- Joined
- May 6, 2015
- Messages
- 1
- Purraise
- 1
In November or 2012, I adopted a rescue, estimated to be about 3 months old at the time. He's a black smoke Asian breed. He had a history of Feline Upper Respiratory Infection which we immediately took care of. After an initial outbreak when we first took him home, he's only had one other bout of it. He has been neutered, lives in a one-cat home (which was recommended by the association where we adopted him) and has lots of toys, a cat tower/scratching post and is home alone infrequently. We love him to pieces, but his behavioral issues are driving us to the brink, and we're at a loss now of what to do.
He wakes us up at 4 or 5 in the morning, meowing loudly and wandering around the house. He has several areas of the house that he seems to be obsessed with. It isn't as if he goes just anywhere, but seems to gravitate compulsively to certain spots. First he'll meow loudly, and then start scratching at the particular area. One spot is my husband's desk area. Another spot is the shelving under our bedroom tv. Another is the bedroom window or living room window. Another is the bathroom door. These areas are covered in scratch marks. He runs around and will take flying leaps at walls to jump on. He's run so fast that he actually runs into walls and has hit his head. He also can be very aggressive. He doesn't seem to show signs of wanting to be actually aggressive (no hissing, no hair standing up). It's like he's wanting to play, or get attention. We can't stand in one spot for long usually, because he will meow strangely and jump on us while biting and/or scratching. Often when we try to pet him, he wraps his arms and legs around our hand or arm and gnaws on us. But he doesn't seem to be upset with us. I can't figure it out. He's very interactive with us. Whatever room we are in, he's there. He follows us around the house. I think he likes or loves us, but just has these issues that cause him to act out in ways that stress everyone out.
He seems to go through spells where he is worse than at other times, but at no point has it ever completely abated. If we could even just get him to the point where it was just less extreme/frequent, and could be tolerated, that would be great. We attributed a lot of his behavior to being a kitten at first, and then to just having excess energy. But no amount of new stimulation and play time seems to be effective. At his last vet visit, he was diagnosed with Feline Hyperesthesia, or "Twitchy Cat Syndrome". We know this probably is the cause of some of his behavioral issues, but it seems to be more than that maybe. His vet does not want to have him take any medication, such as a benzo short term or an SSRI long term. But we have tried everything else, apart from hiring an actual behavioralist. We're a young couple and just can't afford that :/ We also have not tried pheromone therapy, and I'm wondering if maybe someone can recommend a brand and vehicle for it (collar, spray, diffuser) that is known to work well. Or perhaps his issues are just too severe for this sort of thing alone? He has lots of stiulation.
Often when hes really acting out, we'll try to distract him with a toy. We play for hours at a time. This is not an exxageration. Nothing seems to lessen his compusiveness and/or anxiety. Our vet told us to try giving him "time-outs" but this hasn't seems to be a good option. It seems to not be very effective, and also has caused him to scratch even more at the door/floor/etc. We're at a loss and are hoping someone might have something we can do to help him. We don't wnt to get rid of him, but we also can't keep living like this. Thank you.
He wakes us up at 4 or 5 in the morning, meowing loudly and wandering around the house. He has several areas of the house that he seems to be obsessed with. It isn't as if he goes just anywhere, but seems to gravitate compulsively to certain spots. First he'll meow loudly, and then start scratching at the particular area. One spot is my husband's desk area. Another spot is the shelving under our bedroom tv. Another is the bedroom window or living room window. Another is the bathroom door. These areas are covered in scratch marks. He runs around and will take flying leaps at walls to jump on. He's run so fast that he actually runs into walls and has hit his head. He also can be very aggressive. He doesn't seem to show signs of wanting to be actually aggressive (no hissing, no hair standing up). It's like he's wanting to play, or get attention. We can't stand in one spot for long usually, because he will meow strangely and jump on us while biting and/or scratching. Often when we try to pet him, he wraps his arms and legs around our hand or arm and gnaws on us. But he doesn't seem to be upset with us. I can't figure it out. He's very interactive with us. Whatever room we are in, he's there. He follows us around the house. I think he likes or loves us, but just has these issues that cause him to act out in ways that stress everyone out.
He seems to go through spells where he is worse than at other times, but at no point has it ever completely abated. If we could even just get him to the point where it was just less extreme/frequent, and could be tolerated, that would be great. We attributed a lot of his behavior to being a kitten at first, and then to just having excess energy. But no amount of new stimulation and play time seems to be effective. At his last vet visit, he was diagnosed with Feline Hyperesthesia, or "Twitchy Cat Syndrome". We know this probably is the cause of some of his behavioral issues, but it seems to be more than that maybe. His vet does not want to have him take any medication, such as a benzo short term or an SSRI long term. But we have tried everything else, apart from hiring an actual behavioralist. We're a young couple and just can't afford that :/ We also have not tried pheromone therapy, and I'm wondering if maybe someone can recommend a brand and vehicle for it (collar, spray, diffuser) that is known to work well. Or perhaps his issues are just too severe for this sort of thing alone? He has lots of stiulation.
Often when hes really acting out, we'll try to distract him with a toy. We play for hours at a time. This is not an exxageration. Nothing seems to lessen his compusiveness and/or anxiety. Our vet told us to try giving him "time-outs" but this hasn't seems to be a good option. It seems to not be very effective, and also has caused him to scratch even more at the door/floor/etc. We're at a loss and are hoping someone might have something we can do to help him. We don't wnt to get rid of him, but we also can't keep living like this. Thank you.
