Feline Hyperesthesia

[sivyaleah]

So, we've noticed that in the past year Casper has developed what appears to be feline hyperesthesia.  As he is aging (he is 14-1/2)  it is becoming more frequent and apparent.  He does not have some of the more severe symptoms but, his skin rolls on his back more than several times a day now, and we have noticed that his eyes are frequently more dilated than usual giving him a startled appearance. In fact, sometimes he behaves as if he has been spooked by something but we attribute that to some cognitive decline but perhaps it's related.  He has been vocalizing occasionally also for what appears no reason and this is out of the ordinary for him - he was always a very silent cat before.

We have our annual checkups this coming Saturday for both him and Cocoabean and would like to come in somewhat informed.

If anyone has any thoughts/suggestions how to approach this it would be very appreciated. I'm clueless about treatments, what might work or what to avoid.  I've done a bit of research but not overboard yet.  Would love to hear from anyone who has a cat with this disease.

Thanks!

Laurie

 

[Anne]

Sorry to see no replies here yet, Laurie. The thread must have gotten lost somehow among all the other questions. 

What did the vet say? I think maybe some blood tests are in order to rule out other neurological issues?

 

[goholistic]

 
So, we've noticed that in the past year Casper has developed what appears to be feline hyperesthesia.  As he is aging (he is 14-1/2)  it is becoming more frequent and apparent.  He does not have some of the more severe symptoms but, his skin rolls on his back more than several times a day now, and we have noticed that his eyes are frequently more dilated than usual giving him a startled appearance. In fact, sometimes he behaves as if he has been spooked by something but we attribute that to some cognitive decline but perhaps it's related.  He has been vocalizing occasionally also for what appears no reason and this is out of the ordinary for him - he was always a very silent cat before.

We have our annual checkups this coming Saturday for both him and Cocoabean and would like to come in somewhat informed.

If anyone has any thoughts/suggestions how to approach this it would be very appreciated. I'm clueless about treatments, what might work or what to avoid.  I've done a bit of research but not overboard yet.  Would love to hear from anyone who has a cat with this disease.

Thanks!

Laurie

Laurie (@sivyaleah), how is Casper? How did the checkups go? I just now totally remembered that I saw your thread last month and wanted to reply....but then forgot! 

I have experience with FHS as my Boo has (had) it. He'll be 16 next month. Unfortunately, FHS can be caused by many things, so it's down to ruling other things out and process of elimination. I can write more about what I did for Boo, but need to come back.

Have you tried anything yet?

 

[sivyaleah]

Hi everyone!

I totally forgot I posted this.

I brought Casper to the vet a couple of weeks ago for his yearly.  The vet, who was new to me (she just came on board) was wonderful and took a lot of time to discuss our concerns.  She also happens to have cats of her own, one of which also had issues similar to Casper.

She feels that the rippling effect we are seeing is most likely pain related.  She ran all the usual blood work and everything came back perfect.  He also lost a little more weight which is good since he needed to but on the other hand, told us to keep an eye on him not to lose too much.

Since she feels it is pain related, and he is difficult to pill she suggested we try giving him a over the counter medicine which has a dual action of helping joints and dental issues. I forget what it is off hand, it's early in the morning and I'm still working on coffee!  It comes in a heart shaped gel tab, and she said you can rub the gel on his gums to help with inflammation (he's had 2 dental treatments this past year and still has some inflammation but not enough to warrant another cleaning).  The outer case can be fed as a treat but he's not having any of that!  I don't even see how a cat could get it down.  He wouldn't let us even swipe it on his gums so she said we could also just put it on his paw to lick off - which he's been doing thankfully.  The "pill" is too big to put into a Greenies, or we'd do that.

We've also started him on .5 milligrams of an antacid each night to help with his periodic throwing up.  That we're putting into a Greenies and he accepts it no problem.  We'll see if that has any effect.  So far this week, he went more than several days without vomiting after eating in the morning although yesterday he did it twice.  Most likely, due to us not being quite on schedule with feedings - he tends to gobble food when too hungry.  I think we may need to start using the auto feeder while not home in the daytime to keep a little kibble out for him to graze on seems that seems to help.  Of course, Cocoa will dip into it and that's a concern too - she's now almost as big as he is and we never thought that would happen!

The vet agreed he is showing some signs of cognitive decline, but not too bad since he still eliminates in the box perfectly fine.  The staring off into space and vocalizing at times is certainly not anything to medicate for.  Just keeping an eye on that too.

