Need Help! My cat has FHS and I'm at a loss what to do now.

It's been several months since I've been on the site.  My cat Taz I believe has Feline Hyperesthesia.  It started out mild in January of 2013 with just some growling and hissing.  At the end of March, my cousin went into premature labor and we ended up watching their dog for a couple weeks while they were in the hospital.  I think it's at this point that his symptoms got much worse.  He tolerated the dog, but the dog took over his "space".  In mid May he had a severe episode where he ran through the house for a little over an hour, growling, hissing, and screaming.  He would occasionally stop to attack his hind quarters or bite on his tail, then continue to race around as though something was chasing him.  When he finally calmed down we got him in the carrier and took him to an urgent care vet.  They basically told me there wasn't anything they could do for him since he seemed perfectly healthy and what I described seemed behavioral (even after they saw the video I showed them of his earlier behavior).  We brought him back home and gave him a bath (since he had an accident in the carrier).  He let me hold him for about a half hour wrapped in a towel and then got down to give himself his own bath.  Shortly after he started into another episode lasting another hour.  During that time I called every vet I could find to see if there was another urgent care to take him to.  When he calmed down again, we loaded him up and took him in.  He had 104 temp and was panting like crazy.  I told the doctor my theory of FHS and she said based on what she saw on the video that it sounded right.  Unfortunately I can't afford to do a lot of testing and MRI's, etc so I am going based on his behavior.  The vet suggested we put him on Phenobarbital and Gabapentin.  We had him boarded for 2 weeks while the meds kicked in since we weren't sure if he was a danger to anyone or himself.  During his time at the vet he never had an episode and took his meds like a good little kitty.  When it came time to come home, he was ok for the first couple days but then started in on the growling, hissing, and attacking himself.  Initially he was taking his Pheno in a pill pocket and his Gaba in his wet food.  This worked for a few months, but he got wise to what I was doing and would not eat his wet food no matter what kind I gave him (and I tried almost every brand and flavor).  We called the vet and let her know what was happening and she was able to direct us to a company that had a transdermal gel, which we purchased (though we discovered later he went from 200 mg per day to 20 mg per day).  He seemed to be getting a bit worse, but not as bad as he was in May.  He then quit taking the pill pockets and we then had to resort to force feeding him the pills.  Earlier this month he got to the point where he wouldn't even stay in our arms if we picked him up, so he ended up quitting the Pheno cold turkey (not by my choice, but his).  I was at least able to get him to take his Gaba in wet food again, but that only lasted a couple days or so.  On Wednesday night he had a couple episodes that reminded me of May and it scared me.  He seemed like he was so miserable and unhappy, so I called the vet and made an appointment to have him put to sleep on Thursday night.  I couldn't sleep at all on Wednesday and cried pretty much non-stop to the point where I had to leave work.  In the end I just couldn't do it.  I've been researching this problem for nearly a year now and I'm at a loss of what to do next. 

His episodes seem to be worse early morning when I'm up and getting ready for work and in the evenings after I get home.  Strangely enough he is relatively quiet and calm during the day, which makes me feel like he's doing this for my benefit or that he's angry with me somehow.  He used to come in and sleep with me at night and he hasn't done that for a good week now.  I had tried going grain-free at one point and it didn't seem like it was making a difference, though I don't know how long I should've been doing it to see any change.  Right now he is eating Royal Canin Calm formula kibble that I get from the vet.  I don't think it really makes a difference but he seems to like it and throws a fit when he's low or out.  I figured I would try going back to grain free, but since he's back to avoiding any wet food (probably because I had been giving his meds in it and he doesn't trust it) it is sitting on the shelf at the moment.   

He seems to growl a lot and when we try talking to him he lashes out.  I've tried playing with him, but he's not always interested in playing.  He's never been aggressive or tried to attack anyone other than himself, but when he growls and hisses it can be very scary (and there are times when he screams).  I have not found a vet that has ever dealt with FHS or even knows what it is, so I'm at a dead end there.  The last time I called my vet she basically told me she's done all she can and recommended a specialist or behaviorist where even if I could find one, I can't afford it.  I bought the book, The Cat Whisperer, hoping there might be info in it that could help me, and while there is some good info, none of it has helped yet.  I thought about requesting a consultation by the author, but that is about $300 and it is either by Skype or phone.  I don't really have the money for that either.  We've already spent over $1000 between special food, meds, and urgent care boarding, and blood tests. 

