Hissing and growling at nothing, biting and attacking her tail?

[hollypeg]

Update 

Macey has been doing really well and i had even managed to ween her of the gabapentin , i do find that she needs to eat regularly !! like small meals often rather than 3 meals a day !! she gets twitchy and anxious if she gets hungry !!

big upset though , she was spayed 2 days ago and she has reverted back to the tail biting etc , im giving her the old dose of gabapentin  even though she a doubled in size , but looking at dosages she was on a big dose for such a small cat , she isnt has bad today ! just hope this set back is temporary !!

 

[rinni585]

OMG!! This is Schröddy to a "T!" She has the rippling of skin on her back, flicking tail, compulsive licking/biting of her tail and haunches.  I thought it might be skin allergies and put her on a gluten free high protein food, I give her some coconut oil every once in a while (the only recommended oil she'll actually eat) and make sure to keep her well groomed.  I honestly assumed she was just a weirdo cat doing weirdo things, maybe getting a bit of cabin fever, being an indoor cat.  I'm glad I have somewhere to look and some potential additional symptoms to look out for.  Definitely going to be making a vet visit soon for my twitchy gal.  

Thank you all!

 

[hollypeg]

Hi Rinni585

So sorry to hear your puss as these symptoms !! hopefully armed with the information you have found on here you are best prepared to speak to your vet 

i know when i took Macey for the first time the vet was reluctant to hear me !! she has never admitted to my face that she now agrees with my diagnosis but ive overheard her speaking to the nurses about it !

Gabapentin was the thing that did it for macey and grain free food , the cheapest being natures menu which pets@home happen to sell , i buy online !

Ive read that some vets put cats on phenobarbatones ? but i would resist that if you can , gabapentin is a drug that peeps with diabetes use if they have the tingling in the fingers etc , its a nerve pain treatment but it also has an effect on seizures , which in was great for Macey as she did ..zone out .. and her eyes would follow invisible flies !! so as i say its a god send for this condition , 

 New update on Macey , i have now weaned her off the gabapentin again and she is still a scatty cat but a happy cat , also ive started to introduce normal cat food , only because she was getting bored , if she shows any more than a hint of the symptoms i will go back to wholly grain free , she does twitch a little sometimes but not to a degree i want her on meds all the time , good luck xx

 

[otto]

Hi Rinni585

So sorry to hear your puss as these symptoms !! hopefully armed with the information you have found on here you are best prepared to speak to your vet 
i know when i took Macey for the first time the vet was reluctant to hear me !! she has never admitted to my face that she now agrees with my diagnosis but ive overheard her speaking to the nurses about it !
Gabapentin was the thing that did it for macey and grain free food , the cheapest being natures menu which pets@home happen to sell , i buy online !
Ive read that some vets put cats on phenobarbatones ? but i would resist that if you can , gabapentin is a drug that peeps with diabetes use if they have the tingling in the fingers etc , its a nerve pain treatment but it also has an effect on seizures , which in was great for Macey as she did ..zone out .. and her eyes would follow invisible flies !! so as i say its a god send for this condition , 



 New update on Macey , i have now weaned her off the gabapentin again and she is still a scatty cat but a happy cat , also ive started to introduce normal cat food , only because she was getting bored , if she shows any more than a hint of the symptoms i will go back to wholly grain free , she does twitch a little sometimes but not to a degree i want her on meds all the time , good luck xx

But grain free IS "normal" cat food. Cats don't need grains and should not have them, especially a cat with FHS. The mycotoxins in grains are terrible. Please, don't put her back on food with grains, there are plenty of canned foods that are grain free to choose from.

I'm glad the gabapentin helped Macey. I hope the continued grain free diet keeps her from needing to go back on it. You might try raw to add some variety.

 

[hollypeg]

Hi Thanx for your comment ,

i know what you mean about grains and she is fed 90% grain free but she can have days when she wont eat and she goes very very twitchy when hungry , so its the better of the 2 options really ,i have only managed to find grain free in sachets do you have any tinned brands you can recommend 

She does like a bit of raw chicken sometimes but not always , i know that raw would be ideal for her , but she isnt over keen , i was feeding her just poached chicken when she was tiny with a taurine additive i bought online and she was doing great but i didnt feel it was sustainable as she does get bored and as i say she doesnt do well if she gets hungry

She is lovely little devil who is spoilt rotten , even the greyhounds love her which is amazing as they were frightened to death of our old  cat !! 

 

[otto]

hollypeg By your use of the word "sachet" instead of pouch I take it you are in the UK? Look on the Zooplus website for grain free canned foods. Sachets are generally high in carbs which is also something you want to avoid. Pate, grain free, no carrageenan, no sugars, no artificial anything, are your best bets.

As I may have posted a long time ago in this thread I had a cat diagnosed with "idiopathic partial seizure disorder". These days he probably would have been diagnosed with FHS instead. If I knew then what I know now I would have put him on a raw diet, regardless of how long it took for him to accept it, I would not have given up. His episodes were so bad he had to take phenobarbital all his life.

(edit) not this thread, must have been a different FHS thread I posted about Tolly There are many.

 

[Columbine]

hollypeg - Grain free canned foods in uk/Europe:-

Nature's Menu (they have 4 new flavours in a 'Country Hunter' range - I've not seen them in stores, but you can order them direct from their website)

Feringa (I've only found on zooplus)

Catz Finefood (as above, chicken & pheasant variety has a little rice but all others are grain free)

Terra Faelis (zooplus)

Thrive Complete

Lily's Kitchen

Tesco Finest Chicken Selection and Fish Selection

Hi Life Tempt Me

Animonda Carny (Zooplus)

Grau Grain-Free (zooplus)

Bozita (zooplus)

Purely Holistic (Pets at Home)

Wainwrights (Pets at Home)

Meowing Heads

Forthglade


That should get you started. Some of the cheap brands are grain free too, if you don't mind not knowing the meats used. The old school Whiskas cans in jelly are one example, but I can give others if you want.

I find that Thrive Complete is like kitty crack for my two, and it's the first thing I reach for when they're getting fussy/awkward.

I can give you a list of raw food suppliers/brands too if you want to go that route. Nature's Menu is the most readily available, and I'd suggest you trial a single pack before committing. Some cats find the texture of commercial raw offputting. It's worth knowing that the Nature's Menu freeze dried raw cat treats are the same recipies as their frozen raw cat foods, and can be used as a complete food if you rehydrate them before feeding. It's an expensive way of going about things, but my girl goes nuts for them and they're a great way to change things up. Crumbled, they're a good topper too - another trick to get your girl eating.

Hope this helps

 

[hollypeg]

Thank you Columbine !

For such a comprehensive list , i do feed her mainly natures menu ,which i either get online or at pets@home  the meat varieties as im not too keen on the amount of mercury in fish !! she does get it now n again but not often , The ..normal food i referred to was the

Hi Life tempt me ! the other is one i get from Home Bargains its in a balck foil and its just chicken n ham or chicken n duck , she is a bit hit n miss with it but i think its the same company has natures menus , both from Tailand !! which does worry bit slightly !!

i did think it was a good alternative and she likes it for a while and i keep switching !!

will try the tesco one though and ive seen Lilys kitchen stuff on Amazon 

Thank you again its much appreciated 

 

[Columbine]

You're very welcome Hollypeg

Do check out http://www.zooplus.co.uk. I get a lot of my food from them - they often gave the best prices and they have a great selection. The Thrive Complete from Zooplus works out slightly cheaper than the Nature's Menu and is just as pure/simple.