Help with possible FHS

Hello All,

I've been reading some other threads regarding FHS and I'm wondering if my little Taz man has it.  My mom noticed the change in his behavior a little over a month ago.  It's gotten worse in the last couple weeks to where I've noticed it myself.  At first it was just some mild growling and hissing periodically and didn't last long.  In the last couple weeks, his growling and hissing fits have gotten worse and he is attacking his tail as though he doesn't realize it's his.  Then he starts racing across the room as if he's after something.  After reading some of the info online today regarding FHS I tried looking for specific signs.  His fits have been starting around 9pm every night and will last anywhere between 15-30 minutes.  I did notice his eyes dilated tonight, but I couldn't tell if his skin was rippling.  I find it strange that it seems to hit him at the same time every night and once the episode has passed he seems fine for the rest of the time before we go to bed.  I bought a cool mist humidifier recently that sits by my bed.  At first he was curious about it.  Now he takes up residence on my headboard and falls asleep with his face maybe a foot away from the mist.  It almost seems soothing to him, but I'm afraid of it harming him in some way. 

Some of the recent changes he's gone through in the last few months was a change in his food.  I had been feeding him Royal Canin kitten food, both dry and wet.  After the PetSmart clerk advised me to go grain free I changed his kibble to the Blue Longevity, which has a lot of fish and I just recently noticed also has potatoes and peas.  I am currently on the lookout for a new cat food to give him in the hopes that it might help the situation.  After having switched him to the "grain free" dry food, he has gained a lot of weight.  Where he was nice and sleek at a healthy 9lbs, he is now much larger sporting a belly.  He's a lot heavier now when I pick him up.  The Blue Longevity stated it was Ideal Weight Formula, but I don't think that's the case anymore.  In early April we ended up with an unexpected visitor in the house.  Since he is strictly an indoor cat, he is not exposed to other cats or dogs in the neighborhood.  My cousin went into premature labor and had an emergency C-section.  As a result, my aunt had gone to be with her, and we ended up dog sitting her miniature dachshund.  At first they seemed to get along well enough, Taz would try to play with Morgan and Morgan would be a chicken and run away from him.  However, the longer that Morgan was at the house, Taz appeared to become jealous.  Since she is a very needy dog and is most definitely a lap dog, she was always on my mom's bed which would be Taz's spot whenever he felt like curling up there.  He would not get on the bed with my mom while Morgan was on there.  Morgan ended up staying with us for about 2 weeks.  I'm not sure if the stress of having her in the house has contributed to his recent behavior as well.  He's slept with me in my room at night since I first got him, so he doesn't have run of the house.

If anyone has any other suggestions of what the problem might be, or if it is FHS any helpful hints would be most appreciative.  I really would like to avoid the vet if possible since he hates getting in the carrier.  I already have to take him for his annual shots soon.  I would also like to avoid having him end up on kitty Prozac or whatever they might try to drug him with as a result.  I thought about picking up one of those calming sprays that I've seen at PetSmart, but I've also heard that not all cats react well to it and it could end up causing the opposite effect.  I love my little boy more than anything and watching him go through these episodes every night is scary to me.  I don't know how to help him so I would be extremely grateful for any info or tips you have for me.

Thanks again and I apologize for the long thread.

Taz Mom

I know it's not what you want to hear but you really need to start with a visit to the vet. FHS, while very rare, is a very serious disorder that needs to be treated. You also want to rule out that there isn't something else going on medically with him. His sudden weight gain could be a sign of a thyroid problem, or perhaps that he is getting into something toxic that you aren't aware of. The bottom line is there are too many strange things happening for someone to try and make an online diagnosis- he really needs to be seen by a professional. If you attempt to address the behavioral aspect first and it is a medical issue it will all be for nothing. 

Most cats hate their carriers. I think it's a qualification for being a cat. You can make it easier on him by spraying the inside with some Feliway (a calming pheromone), covering the whole thing with a towel, and giving him lots of treats and praise. He's still going to hate it but he might just hate it a little less. 

