My cat licks and runs

Hello,

I am looking for solutions for my cat that's been licking himself left and right and then runs.  Sometimes he shakes his head and when I try to comfort him by petting him, I see sometimes his skin on his back do a kind of rippling motion.  The first time he started doing this is when he went outside for the first time this year in April.  It's not fleas, because in April there are no fleas and he gets Advantage Multi.  Of course we started his Advantage in May only, when the flea season starts.

Did your cat ever experienced this kind of behavior?  I went to the vet twice already and the first time, she prescribed him Zylkene to calm him down.  It didn't do anything.  Next, she prescribed Prednisolone 1/2 tablet daily for two weeks, then lower amount for the rest of the month.  Nothing happened.  He still does it.  Now, she wants to increase the dosage from 1/2 pill a day to 3 3/4 pills a day and I refused.  I read that this steroid medication is very bad for cats, as they can develop diabetes.  Amazing... a vet prescribing such a medicine.  They just wanted to rule out allergies.  Well, to me it means that the vet has no clue what he has and only do trial and error which is very costly to the client.

For info, he does it every day and many times a day.  He's a very nervous cat since his first visit to the vet at 2 months old to get a blood test to see if he had feline leukemia.  Can you believe that the vet shaved him to get the blood test.  He was so traumatised and screamed like hell.  I got up to see what cat was making all that noise and it was mine.  If I knew that they were going to use an electric razor, I would have refused.  Now, every time he hears a loud noise, he's scarred.  I think she traumatised him for life.  I don't go to that vet anymore as my new vet said they don't shave to draw blood.

Please let me know if you had that problem with your cats and what you did to solve it.

I'm desperate.  I love him so much and can't stand to see him that way. 

Here's a picture of him.  His name is Porthos (black) and his brother d'Artagnan (black & white).  As for his brother, he coughs a lot when excited or when we pick him up and he doesn't want to.  I don't know what's wrong with my kitties as I never had these problems before with other cats.

Thank you so much,


Aren't they the cutest :-)

They are so cute.  There is a condition called feline hyperesthesia syndrome  http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/HyperesthesiaSyndrome.cfm   It is poorly understood.  There is no test for it, it is basically a diagnosis of elimination.  A cat can have it with varying degrees of severity and what works to help control it varies.

Relieving stress as much as possible helps.  Running  feliway diffusers and keeping a strict routine often helps.

Some kitties have improved with things like small doses of anti-seizure medications or drugs that are serotonin enhancing like amitryptyline.  I would bring up the possibility of it being this with your vet.

Thanks for your reply Denice.  I have read of this condition and I'm not sure if that's what he has.  I also read of a certain vitamins deficiency called tyrosine and phénylalanine that can lead to neurological disorders. 

I have an appt at the end of the month at the vet again.  I'll mention what you suggested.

Thanks you so much,

By the way, it's very cute to see your kitties play with their Xmas gifts