Anyway thanks for the concerns.  Much appreciated!

 

[goholistic]

Glad to hear you liked the vet, @sivyaleah!

Boo had multiple issues going on at the same time as the hyperesthesia, so we were tackling a lot. We started several new things all at once (not my usual approach), so there's no telling what helped specifically. But we suspected two primary issues: allergies and pain. He had some kind of allergy because he was scratching his face and neck, so we were on a food trial. Certain proteins/foods seemed to make the hyperesthesia worse. I eliminated chicken, duck, fish, and beef from his diet. He was also showing signs that he was in some kind of pain/discomfort. He has arthritis and IVDD. For general pain, he was put on Gabapentin and some Chinese herbs (from our TCVM vet). For joint health, we started a glucosamine/MSM/hyalauronic acid supplement and fish oil for omega-3s. I found that a b-complex supplement seemed to help, as his hyperesthesia episodes seemed to resurface a little when I would forget to give the b-complex. Thorne Research makes a decent one for pets called "B ComplexVET." He also gets a B12 injection every other week.

Boo also has an issue with vomiting due to his kidney disease (and sometimes eating too fast). I feed him his wet food in two parts with a 20 minute break in between. This ensures he's not getting too much all at once. He gets Pepcid AC at dinner time (first feeding) and slippery elm bark just before I go to bed. I forgot to give the slippery elm bark one night and he threw up early in the morning. He also gets probiotics and plant-based enzymes in his food that I think help.

FWIW, my boyfriend's cat starting vocalizing a lot in her old age (18). Turns out she went deaf!

ETA: Forgot to mention, Boo's FHS episodes all but disappeared after incorporating those new things, so something helped!

 

[sivyaleah]

 
Glad to hear you liked the vet, @sivyaleah!

Boo had multiple issues going on at the same time as the hyperesthesia, so we were tackling a lot. We started several new things all at once (not my usual approach), so there's no telling what helped specifically. But we suspected two primary issues: allergies and pain. He had some kind of allergy because he was scratching his face and neck, so we were on a food trial. Certain proteins/foods seemed to make the hyperesthesia worse. I eliminated chicken, duck, fish, and beef from his diet. He was also showing signs that he was in some kind of pain/discomfort. He has arthritis and IVDD. For general pain, he was put on Gabapentin and some Chinese herbs (from our TCVM vet). For joint health, we started a glucosamine/MSM/hyalauronic acid supplement and fish oil for omega-3s. I found that a b-complex supplement seemed to help, as his hyperesthesia episodes seemed to resurface a little when I would forget to give the b-complex. Thorne Research makes a decent one for pets called "B ComplexVET." He also gets a B12 injection every other week.

Boo also has an issue with vomiting due to his kidney disease (and sometimes eating too fast). I feed him his wet food in two parts with a 20 minute break in between. This ensures he's not getting too much all at once. He gets Pepcid AC at dinner time (first feeding) and slippery elm bark just before I go to bed. I forgot to give the slippery elm bark one night and he threw up early in the morning. He also gets probiotics and plant-based enzymes in his food that I think help.

FWIW, my boyfriend's cat starting vocalizing a lot in her old age (18). Turns out she went deaf!

ETA: Forgot to mention, Boo's FHS episodes all but disappeared after incorporating those new things, so something helped!

Thanks for that info.  Sound like you have a handle on Boo's situation.  He does sound similar to Casper in many ways.  We are doing the same feed and rest thing with him.  I get up very early weekdays so it's 1.5 ounces of wet for both at that time.  Wait 20-30 minutes and give another 1.5 ounces wet or, if pressed for time in cleaning up I will give about 1/8 cup kibble to both.  I'm finding that since I've been giving him the Pepcid nightly (usually around 9-10pm) he hasn't thrown up once.  Coincidence or perhaps it is working; hard to tell since it's only been a week of that routine and there are times when he doesn't barf for a week or more.  I think the longest he has gone is after each dental cleaning for about a month each time.  I do think there's a correlation there somehow and pain may play a part in it.  

He also has some arthritis.  He can still get up the stairs but jumping up onto our bed is really difficult for him.  At night I always put him in it.  When he jumps himself, I have seen him nearly slip but we can't keep an eye on him all the time.  Our bedroom is too small to put in a ramp near the bed, or we would!  