If the vet rules out a medical issue then you can address the behavioral aspect. You mentioned hearing that not all cats react well to the calming sprays: that may be true but it has not been my experience. If anything I've known cats who didn't seem to derive any relief from it but it certainly didn't harm them. You could try just spraying it in a small area of the house. If he seems calmer then get one of the diffusers that plug into the wall and therefore cover a wider area.

It's very possible that he is just traumatized from the most recent houseguest and needs some time to recover from the experience. But, I would still err on the side of caution and have him checked out. If nothing else call your vet and ask for them to set you up a 10 minute phone consultation. You can explain the symptoms to them and they can help you determine if he needs to be seen ASAP or if maybe he can wait until it's time for his annual. Depending on what vaccines he needs (if any) they may be able to push it up a little bit so you can get him in sooner. Again, all questions you need to ask your vet. 

Good luck and let us know what they say.  Vibes that he gets a clean bill of health!

Welcome to The Cat Site.  Sorry to hear Taz is having problems.  I agree with EB24, Taz needs to be evaluated by a vet (and definition of a cat: one who hates cat carriers.)  The weight gain may be a separate issue or related to the change in food/calories.

Ritz has been diagnosed with FHS.  Similar to Taz, Ritz races up and down the hall, trying to escape something only she can see.  The most prevalent and predominate symptom is twitching/rippling of her fur along her spine.  She also bites/scratches her flank, like she has a mosquito / flea bites. When the symptoms are severe, her eyes are dilated.  She has never bitten her tail, although about two years ago, sometimes she'd "chase" her tail, kind of look at it like she's not sure what it is, and I did see some twitching of her skin.  The symptoms tend to occur early evening, though that may be coincidental:  that is when I am home (I am gone 11 hours during the work week) but not, thankfully in the middle of the night (midnight-ish).

The severity and frequency of the symptoms increased dramatically in early January 2013.  In retrospect, I believe FHS is a stress reaction to the culmination of:  moving in August 2012; my fostering a kitten for around a week and then a few months later a male cat for several months (Ritz has always been an only child); and two vet visits for (a throwing up episode and wellness check along with vaccinations).  It should be noted that Ritz is prone to stress-induced illnesses; she had two stress-induced UTIs and has been diagnosed with FLUTD.

Out of some concern that her reaction/symptoms would become habituated, I have put Ritz on Prozac.  It's helped a little, and I have reduced the dosage from 1.0 ml to .5/.6.  My vet remarked that the symptoms bother the owner more than the pet; I'm not quite sure I believe that, but we're both getting use to the symptoms.

Non-drug methods may alleviate some of the symptoms: regular play time, calming agents, a diet free as much as possible of chemicals, fish and carbohydrates, regularity in routine.  Ritz has always been somewhat apathetic about playing, although about a month or two before her FHS symptoms increased, she liked to play once or twice a day; she now rarely plays (perhaps because of Prozac).  Because I already use Feliway, feed Raw and live a very routine, regulated life, I felt I had to try Prozac.

I did try calling the vet on Saturday and tried to explain/describe what was happening.  The receptionist, who I've spoken to many times and has several cats of her own, said that if he was eating, peeing and pooping, and drinking water regularly that it sounded like a behavioral problem.  That's when I started looking online for similar traits and I came up with FHS.  He's actually due to go to the vet for his shots within the next month or so, so I may try getting him in earlier.  He also used to be quite playful and now, while he does play, it's not like it used to be and he's still very young to become so sedentary.  I came home from work yesterday and sat on the floor to play with him and he wasn't really interested.  He used to jump up on my mom's bathroom counter and knock stuff off to let us know he wanted us to turn on the faucet for him.  He hasn't been doing that for a few weeks now.  My mom says he seems to have a harder time jumping up on the counter.  The sudden weight gain is worrisome to me, and I pray that it's just the change in diet and not something medically serious.  I can't afford the high vet bills.  Now I'm thinking I should've invested in the pet insurance when he was still a kitten.  He has been pretty much isolated to two rooms of the house because he likes to get into things that he shouldn't.  He's allowed to roam around other parts of the house as long as he's supervised.  He likes being around people so he's in my room at night when we go to bed, and he's in with my mom during the day for the most part.  I try to avoid leaving him for long periods of time alone, but sometimes it just can't be helped.  Thank you for all your suggestions.  It looks like we'll have to take a trip to the vet.  I will try picking up some calming spray or diffuser to see if that will help him a bit too.

