Self Mutilating kitty

misstufts

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Hello,
Our beautiful girl Hufflepuff was diagnosed with Feline Hyperesthesia and Alopecia. These two diseases are commonly paired together, but are uncommon in female cats.
Basically, Hyperesthesia is a form of epilepsy in cats. It causes random spazzy episodes, rippling skin, and a string desire to bite at the flank. She has gotten to the point where she will bite her flank until it bleeds.
As for the Alopecia, it's a disorder that causes them to groom excessively, and rip out their fur.
She is almost completely bald on her belly, she grooms down her tail and strips it of fur, the tip of her tail is still bushy from her not being able to reach it.
Both if these conditions cause her to have very high anxiety, and triggers a severe OCD.
Has anyone else dealt with Hyperesthesia or Alopecia?
What could we do to help with the self mutilation?
Our vet recommended a cone to stop the grooming and mutilation. But it brings up her Anxiety so much, she just lays there lifeless until it comes off.
We thought about putting her in clothes, do you think this might help?
Any advise would be greatly appreciated !
 

ritz

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I am sorry Hufflepuff is having such difficults (beautiful cat, by the way).
Have you discussed treatment options for FHS, specifically, medication? Ritz was on Prozac for about three months for relatively mild FHS (didn't notice that much of a difference), but stronger drugs might be indicated for what seems to me a severe case of FHS. Also, what stress-reducing methods have you tried: increased play time? Feliway plug ins? Compose treats? Food?
Some cats like to be petted during an episode. Ritz doesn't, but my speaking in a calm, level, reassurance voice seems to help.
Yes, a t-shirt (perhaps one you've worn for a while) might help with the anxiety, in addition to self-grooming, especially since the cone stresses her out.
In the event that the FHS and self-grooming is caused by food or other allergies, you might want to try a limited ingredient food. I fed prey model raw which has almost no additives or carbohydrates; but Ritz has been on PMR before/during the worst of Ritz' symptoms. It seems her symptoms increase after she has been vaccinated and in the winter (dry heat)--both events occuring the same month.
Jackson Galaxy's My Cat From Hell had a good episode about FHS. There are several threads about FHS; see http://www.thecatsite.com/t/294515/rippling-of-the-skin-could-it-be-fhs and this.
Good luck: I know it's really troublesome for the owner to observe as well as the cat to experience.
 
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puck

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One of my patients with FHS and IBD benefited from a low effective dose of phenobarbital. He handled this well, along with his IBD meds, for over 7 years after diagnosis. FHS was only diagnosed after FAD, flea allergy dermatitis, and atopy were ruled out. As he was already on steroids for IBD, FHS was more likely. He adheres to strict flea prevention protocol, as feeling itchy from flea saliva sure would compound his skin problem. We sent him to a neurologist who diagnosed FHS. Anxiolytics did not help his symptoms at all, so stopped the trials of amytriptyline, then fluoxetine.

Barbering (pulling hair, excess grooming) that isn't neurological will often resolve on close parasiticide protocol, just in case that single flea biting that is never seen is the cause, and anxiolytics. Feliway diffusers or calming collars are used also, to help with stress.
 
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misstufts

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Thank you Ritz for letting back to me, I am happy to find someone who also has the same problem with FHS.
We were offered Prozac, but we chose to use the feliway instead. It does help her with her anxiety, but if we aren't exactly on schedule everyday for feeding it stresses her out. Our vet has confirmed it is neurological and not an allergy. We feed a natural holistic food called Solid Gold, and it seems to work fine. It's also grain free. We also make our own, just some boiled chicken with chicken hearts and tails.
Usually when I pet her during an episode it'll aggravate her flank area, and her skin will ripple and twitch more. We usually just let her alone. Sometimes an episode will be a couple minute, others it'll last an hour, just constantly running and biting her flank.
She does suprisingly well in clothes, so that is a definite thing we can try.
And we love his episodes, I had no clue he had one about FHS. We me ill definitely check it out. Thank you so much for your help!

And thanks you too Puck, all allergies were ruled out for our girl as well. It was a definite neurological disorder. She seems to only pull out her fur when her anxiety goes up. If we miss a feeding by a few minutes, she becomes anxious and often has an episode. Followed by excessive grooming.
I'd hate to hype her up on steroids and everything, the feliway seems to help to a point. We have the option to use Prozac, but our vet said it will take a bit longer to kick in than the pheromones.
 
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