My cat has been acting strange/scares the past 3 days

laurat14 · Aug 20, 2014

Hi everyone. I'm new to this site. My husband and I adopted a three legged cat about 3 months ago, her name is Twinkie. She is 1 1/2 yo. She's been the sweetest kitty ever and we love her sooo much. About 3 weeks ago she fractured her pelvis (thankfully she is all better now). My issue is that lately she's been acting really strange and it is worrying me. She stares aimlessly at something and then her ears will go back and she'll start running like crazy under the bed. I honestly don't know what could be wrong. It isn't her normal crazy playing mood.

2 weeks ago I did move back home from LA to FL plus my husband got deployed to Guam and left 5 days ago. Could all these changes have affected her?

I don't know what to do and I can't take her to the vet until the beginning of September when my husband gets paid. I'm hoping I explained all this okay.

ritz · Aug 21, 2014

Welcome to The Cat Site. Sorry it's under these conditions.
And thank you for adopting this special needs cat. Cats are amazingly adaptable physically at least! Psychologically, maybe not so much.
Cats like routine routine routine; what we humans call boring cats call routine, relaxing.
Based purely on your description, I wonder if Twinkie could have FHS? Here is an article about FHS. Does she bite her flank as though something is bugging her? Bites her tail? There are many videos on the internet that should a cat having an episode. Ritz has FHS--it is a diagnosis of exclusion. Blood work will rule out any medical (thyroid for example) issue. The current thinking is that FHS is neurological in nature.
On the other hand, I wonder if maybe she is having some type of muscle spasm connected to her pelvic injury? That is something a vet would have to check out.

laurat14 · Aug 21, 2014

Ritz said:
Welcome to The Cat Site. Sorry it's under these conditions.
And thank you for adopting this special needs cat. Cats are amazingly adaptable physically at least! Psychologically, maybe not so much.
Cats like routine routine routine; what we humans call boring cats call routine, relaxing.
Based purely on your description, I wonder if Twinkie could have FHS? Here is an article about FHS. Does she bite her flank as though something is bugging her? Bites her tail? There are many videos on the internet that should a cat having an episode. Ritz has FHS--it is a diagnosis of exclusion. Blood work will rule out any medical (thyroid for example) issue. The current thinking is that FHS is neurological in nature.
On the other hand, I wonder if maybe she is having some type of muscle spasm connected to her pelvic injury? That is something a vet would have to check out.

She just had another episode. She was relaxing on her bed and then suddenly starts spasming. She doesn't bite her flank but she has noticed her tail moving and she tries to bite it violently. It's something she has done before, but it was always just playful because she'd realize it was her tail and start licking it. It's a bit frightening seeing Twinkie like this, and quite stressful knowing I can't get her checked out soon. I will definitely look into FHS, as it could be a possibility and wouldn't want anything to happen to my baby. Is it something that's treatable?

laurat14 · Aug 21, 2014

Also forgot to mention that after this recent episode she went back to sleep like nothing happened.

ritz · Aug 21, 2014

FHS is manageable, but not curable. On the other hand, FHS is not fatal.
Now, I act calmly when Ritz has an episode, speaking gently to her. I use to be upset, and I think that upset Ritz.
Some cats like to be petted during an episode; Ritz wants to be left alone.
I live a 'boring' life, routine.
I also feed food that is devoid of additives/chemicals (I fed prey model raw); this helps in some cases.
She had very minor symptoms during the first two years after I adopted her (rescued from the streets); I kind of thought it was playful, cute.
Her symptoms escalated dramatically after she was vaccinated for rabies (treated her with Prozac; weaned her off); symptoms when away; vaccinated for distemper, symptoms increased. Both times was in early January, when the air was dry. Some people notice a correlation with dryness of air.

laurat14 · Aug 21, 2014

She seems to act up more during the evenings and night. During the day she's perfectly fine. I've looked up some videos of cats with FHS and aside from hallucinations, scratching, and the tail swaying a lot she doesn't show any of the other symptoms. She kinda just darts towards under the bed with ears bent down and back. I'll still suggest it to her vet though just to be on the safe side. Thank you so much for all the helpful tips!

My cat has been acting strange/scares the past 3 days

laurat14

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ritz

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laurat14

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laurat14

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ritz

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laurat14

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