Strange behaviour related to eating????

What do you think is going on? Thought I'd check here, before I cart 'Meg Ryan' off to the vet..

I have started paying close attention to this strange behaviour, so I can report it accurately to the vet.

She almost always does the following:

It starts while she is eating. All of a sudden she runs into the other room, sort of bucking. She sometimes jumps straight onto my desk, but usually she stops abruptly to lick at her back end (both sides), then runs around a little. Meanwhile, her skin is twitching near her tail. She settles down very quickly and resumes eating. The interesting part is that the behaviour doesn't resume, and she seems ok.

She loves her food. She is still not drinking water, and I have tried everything. I now incorporate it into her wet food. She does lots of piddles in her litter, so I think she's ok that way. But I really need some help with this running, bucking, licking (I understand cats lick when their in pain?) behaviou.

Hope some of you can provide a clue and resolution. Thanks.

Me & Meg

That is too odd. It does sound like her skin is making her uncomfortable....my Callie did something like this when she had fleas (to which she was allergic), but she did it all the time rather than when she was eating. Hmmmmm.....I can't wait to hear what ideas others have.

It's not fleas. She's an indoor cat, and it's the only time she does this. I wonder if her teeth are sensitive or she has a tape worm. She licks herself a lot during this behaviour. So it seems to me that she is in some pain???

Thanks for the response.

Well, yeah I would first have the vet check the stool for any parasites and such. I don't know where the relation between eating and this episode would indicate worms, but you never know. Usually they would do this after using the cat box if this were the case.
Does she do this every time she eats? How long has she been doing this? Have you noticed anything else that seems to trigger it?

She does this mostly with her first meal of the day. I have seen her do this a few times ..after using the litter box... but not for a while.

I'm just guessing at the worm thing, as I didn't know what those symptoms would be. She doesn't seem ill at all. She hasn't lost weight. She's playful and sleeps, etc. So, I am really at a loss.

She licks herself a lot too. I've noticed that for a long time, but thought she is just a festidious cat. She's coming up to 2 yrs. old now.

If she jumps or really extends herself while playing, she will suddenly stop and lick herself, as though she hurt her joints. Is this normal?

I guess I'd better make an appointment with the vet to be sure. I had hoped someone might have had this experience.

Thanks,
Me & Meg

EEEKS, gosh I can think of a few things off the top of my head right now. Worms unless she has fleas or came into contact with raw meat is on the low end of the scale.
First, it may be some sort of food allergy. Once she comes into contact with the ingredient it may start the itching which is why she is licking so much.
Cats can sometimes have what is related to humans as OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. When they get the least stressed or upset they can overgroom. When it becomes a real problem then they say it is psycogenic alopecia.
First I would have the vet take a good look and then look into other options. Maybe keep a real accurate log of when she does it and every movement she makes.

Thanks Sandie, I have a feeling it's an allergy of some kind. The licking doesn't seem compulsive to me, just reactive, i.e; when she seems to bang into something while playing or landing from a high jump. She may have some joint problems.

Either way, I will start to record the behaviours for a week, then see her vet. Your observations strike a chord.

Me & Meg

Clementine was disgnosed with a neurological disorder one summer when we thought we poisoned her with bug spray. Her back was twitching and she was going crazy trying to bite and lick at it. She ran around the house like a maniac, jumping and as you said, bucking, and she just couldn't settle down.

We rushed her to the emergency vet at 2AM, and were told that it was just a little short circuit in her brain that caused this twitching. My theory is that her brain was too big for her head (she was going through a weird growth spurt where her head looked way too small for her body).

She is 5 now and still gets this from time to time. We have to catch her during the running around and hold her still and talk to her quietly until she settles down.

I would get the vet to check out your kitty's skin, but don't be surprised if that's not the answer...

Julie, they actually have a name for the disorder, If you want to do some research on it, it's called feline Hyperestesia.

Hi... Minou does that sometimes.. his back itches and he runs around as if trying to escape the itch. As for water, he is stubborn about the waterbowl, but he drinks out of the bathroom sink, bathtub. I kept changing his water trying to keep it fresh to see if it would change but it didn't do much.. then I purchased one of those big bottles, goes upside down in a bull and dispenses water whenever the bowl area gets low, he drinks out of it.

And if your cat always does it when eating, could it be allergic to the food you fed?