I believe the joint/dental health pill is glucosamine/something else like Boo gets.  I'm having a more difficult time getting this into him.  The vet said to rub it onto his gums because it gets into the system far quicker that way but he really isn't very cooperative about that.  I tried feeding him the entire thing as suggested on the bottle to no avail either.  So now I open it and squeeze it onto a finger and smear it on a paw.  This works most of the time, if I catch him sleeping but even then it isn't guaranteed.  Yesterday, he caught on to me really fast and went scampering off shaking his leg LOL.  But, I keep doing it because I'm sure it is better than not.

I think the vocalizing is due mainly to him either wanting our attention more or just getting confused a bit.  He hears fine - we can say his name or ask if he's hungry in a mere whisper and his ears perk right up!

 

[violetxx]

Hi Sivyaleah & GoHolistic!!

Very interesting cases!

I am currently doing some research on FHS. I wrote an article last year and we have 99% cured our FHS cat. I am hoping to find out as much as I can so I can share it with others.

Most often FHS is related to allergies, poor diet or environmental toxins (vaccines is a common one). FHS is essentially the result of changes in the brain chemistry, due to some internal stimuli, that causes an addictive overgrooming behaviour notably of the lumbar region (back & tail). FHS is considered a type of anxiety as the serotonin and dopamine levels in their brains are out of whack - causing them to consistently to have episodes. As far as I know - it isn't painful, but more of an overstimulation of the nerves.

The best thing you can do is try and eliminate the trigger first. Otherwise most vets prescribe anti-depressive/seizure drugs which may change the personality of your pets and cause long-term side effects. I would recommend it as a last resort.

B12 is a very interesting idea. It is used in humans too for anxiety as the nerves become sensitive.

We have had great strides changing our girl from dry to wet and then to a raw food diet. She is 12 and is pretty much a kitten in a seniors body. All her health illnesses have cleared up - in wet food she couldn't eat any protein but venison, however, in raw she is tolerating much more: turkey, chicken, salmon. Whereas before those foods would cause her FHS. Even if food isn't the main trigger - it may clear up their joint and other health problems. It has really been a miracle.

Best wishes,

-H

 

[Catmamasanc]

Hi Sivyaleah & GoHolistic!!

Very interesting cases!

I am currently doing some research on FHS. I wrote an article last year and we have 99% cured our FHS cat. I am hoping to find out as much as I can so I can share it with others.

Most often FHS is related to allergies, poor diet or environmental toxins (vaccines is a common one). FHS is essentially the result of changes in the brain chemistry, due to some internal stimuli, that causes an addictive overgrooming behaviour notably of the lumbar region (back & tail). FHS is considered a type of anxiety as the serotonin and dopamine levels in their brains are out of whack - causing them to consistently to have episodes. As far as I know - it isn't painful, but more of an overstimulation of the nerves.

The best thing you can do is try and eliminate the trigger first. Otherwise most vets prescribe anti-depressive/seizure drugs which may change the personality of your pets and cause long-term side effects. I would recommend it as a last resort.

B12 is a very interesting idea. It is used in humans too for anxiety as the nerves become sensitive.

We have had great strides changing our girl from dry to wet and then to a raw food diet. She is 12 and is pretty much a kitten in a seniors body. All her health illnesses have cleared up - in wet food she couldn't eat any protein but venison, however, in raw she is tolerating much more: turkey, chicken, salmon. Whereas before those foods would cause her FHS. Even if food isn't the main trigger - it may clear up their joint and other health problems. It has really been a miracle.

Here is my article. There are some tools for managing FHS as well as our story. I will see if I can add B12 injections to it.

http://catcentric.org/care-and-heal...talk-about-fhs-feline-hyperesthesia-syndrome/

Best wishes,

-H

Hi! I know this post was years ago but the link to your article doesn’t work anymore. Do you have it saved elsewhere?

 

[mani]

Hi! I know this post was years ago but the link to your article doesn’t work anymore. Do you have it saved elsewhere?

Hi Catmamasanc and welcome to TCS! This member hasn't been back on for quite a few years and may not respond.
We've removed the link, since it doesn't work.
Not sure whether you searched for Feline Hyperesthesia in our forums, but there are a lot of threads about it.

We also have this article

Feline Hyperesthesia - TheCatSite

Feline Hyperesthesia is an elusive disorder. Difficult to diagnose and with symptoms varying from one case to another, this syndrome often baffles veterinarians and cat owners alike. The good news? Feline Hyperesthesia (also known as FHS) is very rare and is not life-threatening. What are the...

thecatsite.com