I apologize for this being so long, but I'm so lost and feel so helpless about how to help him.  He's no longer on meds, but I'm so afraid we will end up with a bad episode like last May and I don't know what I can do if that happens.  I'm glad that I changed my mind about having him put to sleep, but I don't know what to do now.  His behavior is causing a lot of tension in the house.  I toyed with the idea of trying to find him another home or to a no kill shelter, but I don't know or think it'll make a different and I'm just passing the problem onto someone else.  I also can't bear the idea of him thinking I've abandoned him.  I've actually considered contacting Jackson Galaxy to be put on My Cat From Hell, but I'm not crazy about being on TV.  Can anyone help me?!

Taz Mom

I'm so sorry to hear about all that you and Taz have been through. Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome is extremely frustrating to treat and disturbing to see in our beloved felines. I am also dealing with this in my Boo, but he does not seem as bad as what you describe. I have also done a lot of research. My vet has run many tests. I've done food trials and natural treatments to no avail.

Okay, so at this point Taz is no longer on pheno and gaba. Did you see improvement when he was on the pheno and gaba?

GoHolistic said:

 
I'm so sorry to hear about all that you and Taz have been through. Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome is extremely frustrating to treat and disturbing to see in our beloved felines. I am also dealing with this in my Boo, but he does not seem as bad as what you describe. I have also done a lot of research. My vet has run many tests. I've done food trials and natural treatments to no avail.

Okay, so at this point Taz is no longer on pheno and gaba. Did you see improvement when he was on the pheno and gaba?

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Well, it seemed like he was better when we first brought him home from his stay at the vet, but that only lasted about 2-3 days with no incidents at all.  Then he started in on the growling, hissing, and attacking himself but on a milder scale.  In the last few months I have brought my godson to stay with us over the weekend at least once a month, sometimes twice (This is the baby that was born prematurely last March).  I admit I realized that I have been paying more attention to my godson than my own baby Taz and I felt awful when I figured it out (on Thursday when I had schedule for him to be put down).  I'm wondering how much of his current lashing out is just at me for having paid more attention to the baby (and school) than him.  Last semester I had to take a class up at the school and I was gone 3 nights out of the week, and he was used to me being home at a certain time so I wonder if that hasn't played into his current behavior as well.  I was supposed to have the baby this weekend, but I called my cousin and told her I couldn't take him after all and that I needed to work on being with my baby.

It's weird because he seems to be fine for the most part throughout the day when he's home with my mom and aunt (who were the ones that would have to force the pills down his throat), but when I'm home he seems more agitated and has more severe episodes.  He'll just sit and growl at times and if I try talking to him he'll start to his and growl louder and sometimes even scream.  He just got finished having a fit and now he's disappeared somewhere and all is quiet for now.

So in answer to your question, I honestly don't know how much of the meds really helped him because he was never totally incident free except when we first brought him home.  He hasn't had any other episodes like last May, so I'm grateful for that.  I can't help but feel like he's punishing me somehow for having neglected his emotional needs.  I've always made sure he had his food and water and the box was cleaned out regularly, but with school and the baby I haven't been playing with him like I used to when he was a kitten.  He usually comes to sleep with me and he hasn't for the last week or so.  What's strange is that Wednesday night after I had called the vet to make the appointment I had been crying constantly and had laid in bed praying for one more cuddle time.  He came in around 3 am and laid next to me for a couple hours before I had to get up for work.  I was so happy he came in I refused to go to sleep because I didn't want to miss out on any time left with him (and I hadn't fallen asleep to that point anyway).  I found out the next day when I came home after telling my mom that I had been praying for it that he had come to her for some treats and she told Taz to go to bed with mommy (she told him this about 2:30 ish since I had gotten up to get some Ibuprofen.  He's a very smart boy and understands a lot.  I notice he tends to throw fits sometimes when we're talking about him and he's in the vicinity.

Even if the meds did help him, I don't have a way to get them in him anymore.  He won't take a pill pocket, we can't hold onto him long enough to force feed them, and he won't take them in his wet food.  I've tried cheese, I've tried 4 different kinds of milk, I've tried many different ways to get him to take the meds.  He is not fond of anything seafood, so that makes it more of a challenge.  He can be a picky eater, so finding a wet food he'll even eat is a challenge.  I'm so lost and I really don't know what to do to help him and improve the situation.  One of the things they say in regards to this disorder is that stability and schedules are important.  It's hard to keep schedules in our house sometimes.  I've got online classes this semester so I'm home but I have to spend a lot of time on the computer.  About the only thing I might be able to control is making sure I'm home about the same time everyday from work.  My mom and aunt are usually home with him during the day and my aunt will play with him.  I tried to have scheduled play times (recently) but he doesn't seem to be interested in playing with me sometimes.  I don't know if the best thing for him is to find him a new home.  Maybe he's just not happy here with us anymore.  I really don't know.

