and it's impressive. Poor thing. I'll get back to you as soon as I hear how to do get the video up here. If you trust me, you can send me your email and I'll send it to you. Thanks, J

If it's an image you need to use the icon at the left-hand end of the lower row of icons.  Then browse to the image you want on your computer and click it.  The description will be the file name, you probably want to alter that, then click 'Submit'.  You can use a URL as well but I've used one from my PC.

Hi "babykitty77"!  Did you ever get to the bottom of this problem?  I've been all over the internet for months trying to figure this out.... my cat, and her brother, have the SAME thing!  Yes, I totally know it's the same thing by how you describe it!  It's NOT just dreams.  I do have a video of my girl (when she was a kitten) doing it, and she STILL does it a year later.  Her brother has started doing it in the last 4 months or so.  The vet they have seen is clueless about this issue, so far, anyway.  I've gone through website after website... I find comparable tremor descriptions, but NOTHING that talks about it happening with they are laying down to rest but not fully asleep. 

Here is the  video of my cat:


Please tell me what you've experienced since you posted in 2012!  Tenajroc,you are welcome to respond on your updates also!

Thank you!

Kat

@katforcats this is a pretty old thread, so you could very well not receive responses from the participants. But it's good to have your input and perhaps others will come along with ideas.