Well, where to start ...
Bretten, the Rex (male, neutered, 2 1/2), has been displaying the signs of mild Feline Hyperesthesia for the last 5 or 6 weeks. I hadn't even heard that term before joining this group.
From all I've read over the last few days, it can be physical (seizures, parasites), psychological (stress, OCD), or allergy (food-related, environmental). There have been enough changes for Bretten lately that I can't really rule anything out. Firstly, he went from a junk-food kibble and Friskies diet, to a higher-end Wellness Core/EVO cat and kitten mixed-together kibble diet, with a rotation of good canned foods with his Friskies. After joining this site I took his beloved kibble away, and added commercial raw to his diet. Since then, I've also added homemade raw. In August, we added a kitten to the family, and Bretten had a very hard time adjusting, although he loves Rhys now. His litter was also changed at the time of the kitten's arrival from pine to non-clumping, and now to scented clumping.
He doesn't now, nor has he ever had fleas and has never had a flea treatment. Neither has the kitten. When I got Tanner, he was crawling with fleas and was given 3 months of effective treatment, but that was 6 1/2 years, and two houses ago. Bretten has only ever lived in this house.
When he has these skin ripples, it looks like he is being flea-bitten: he whips his head around to frantically lick part of his body, sometimes shaking his head, and sometimes running away from what he thinks is "biting" him. I read that lice or mites can cause this. I've had no experience with lice or mites - could he get them as an indoor-only cat? Could the new kitten have brought them into the house even though neither he, or Tanner or the dog are showing any signs of this itchiness?
Psychologically, he is a pretty neurotic cat. He's highly strung and excitable, but has gone from being bold to being more skittish. He has recently started having these "episodes" where he spreads his front legs out on the floor with his head on one side, and digs his claws into the carpet while scooting kind of in a circle. It's hard to describe, but decidedly strange! I'll try to catch it on video.
As to food allergies, he hasn't seemed intolerant of anything he's been fed. He very rarely pukes and his toilet habits are normal. He plays, he "helps" me whatever I'm doing in the house, he wrestles with the other cats, and other than being way more nervous than he ever was, he has no issues other than this itchy discomfort.
Our house is very quiet, it's only me and my son who's a quiet gentle-natured cat-loving guy. I can't think of any stressors other than the arrival of the kitten in August. And the food changes.
I'm making fresh batches of raw tomorrow, and will make them single-meat as opposed to the mix I made the first time around. I'm also going to buy Carnivora raw, and cut down on the canned food to see if that affects anything at all. I'll give it some time to work, and if nothing changes or it gets worse, I'll have to get him blood tests and a skin scrape. He has barely any hair, I can't see any abnormalities with his skin or any parasites, but who knows? Wish me luck, I'm really, REALLY hoping this is a food intolerance that I can reverse.
Bretten, the Rex (male, neutered, 2 1/2), has been displaying the signs of mild Feline Hyperesthesia for the last 5 or 6 weeks. I hadn't even heard that term before joining this group.
From all I've read over the last few days, it can be physical (seizures, parasites), psychological (stress, OCD), or allergy (food-related, environmental). There have been enough changes for Bretten lately that I can't really rule anything out. Firstly, he went from a junk-food kibble and Friskies diet, to a higher-end Wellness Core/EVO cat and kitten mixed-together kibble diet, with a rotation of good canned foods with his Friskies. After joining this site I took his beloved kibble away, and added commercial raw to his diet. Since then, I've also added homemade raw. In August, we added a kitten to the family, and Bretten had a very hard time adjusting, although he loves Rhys now. His litter was also changed at the time of the kitten's arrival from pine to non-clumping, and now to scented clumping.
He doesn't now, nor has he ever had fleas and has never had a flea treatment. Neither has the kitten. When I got Tanner, he was crawling with fleas and was given 3 months of effective treatment, but that was 6 1/2 years, and two houses ago. Bretten has only ever lived in this house.
When he has these skin ripples, it looks like he is being flea-bitten: he whips his head around to frantically lick part of his body, sometimes shaking his head, and sometimes running away from what he thinks is "biting" him. I read that lice or mites can cause this. I've had no experience with lice or mites - could he get them as an indoor-only cat? Could the new kitten have brought them into the house even though neither he, or Tanner or the dog are showing any signs of this itchiness?
Psychologically, he is a pretty neurotic cat. He's highly strung and excitable, but has gone from being bold to being more skittish. He has recently started having these "episodes" where he spreads his front legs out on the floor with his head on one side, and digs his claws into the carpet while scooting kind of in a circle. It's hard to describe, but decidedly strange! I'll try to catch it on video.
As to food allergies, he hasn't seemed intolerant of anything he's been fed. He very rarely pukes and his toilet habits are normal. He plays, he "helps" me whatever I'm doing in the house, he wrestles with the other cats, and other than being way more nervous than he ever was, he has no issues other than this itchy discomfort.
Our house is very quiet, it's only me and my son who's a quiet gentle-natured cat-loving guy. I can't think of any stressors other than the arrival of the kitten in August. And the food changes.
I'm making fresh batches of raw tomorrow, and will make them single-meat as opposed to the mix I made the first time around. I'm also going to buy Carnivora raw, and cut down on the canned food to see if that affects anything at all. I'll give it some time to work, and if nothing changes or it gets worse, I'll have to get him blood tests and a skin scrape. He has barely any hair, I can't see any abnormalities with his skin or any parasites, but who knows? Wish me luck, I'm really, REALLY hoping this is a food intolerance that I can reverse.