I don't really have any advice but wanted to let you know I am sending prayers your way. I know how hard it is to watch them run around like that. I have 2 feral cats that do this and sometimes it is so bad it keeps them from eating. In fact it seems to be worse when they are trying to eat.

I hope you are able to find a way to help Taz.

Please don't blame yourself for Taz's FHS. It is such a mysterious condition that can be caused by many things. I have the most stable, quiet, stress-free home and my Boo has it.

Have you tried Feliway diffusers to help calm Taz? I'm about to re-purchase these for my household. I did a two month trial and they did seem to help all three of my cats to some extent.

It sounds like his FHS episodes make him pretty uncomfortable. Perhaps you can try the meds again and maybe just go with one. Gabapentin seems to have less side effects and contraindications. I swear by gel caps. I have to pill my Sebastian quite extensively for his IBD and chronic pancreatitis and I wouldn't be able to do it everyday without gel caps. I coat them in organic extra virgin coconut oil to help them go down easily, but you can also use a little butter. In my experience, I find that it's the bitter taste of meds that cats hate...not so much the pilling itself, although there are some cats that just don't like to be handled. I pill my cats just before a "reward" which is usually a mealtime. Give Taz a treat after pilling (say the word or shake the treat bag). 

We've pretty much determined that we won't be able to medicate him.  We can't really pick him up to give him his pill and if I start putting it in his food again, he just won't eat it.  More than anything his behavior is frustrating.  I was trying to wean him off his kibble and try moving him to an all wet food diet that will hopefully turn into an all grain free diet.  So far he seems to throw more of a fit when his kibble bowl is empty.  I was trying to ignore his outbursts, but it's very difficult.  It's not just your typical constant meowing (that would be a blessing in comparison).  He actually screams.  I'm really starting to think that some of this is behavioral.  Tonight he walked into my room calm as can be.  I was laying on my bed and he came up to the bed, put his front paws up and looked at me.  Then he got down and then hopped up onto the headboard and started to growl, hiss, and scream.  It lasted for a minute or so, then he jumped down and walked out of the room.  Right now he's walking through the house throwing a fit, screaming and he turns and hisses and growls behind him.  Though last night he was calmer and actually curled up with me on the floor and actually purred (a first in a long while).  When he gets like this all I want to do is cry because there's nothing I can do to help him or make it better.  Everything I try will either take a while to see if it's helpful or it isn't helpful.  I honestly don't know if a grain free diet would help him at all, so I could be making things worse in the meantime.  I can't change too many things and anything I do has to be very gradual since he seems so sensitive to change.  He threw a fit for a week when we switched rooms to watch TV.  I'm just feel so incredibly helpless and I'm lost as to what else I can do for him.  I have been looking into the Feliway, though I don't have any problems with him scratching or marking, so I don't know if it would help him at all.  I suppose like anything it's worth a shot.  I priced it at PetSmart for $50, so I'm looking at Ebay and Amazon (but I have to wait for the shipping instead of instant gratitude).  We'll see how it goes.  Even with that I've been reading it could take a few weeks to notice a difference if any at all.

Thank you for your suggestions and support!  I appreciate it more than you know.

Hmm, has he ever taken pain meds? He sounds so much like a kitty my friend owned. She did all kinds of research and thought her cat had FHS (and probably did, this was way back), but the cat hissed, shrieked and growled randomly. She said her vet gave the cat pain meds for something unrelated and the growling and hissing stopped, leading her to believe that he/she (l don't remember) was in pain.

l'm not saying this is the same as your kitty's condition, but it leapt to mind. l wonder if a shot of buprenorphine would have any effect.

Sending vibes and hugs, it sounds like a very difficult situation.    

