Cat is suddenly afraid of food runs away and skin twitches

[mlaumuse]

Hi everyone, to start I have a total of 3 cats. One mom (Lana), daughter (bonnie), and son (pistachio). The cat who is suddenly afraid of food is pistachio. he normally loves eating and will literally always be the first one to the bowl. Today I put down the wet food on their divider plate like normal and he went towards that literally ran away when the other cats started eating. later put the dry kibble into his metal bowl and he refused to eat it also. he only ate a handful that I took out and put on the floor for him. Usually he eats the whole bowl. Another thing that is strange with him is he is running and sprinting to hide somewhere. He also started having these weird twitches on his skin like ripples after he has run to hide. I don’t know if there is some allergy going on that’s making his skin sensitive around things like his food or bowl idk? But it’s also worth mentioning that I took bonnie to the vet on Saturday because she was sneezing. the vet told me it was probably allergies or she just has an infection and gave me antibiotics for her. Bonnie didn’t exhibit signs of an infection though besides the sneezing (no discharge, didn’t sneeze in the office, etc) is what the vet said. She’s been on antibiotics since Saturday night though. Anyway it just seems like a lot of conflicting issues going on right now. all 3 of them have been treated with flea medicine (advantage ii) as I considered fleas as a culprit and did have some earlier this month. I’m not sure what to do at this point because it seems like several issues are at hand. I saw online about fhs as well so thought that could be it, but it’s so strange to happen all at the same time Bonnie is sneezing? I’m considering the vet again for pistachio but any guidance would be helpful as it seems weird for him to exhibit completely different symptoms from Bonnie but also acting strange around the same time she started sneezing? If that makes sense? He is not sneezing, but does this weird twitch thing with his face when he has the back ripples.

 

[catsknowme]

I would make a video of Pistachio's odd behavior and send that to the vet. He may be having reactions to the active ingredient (imidacloprid) in the Advantage II or developing FHS. Cornell U. has a lot of good information regarding feline medicine.Hyperesthesia Syndrome Please keep us posted on how things are going!

 

[di and bob]

See if you can get him to roll over and check the junction where his hind legs join his abdomen. The fur is thinner there and you can check for fleas more easily. he could be reinfected. if you don't see any, I would say it is the topical flea medicine you used. It lasts for months, so could still be the culprit. Never treat for fleas unless you see some on the cat, but you did this time. flea eggs last a long time in the house and there could be several that hatched out. Make sure all bedding is washed and get a cat-safe flea spray to use on the furniture and rugs. I had one cat have a severe reaction to flea medication which I was using to treat ear mites, Advantage 2, and all his hair fell out! He was SO itchy and his skin crawled just like that. He looked like a Sphinx cat and I was forced to make him an inside cat because it was close to wintertime, much to the disgust of my indoor cats!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Another possibility to consider: Is the only time that Pistachio acts like this at mealtime? And, if so, is Bonnie around him? The reason I ask is perhaps Pistachio can smell changes in Bonnie due to the antibiotic and that is the source of his behavior. Some cats are more sensitive to scent changes in other cats due to things like medications or illness. Try giving him a different bowl and feed him away from Bonnie and see what happens.

 

[mlaumuse]

Hi just an update, I made a vet appointment for tomorrow so hopefully they will be able to tell me what’s wrong. The situation hasn’t really improved at all. I gave him wet food on his own plate away from the other cats and he ate 2 bites shook his head and ran again and hid under my bed. I think it may be that he has what Bonnie had as I heard some sniffling when he shook his head. I had to go to work so I don’t know if he ate anymore at all but I did leave kibble for all of them and when I came back it was gone. He’s been hiding under the bed so I’m not sure if he really ate anything. Regarding the flea stuff, he’s been using advantage 2 on and off since he was a kitten so I don’t suspect it has anything to do with the ingredients. I also treated him with that either late march or earlier April and he didn’t exhibit any weird behaviors prior to yesterday. I can’t get close enough to him to recheck for fleas as he is way under my bed but I used a flea comb yesterday and I didn’t see any fleas there so I’m really leaning towards the upper respiratory infection. Bonnie seems to have gotten a little better since antibiotics so depending on whether the vet thinks it’s the infection or something else, I hope we figure something out. He is just acting so stressed and he’s usually so calm and happy anyway thank you all for your suggestions.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Keep us posted!

 

[daftcat75]

When was the last time Pistachio's teeth were checked? Perhaps he has a chipped or broken tooth causing him pain which he blames on the food. I don't know if the twitching reaction is related. If you can get a dental exam appointment, I'd rather rule that out than assume there's nothing there.

 

[mlaumuse]

Hi everyone, this will be the last update, but long story short I took pistachio and Lana to the vet Friday afternoon. Turns out they both have an upper respiratory infection and ear infection. Pistachio’s was a bit worse. Oddly enough he actually began acting much better before I went to the vet after I sat with him and brushed him for an hour Thursday night. Brushing seems to helps with the sensory issues he was feeling. He started eating again around 9pm Thursday night. Both of them got penicillin shots at the vet, oral antibiotics to take home, and ear drops for the ear infection. The vet did check his teeth and told me teeth look good, but just a little inflammation in the gum, but nothing concerning. In hindsight I should’ve ask about teeth cleaning solution recommendations for preventive care, but It slipped my mind. So if you all have some recommendations, that’s appreciated as well. He’s acting back to normal now thankfully. Just a little mad at me that I have to put ear drops in his ears and syringe feed him his antibiotic lol. Anyway thank you all for you help

 

[daftcat75]

Hi everyone, this will be the last update, but long story short I took pistachio and Lana to the vet Friday afternoon. Turns out they both have an upper respiratory infection and ear infection. Pistachio’s was a bit worse. Oddly enough he actually began acting much better before I went to the vet after I sat with him and brushed him for an hour Thursday night. Brushing seems to helps with the sensory issues he was feeling. He started eating again around 9pm Thursday night. Both of them got penicillin shots at the vet, oral antibiotics to take home, and ear drops for the ear infection. The vet did check his teeth and told me teeth look good, but just a little inflammation in the gum, but nothing concerning. In hindsight I should’ve ask about teeth cleaning solution recommendations for preventive care, but It slipped my mind. So if you all have some recommendations, that’s appreciated as well. He’s acting back to normal now thankfully. Just a little mad at me that I have to put ear drops in his ears and syringe feed him his antibiotic lol. Anyway thank you all for you help

I would get him a dental exam with a cleaning and X-rays before starting a home cleaning routine. If there is something in there causing him pain, you want to address that first. You don’t want your teeth cleaning routine to be a source of stress and pain or he won’t want to comply. If his teeth are in good shape for some serious chewing, I have heard of cat guardians giving their cats chicken gizzards to chew through for dental health. But they are quite chewy. And I would want to rule out any dental issues (sensitivity, pain, anything possibly happening below the gum line) before offering them.