@Kristen Jacobs: Ritz was on raw before her FHS symptoms got bad. I attribute her increase in symptoms this time last year to stress or *possibly* a reaction to having two vaccines at the same time.
It is hypothesized that additives, a particular protein such as chicken or fish, or a carbohydrate such as peas, wheat or rice, can cause/contribute to FHS. So one treatment modality is feeding a food with limited ingredients (no grains) or, of course, raw. With raw feeding you have the ultimate control over what ingredients are in that food.
I would recommend feeding your cat a limited ingredient food, one with a novel, single source protein (one she hasn't had before like venison, duck or rabbit). If you want to try the raw feeding route, I would recommend a commercial raw to start out with, such as Rad Cat, which seems to be juicer than some of the other commercial raw products, and is single source protein.
I put Ritz on Prozac for about three months. Her symptoms included frantic licking, twitching and running back and forth trying to escape whatever was bothering her. Luckily, they did not include self-mutilation. Her symptoms on Prozac decreased somewhat but she wasn't herself so I weaned her off of Prozac. She still has symptoms, but at a level I (and I hope Ritz) can tolerate. The symptoms seem to be the worst after she eats, especially if she hasn't eaten for a long time like 11 hours on the weekdays due to my work schedule. (If her symptoms were more severe, I probably would have tried alternative medications to Prozac.)
There are some threads about FHS in the Health Section which you might want to read. Also, here is an article about FHS. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/feline-hyperesthesia
I know it's hard to watch your beloved cat go through this.
Good luck.
It is hypothesized that additives, a particular protein such as chicken or fish, or a carbohydrate such as peas, wheat or rice, can cause/contribute to FHS. So one treatment modality is feeding a food with limited ingredients (no grains) or, of course, raw. With raw feeding you have the ultimate control over what ingredients are in that food.
I would recommend feeding your cat a limited ingredient food, one with a novel, single source protein (one she hasn't had before like venison, duck or rabbit). If you want to try the raw feeding route, I would recommend a commercial raw to start out with, such as Rad Cat, which seems to be juicer than some of the other commercial raw products, and is single source protein.
I put Ritz on Prozac for about three months. Her symptoms included frantic licking, twitching and running back and forth trying to escape whatever was bothering her. Luckily, they did not include self-mutilation. Her symptoms on Prozac decreased somewhat but she wasn't herself so I weaned her off of Prozac. She still has symptoms, but at a level I (and I hope Ritz) can tolerate. The symptoms seem to be the worst after she eats, especially if she hasn't eaten for a long time like 11 hours on the weekdays due to my work schedule. (If her symptoms were more severe, I probably would have tried alternative medications to Prozac.)
There are some threads about FHS in the Health Section which you might want to read. Also, here is an article about FHS. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/feline-hyperesthesia
I know it's hard to watch your beloved cat go through this.
Good luck.