@Taz Mom, it sounds like you've decided that you will no longer try to medicate Taz. There are things you can do to try to address this behaviorally, but if it's not behavioral, then you'll have a difficult time finding something that works. Some references claim that FHS can be a sort of seizure. You could try a hypoallergenic novel protein diet to eliminate food allergies. This would need to be done for at least 2-3 months. Boo wouldn't eat the special diet, so we weren't able to do that any longer than a week (he actually just wouldn't eat at all). Feliway can be useful in creating a general sense of calm. Yes, it does specifically address marking and scratching, but many have found it helpful for all kinds of behavioral issues. I did a trial run of the Feliway for 2 months and it did seem to help my cat Caesar with his anxiety, but it had no affect on Boo's FHS. There's a homeopathic/herbal product for pets called EaseSure that I also tried for Boo. It would help calm him during an episode of FHS (I would give it to him as soon as he started twitching), but it did not prevent episodes. However, this is also something that has to be given orally (it's pretty stinky and tastes like mint, so I don't think you could hide it in food).

Boo is now on Gabapentin and Amantandine and the FHS has significantly decreased. It's only been a little over two weeks. I didn't mention it at first because I wanted to make sure it was actually working.

It's interesting that @Andrya's friend's vet also believes this to be sort of pain because my vet has the same thinking. My vet thinks Boo is having pain of currently "unknown origin." He also has focal twitching in the face and episodes of trembling/shivering, which also lead my vet to think this is pain. We just had more x-rays and an ultrasound done, so I'm waiting to hear back on the results.

Hi Taz's mom,

I hope that this finds you and Taz in better health and spirits than the last time you posted...

I'm so sorry that you and Taz are going through all of this.  My cat Cooper was diagnosed with FHS about 6 years ago.  After many trips to different vet who wanted him to have MRIs and thought he had a brain tumor, and many people telling me I should just put him to sleep, I found myself in a veterinary emergency clinic with a vet named Dr. Jill Butler.  She runs a practice in Valparaiso, IN.  She's wonderfully attentive and actually listens to the pet owner, which is wonderful.  I, too, came to her with my theory of FHS after no one else would listen to me, and she did.  After cycling through many drugs, Dr. Butler put him on a liquid suspension Gabapentin, 100 mg per mL, .52 mL x2 daily.  This has worked WONDERS for us.  His symptoms included: self-mutilation, seizures, growling, biting, scratching, attacking me and the dog.  I would come home each day to blood on the walls because he literally thought his tail as a foreign invader and had ripped it open.  He ended up having his tail shaved, and the 1-inch laceration he had made stitched shut.

Since the Gaba, he has had, at most, 2 breakthrough seizures a year, and in this last year, none that I witnessed.  He is a happy and (mostly) content kitty as far as all that is concerned.  He HATED taking this Gaba in the beginning, but you really do just have to be firm with them.  I always ask "permission"; i.e., I always put the little syringe to his nose first so he can smell it and knows what I'm giving him.  He really seems to "appreciate" this, and it's made giving him his meds a lot easier.  There are YouTube videos on how to properly administer syringe meds to a cat via mouth, even syringe feeding, but it's very straightforward.  I ask permission, place one hand gently at the base of his neck, but with a firm-ish hold, put the tip of the syringe in his mouth, and shoot the medicine in.  It's fast, and over time, he will become used to it.  It really will be second nature for both of you.

I can't offer much more advice than that, other than to stick with it, and to tell you that I will answer any questions you have if I am able.  Feel free to message me.  And if you're near Valpo, look Dr. Butler up.  She is amazing.  I very literally owe her my cat's life (or at least one of his 9), and I owe her a large chunk of my sanity.

I hope this helps, and I hope you and Taz are getting along alright.  *hugs*

Lisa 

Hi, I have finally solved an issue almost identical to yours.

You mention that the cat "disappears somewhere" as most cats often do. Our cat had been disappearing into an old mattress.

One day I am salvaging the bed springs for a project in said mattress and notice myself getting incredibly itchy. Fire retardant materials sometimes utilized such as asbestos/rock wool/ fiberglass are incredibly irritating to the skin, and invisible to the human eye.

Almost immediately after removing her favorite hiding place, huge improvements were observed. (mood, behavior, even felt softer ect.) It then became obvious why she had not responded to our previous efforts... We had not removed the problem.

Asbestos is still legal until 2018 in Canada, that would possibly be the worst, but almost all fire retardant insulation is incredibly irritating (crystalline, needle-like structure) Also, cats like to keep their secret hiding places... secret. As a result it becomes very easy to overlook a potentially problematic environment, especially when we are unaware of its existence.

Perhaps something like this could be the culprit? It may explain why your cat was feeling better for a short period of time after being out of the house for awhile, and why other treatments have proved ineffective so far. I stumbled upon this solution by fluke, as none of the 5 vet clinics we visited were able to help, despite having the best intentions for our cat, or money, or whatever. Good luck!