Taz Mom

The symptoms could also point to a flea allergy.

You said he gets into things he shouldn't:  anything toxic or mildly so?

I forgot to mention earlier that he had an episode this morning, which isn't necessarily normal.  He likes looking out the window by my bed and has a tendency to lay across my headboard and peek his head through the corner of the blinds.  This morning around 5am, I heard him racing in circles jumping up on my bed to the headboard through the blinds, going across the little ledge under the window and out the other side, onto the t.v. cabinet, back down the floor and up onto my bed again to start all over.  He did this several times as if in a frenzy.  He wasn't growling or hissing, but he was doing his mwowring sound, sort of like a trill but not quite.  I tried to talk to him to calm him down, but he was oblivious to me.  I was in bed the whole time just watching him.  When he finally calmed down a bit he came on the bed alongside me and started staring at light shadows on the wall.  This whole thing is very scary to me.  I tried to video his behavior last night, but it was hard to do in my mom's room.  I may try moving him into my room just before the time he usually has his fit and see if I can video it better to show the vet when I see them.  Thanks again for all your help and advice.

Taz Mom

I was going to recommend video taping an episode.  I taped one of Ritz' episodes and while the episode didn't last very long, it did give the vet a purfect example of what Ritz was going through.

Regarding this morning's episode: Ritz did something similar this morning.  Came tearing from the front of the house to the back bedroom where I was working on some crafts.  Looked outside the patio window.  Based on some later observed empirical evidence, I believe Ritz was reacting to a wildlife sighting:  a fox.  In her mind, a fox kind of looks like a big cat with a fluffy tail.  She doesn't react quite as strongly when she sees dogs, deer, or racooons; we have all where I live.   My point/question being:  any animals (domestic or otherwise) that Taz might be seeing?

BTW:  FHS is classified as a neurological/central nervous system condition, not behavioral.  This differentiation may be important if you have pet insurance (as I do).  Some pet insurance won't cover costs associated with behavior problems (e.g., spraying) but will, of course, cover a medical problem.  The pet insurance company didn't question the diagnosis at all.

Ritz said:

The symptoms could also point to a flea allergy.

You said he gets into things he shouldn't:  anything toxic or mildly so?

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I haven't noticed any fleas, though it's possible.  We've given him a couple of Advantage treatments, but I don't notice him doing any regular scratching.  We just gave him a treatment a few days ago, so I would hope that he didn't have any flea issues.  The only time I really see him doing any scratching is always on the left side under his chin.  I see him licking towards his rear and he attacks his tail growling and hissing at it.  My mom was wondering if perhaps he's got a bug that's bothering him back there.  I'm going to buy a flea comb and see if I can get him to sit still long enough to comb him. 

As far as him getting into things, it's more that he likes to knock things over and off of tables, counters, etc.  He loves to knock over any cup that is left unattended.  He used to be big in chewing on electrical cords, but he's pretty much gotten out of that.  If we see him doing something he shouldn't we try to discourage him by squirting water at him.  When he's allowed to roam freely, I haven't noticed that he's gotten into anything.  He's more curious than anything else, perhaps I'm just afraid that he'll get into something he shouldn't and that's why I keep him mostly confined.  The only thing I've noticed is that he likes my aunt's plants.  She has a big plant in the kitchen that sits on the floor.  I've noticed him biting and batting at the leaves, but when I see him do it I try to discourage it.  Mostly he likes to look out the windows, especially when they're open and it's just a screen between him and the outside world. 

Taz Mom

Ritz said:

I was going to recommend video taping an episode.  I taped one of Ritz' episodes and while the episode didn't last very long, it did give the vet a purfect example of what Ritz was going through.

