Kitty Psychiatry: I need an analysis

ryly97

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My beloved Skittles is neurotic, She yells a lot, she talks in her sleep, she runs back and forth meowing, she has always been chewing on her self, pulling her fur out, and scratching too hard. The has chewed her hind/lower back raw and now has a scab on her side. She goes crazy and hides in the window at times. She usually harms herself when she has fleas. The fleas drive her insane. But when we check her, and see no fleas yet she still continues to hurt herself. Her hind, right above her tail, is so tender that she yells in pain when it is accidentally touched by one of us. She is afraid of everything, too. I have seen her hide from thunderstorms, she jumps at any sudden noise or movement unlike all the other cats we have had. She always looks scared, sad, and distressed but when she is yelled at for the self-mutilation, jumping on the table, or sitting in the window and making herself sick, she yells back in opposition and runs away. She is so nervous that we are going to hurt her. She does not like her head touched as she always ducks and cowers when a hand moves toward her head. She cannot bite and scratch there as well so we figure she is just nervous. I try to show her that we mean no harm and that she is safe here and we try to help her anyway we can. I hold her, kiss her head, talk to her calmly, give her toys and treats, and pet her. In response, she has assigned me as her human and runs to me when she is scared, sad, or just needs to cuddle. She climbs up my body and to my shoulder so that her head and paws rest upon my shoulder and her body rests on me chest. She purrs and falls asleep in my arms but she does this strange thing her sleep often; she will shake, twitch, and stop. Her body becomes limp as if she is dead and her eyes roll back in her head. She hardly responds to movement or sound. We can only recover her by picking her up around the waist. I would like to know if there are any psychiatrists for cats who can figure out why she does this when she does the things she does (pulling fur and skin, yelling, minor seizure sleep) when she does not have fleas. Her tone often indicates what she wants. We figure she is just more vocal. But I want to know what goes on in that little head of hers. She also cannot roll over. She always comes into the room, announces herself and falls right down. She then keeps trying to push herself over but can never get from her side to her back or other side. She tries so hard and just cannot do it. I was wondering if that could be an issue to. Could anyone analyze her symptoms and suggest diagnosis and treatment? She is allergic to Shellfish- her lip swells up, she does not like to stand in the litter box but instead sits on the edge and hangs her bottom over into it, and she also adopts things pink. Of all of our blankets- same material and softness- she chooses pink. We bought nip-mice and she ran for the pink one, past the other two and she will only eat out of the pink dish- she refuses to eat out of others even if her favorite food is in them or it is fuller. I am inclined to believe she is not colorblind. I just thought that could be a factor, somehow, of her mental illness. 
 

denice

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If you are sure that she is flea free, some kitties can have an extreme allergic reaction to fleas and it only takes one flea to set off a reaction, then I would think something like hyperesthesia syndrome.  http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/HyperesthesiaSyndrome.cfm   There is no cure for it but there are things than can be done with her environment and sometimes medicines that will less both the severity and number of episodes.

Yelling at her doesn't help and if it is this it will make things worse.  They aren't even sure what causes it but it is a real physical problem not a form of neurosis.
 
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ryly97

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Originally Posted by Denice
Yelling at her doesn't help and if it is this it will make things worse.  They aren't even sure what causes it but it is a real physical problem not a form of neurosis.
She is the one that yells, We yelled to try to wake her up, we yell when she knocks something down or decides to bite while playing.
 

Willowy

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when she is yelled at for the self-mutilation, jumping on the table, or sitting in the window and making herself sick
I think this is the part Denice is referring to. . .yes, I agree it would be best if you can avoid yelling at her as it obviously makes things worse instead of better. She seems to be a nervous cat and anything that makes her more nervous should be avoided if at all possible.

A veterinary behaviorist, with a specialty in cats, would be the kind of "cat psychiatrist" you'd want. F there aren't any in your area, maybe you can get a consultation with one over the phone/internet and seeic they can help that way. It's best if they can see the cat in person but that's not always possible.
 
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