Please advise: bengal acting strange

My boy, Chance, a nine year old bengal has just started acting very disconcertingly today. He has been neurotically licking himself all over (not spending much time on one spot as in grooming, but as if in response to something), from time to time darting short distances, and has become completely uncommunicative, refusing to talk (normally ALWAYS willing to converse) and at one point slinking below my hand as I attempted to pet him. He doesn't seem depressed or lethargic, as he will walk toward me with his tail up and purr when petted, but seems more anxious and distressed. All of these symptoms began instantly about 6 hours ago. What could this be?

joules1 said:

 
My boy, Chance, a nine year old bengal has just started acting very disconcertingly today. He has been neurotically licking himself all over (not spending much time on one spot as in grooming, but as if in response to something), from time to time darting short distances, and has become completely uncommunicative, refusing to talk (normally ALWAYS willing to converse) and at one point slinking below my hand as I attempted to pet him. He doesn't seem depressed or lethargic, as he will walk toward me with his tail up and purr when petted, but seems more anxious and distressed. All of these symptoms began instantly about 6 hours ago. What could this be?

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hi and welcome to TCS!

is it possible that your Chance has gotten fleas on him? either from being outdoors, from contact with another cat(s), or even if members of your household may have come in contact with a cat(s) or dog(s) which have fleas (or been in their home) and the fleas 'hitched a ride' back to your home.

Thank you for the welcome. Under normal circumstances I would have introduced myself in "New Cats on the Block", but I'm kind of in cat-emergency mode right now.

It's very possible he's gotten fleas on him, as I do let him out. I would have thought there would be more scratching involved if he'd picked up fleas? He's never had them so I wouldn't know what to expect to be honest. Given how unhappy he is I'm fearing the worst.

joules1 said:

 
Thank you for the welcome. Under normal circumstances I would have introduced myself in "New Cats on the Block", but I'm kind of in cat-emergency mode right now.

It's very possible he's gotten fleas on him, as I do let him out. I would have thought there would be more scratching involved if he'd picked up fleas? He's never had them so I wouldn't know what to expect to be honest. Given how unhappy he is I'm fearing the worst.

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i understand. there will be time after this cat-emergency has passed to introduce yourself here at TCS.

do you have a flea comb, or a comb for humans that's fine toothed? combing your boy, then checking to see if there's any fleas or flea 'dirt' on the comb can tell you whether he has fleas. have a glass of soapy water (water with some dish washing soap in it) next to you, so if you happen to find a flea you can drop it in the soapy water and be rid of it. flea dirt looks like tiny black specks, and would indicate that your Chance has some flea 'hitch hikers' on him.

with fleas, it can take just one hopping onto a cat. that one flea then lays eggs, which make more fleas, and on and on. if it's fleas, then it's treatable. it's also important to make sure you rid your home of any fleas. once the fleas are in the home, they really do try to take over...and can do so pretty darn quickly.

I should have a fine toothed comb - I'll try that out and get back to you. Thanks for the information.

There isn't any debris that I can find. Absolutely nothing comes out of his fur when I brush/comb him. He's still licking himself in a strange fashion (reactive as opposed to grooming) but otherwise seems less distressed. It's making me think contact dermatitis or something along those lines.

He got a few wounds in a cat fight just over a week ago, none of which have abscessed, so a small part of my brain is worried that this is symptomatic of a blood infection.

okay, it's sounds like we've ruled out fleas.

this type of licking, coupled with your Chance having been in a cat fight recently -- i think you couldn't go wrong by having your vet take a look at Chance.

may i ask -- what does your Chance eat, what kind of food (brand, or raw, or dry, etc)? i ask because sometimes the licking/itchy feeling type symptoms are related to food sensitivities or allergies. has there been any change in Chances food(s)? your vet would be the one to look into/diagnose food sensitivities or allergies.

He seems to be over whatever it was he experienced that day. I don't like to take him to the vet unless I have good reason to do so, because of the way he reacts to it. Given his shyness, a trip to the vet is pure trauma for him, and he spends the entire time howling and trying to rip the bars off of his cat carrier, to the point I worry about him pulling out his own claws. But he's back to his regular lively self, and the injuries he did suffer in his cat fight were minimal and have not abscessed, so it seems nothing is wrong, thankfully.

i'm glad that your Chance seems to be back to his regular lively self!

i understand how some cats find trips to the vet's traumatic. my boy, jaspurr, gets all stressed out to the point where he'll start kitty-hyperventilating. for jaspurr, it's the environment at the vet's that upsets him; he's fine once the vet comes into the exam room and starts doing things. my little girl, snick, has gotten to the point where she simply no longer tolerates vet appointments at all. this came about over time, from having chronic kidney disease and needing blood draws once every two months.

I'm sorry to hear about your girl Snick. It really bums me out to hear about our pets getting sick. They're just so innocent.

thank you. my snick is 15 years old now. she really has done very, very well and for quite a long time with the chronic kidney disease. she was diagnosed very early, before she actually was considered to have CKD (original diagnosis was 'the beginnings of kidney issues'), and she's been given sub-q fluids on a regular basis since the very beginning. snick and i have had 4 good years together since then, and we're working on a 5th year now.

your Chance is between my two cats in age -- snick is 15 and our jaspurr is 3 years old. your boy sure is a good-looking boy (from your avatar pic)!

i wonder if your Chance might have come in contact with some kind of prickly type plant while outdoors, or a plant that's prickers leave a sort of burning feeling after it's touched. there are plants here that leave that burning type feeling after they're touched, though i'm not sure that cats would have the same reaction to it as humans do. there's one plant that i've had that burning sensation from, and that burning feeling fades away after a day or two for me. anyway, again, i'm very glad your Chance has moved past whatever it was.

Again, I've gotten here late.  Am so glad that the situation has resolved itself.  Ya know, you really need to meet Bengalcatman.  You Bengal folks have issues that some of us never have to deal with.  He's very kind, and seems quite knowledgeable.