Regarding this morning's episode: Ritz did something similar this morning.  Came tearing from the front of the house to the back bedroom where I was working on some crafts.  Looked outside the patio window.  Based on some later observed empirical evidence, I believe Ritz was reacting to a wildlife sighting:  a fox.  In her mind, a fox kind of looks like a big cat with a fluffy tail.  She doesn't react quite as strongly when she sees dogs, deer, or racooons; we have all where I live.   My point/question being:  any animals (domestic or otherwise) that Taz might be seeing?

BTW:  FHS is classified as a neurological/central nervous system condition, not behavioral.  This differentiation may be important if you have pet insurance (as I do).  Some pet insurance won't cover costs associated with behavior problems (e.g., spraying) but will, of course, cover a medical problem.  The pet insurance company didn't question the diagnosis at all.

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Unfortunately I was still in bed when he did it, so I didn't get a chance to look out the window to see if there was something out there he saw.  I know we have a lot of other cats in the neighborhood that like to come around our house and hang out in the backyard.  My room is at the front of the house along the walkway leading to the front door.  He did something sort of similar, but not nearly as frenzied, the other day and I did look out the window to see if there was anything out there that could be bothering him and I didn't see anything.  I know he likes to chase after bugs, but I try to get to the bug before he does.  Usually it's the occassional silver fish or a moth flying around, but like I said, once I spot him going after it I try to get to it first so he doesn't actually eat them.  I know some bugs can be harmful and I don't want him getting in the habit of eating bugs.

Taz Mom

What kind of plant?

Some of the symptoms can be allergy related--even the type of food bowl you're using (allergy to what it is made of).

But some of the symptoms (biting tail), not so much.

By the way:  the diagnosis of FHS is really one of diagnosing what it *isn't", a process of elimination.  Blood work will rule out thryoid conditions or other uncommon reasons for seizure-like symptoms.  Unexplained weight gain *could* be a thyroid problem condition, unlikely, but possible.  Which is why a vet visit is needed.

Ritz said:

What kind of plant?

Some of the symptoms can be allergy related--even the type of food bowl you're using (allergy to what it is made of).

But some of the symptoms (biting tail), not so much.

By the way:  the diagnosis of FHS is really one of diagnosing what it *isn't", a process of elimination.  Blood work will rule out thryoid conditions or other uncommon reasons for seizure-like symptoms.  Unexplained weight gain *could* be a thyroid problem condition, unlikely, but possible.  Which is why a vet visit is needed.

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I'm not sure what plant it is, I would need to ask my aunt.  As far as the bowls I use, they're all ceramic so that I can put them in the microwave.  I heat up his wet food in the microwave for a few seconds to take the chill from the fridge off.  Is that a bad thing?  He liked to tip over his water bowl, so I got a big ceramic dog bowl for his water so that he can't tip it over and soak the floor.  I will be definitely making a vet appt for him since his annual shots are due for feline leukemia, the feline AIDS, and possibly rabies (I can't remember if it's every year or every other year).

Taz Mom

Stainless steel is best, plastic worse, ceramic, so-so.  The reason being that bacteria can get  into the cracks.

Out of curiosity, why are you vaccinating your cat against FeLV (leukemia) and FIV:  is he outdoors? at high risk for these diseases? 

Ritz said:

Stainless steel is best, plastic worse, ceramic, so-so.  The reason being that bacteria can get  into the cracks.

Out of curiosity, why are you vaccinating your cat against FeLV (leukemia) and FIV:  is he outdoors? at high risk for these diseases? 

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It was part of his kitten wellness package that I paid for at the vet when he was a couple months old.  I do have a 13/14 year old female cat that is indoor/outdoor, but they don't come in contact with one another.  They had an accidental introduction when he was about 7 weeks old and she attacked him.  They haven't been introduced again since.  She stays primarily out in the garage or outdoors.  When she does come inside, he is confined to one of the rooms with someone.  She adopted us when she was about 9 months old or so and has always been primarily outdoors.  When we got Taz, we decided he would be indoor only.  I think we get all the other shots as a just in case he does happen to come in contact with another cat, though unlikely.  She has also gotten all of her shots because she does go outdoors.  He only got the one set of vaccinations about a year ago and is due for his next round.  Should I not have them all done?

Taz Mom

FeLV and FIV vaccines are usually only given to cats who are at a super high risk of contacting the illnesses (outdoors only, live with a cat that is positive, ect). Because there have been some studies that show a link between vaccinations and cancer many people elect to only give the vaccines that are absolutely necessary. 

Another problem with the FeLV and FIV vaccines is that they will make your cat test positive for the rest of his life. So, you will never actually know if he has contacted it or not. I would encourage you to do more research on the subject before giving them to him to make sure it is the right decision (and only you know if it is or not). If you do choose to vaccinate (or if you already did when he was a kitten) my two suggestions would be 1) have the vet give the shots in the legs. That way if it does develop into cancer it's more treatable (they can remove the leg and prevent it from spreading versus when you give them in the back in which case little can be done) and 2) make sure you have him microchipped and keep him collared at all times. If her ever were to sneak out and was taken to a shelter he would most likely be put down because of his positive status. Keeping him ID'ed and keeping the information current is the only way to prevent that from happening. 

As far as the rabies shot, kittens are usually given a one year vaccine. After that it's every three years. He should be UTD on his FVRCP vaccine, which I personally think is way more important than the others. Rabies and FVRCP are the only two I give. And, there is a lot of controversy over whether FVRCP even needs to be given after the initial kitten rounds. Again, this is something worth researching. 

The type of plant matters as it's possible it's toxic and that is contributing to his health/behavior problems. Check out this list: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/174854/101-things-that-can-harm-your-cat and see if he may have come into contact with any of these things. 

Hopefully you can get him in soon so you can get to the bottom of all this! 

I believe that all of those shots were part of his kitten wellness package the first time I took him to the vet.  He is chipped and he does have his collar and tag.  Since he's had all those shots once, am I able to just not have them do it again?  Will it hurt him if he doesn't receive the FeLV and FIV shots in the future?  I don't want to do anything that would harm him and I wish I had known all this info when I first got him instead of a year later.  We've had so many cats in the past and we've never had issues with them so there was never a need to go looking something up.  Now there's all sorts of info to process.  I will do my research on those other shots, but I don't want to do something that is going to harm him years down the road.  I want to be able to have him for many years to come.

Last night my mom and I had to go out, so my aunt stayed to watch him.  She said he did a little racing around but nothing major.  She does a lot of playing with him too though.  Shortly after we got home he started to do the hissing and growling, so I got one of his feather toys to distract him.  It seemed to work because he would lay in wait and pounce me every chance he got and he didn't do his usual racing around and hiss/growl/bite at his tail.  I was encouraged that the playing seemed to help distract him.  I wanted to try getting it on video, but watching him the other night nearly made me cry because I didn't know what was wrong and didn't know how to help him.  I also took him off his dry food completely last night so he is solely on wet food.  I'm still going to make me vet appointment, but these were things I could do in the meantime that might help him.  Anything is worth a shot at this point.  Fortunately no episodes this morning, he came up and curled up with me during the night so that made me feel a bit better too.

Taz Mom

I can only tell you what I would do:  no more shots, except the rabies and possibly FVRCP.  I have pet insurance, and the company requires FVRCP (rabies is required by law).  I volunteer at a cat sanctuary and feed a feral/stray cat colony, so I would probably vaccinate Ritz against FVRCP even if not required by insurance.

I would talk with your vet about vaccinations; he may have a specific, logical reason for vaccinating.  But don't be talked in to it just because "you already paid for it".  Do your own research.

Hi, I just read this thread and have tried almost everything, we too live in a very very regulated home, I work out of my house so I am home all day long, maybe I am the one stressing the poor little guy out, who knows. But the next step is Prozac, sounds like it calms him, did it change his personality and did you see any changes in the FHS? 

Thanks