It's been several months since I've been on the site. My cat Taz I believe has Feline Hyperesthesia. It started out mild in January of 2013 with just some growling and hissing. At the end of March, my cousin went into premature labor and we ended up watching their dog for a couple weeks while they were in the hospital. I think it's at this point that his symptoms got much worse. He tolerated the dog, but the dog took over his "space". In mid May he had a severe episode where he ran through the house for a little over an hour, growling, hissing, and screaming. He would occasionally stop to attack his hind quarters or bite on his tail, then continue to race around as though something was chasing him. When he finally calmed down we got him in the carrier and took him to an urgent care vet. They basically told me there wasn't anything they could do for him since he seemed perfectly healthy and what I described seemed behavioral (even after they saw the video I showed them of his earlier behavior). We brought him back home and gave him a bath (since he had an accident in the carrier). He let me hold him for about a half hour wrapped in a towel and then got down to give himself his own bath. Shortly after he started into another episode lasting another hour. During that time I called every vet I could find to see if there was another urgent care to take him to. When he calmed down again, we loaded him up and took him in. He had 104 temp and was panting like crazy. I told the doctor my theory of FHS and she said based on what she saw on the video that it sounded right. Unfortunately I can't afford to do a lot of testing and MRI's, etc so I am going based on his behavior. The vet suggested we put him on Phenobarbital and Gabapentin. We had him boarded for 2 weeks while the meds kicked in since we weren't sure if he was a danger to anyone or himself. During his time at the vet he never had an episode and took his meds like a good little kitty. When it came time to come home, he was ok for the first couple days but then started in on the growling, hissing, and attacking himself. Initially he was taking his Pheno in a pill pocket and his Gaba in his wet food. This worked for a few months, but he got wise to what I was doing and would not eat his wet food no matter what kind I gave him (and I tried almost every brand and flavor). We called the vet and let her know what was happening and she was able to direct us to a company that had a transdermal gel, which we purchased (though we discovered later he went from 200 mg per day to 20 mg per day). He seemed to be getting a bit worse, but not as bad as he was in May. He then quit taking the pill pockets and we then had to resort to force feeding him the pills. Earlier this month he got to the point where he wouldn't even stay in our arms if we picked him up, so he ended up quitting the Pheno cold turkey (not by my choice, but his). I was at least able to get him to take his Gaba in wet food again, but that only lasted a couple days or so. On Wednesday night he had a couple episodes that reminded me of May and it scared me. He seemed like he was so miserable and unhappy, so I called the vet and made an appointment to have him put to sleep on Thursday night. I couldn't sleep at all on Wednesday and cried pretty much non-stop to the point where I had to leave work. In the end I just couldn't do it. I've been researching this problem for nearly a year now and I'm at a loss of what to do next.
His episodes seem to be worse early morning when I'm up and getting ready for work and in the evenings after I get home. Strangely enough he is relatively quiet and calm during the day, which makes me feel like he's doing this for my benefit or that he's angry with me somehow. He used to come in and sleep with me at night and he hasn't done that for a good week now. I had tried going grain-free at one point and it didn't seem like it was making a difference, though I don't know how long I should've been doing it to see any change. Right now he is eating Royal Canin Calm formula kibble that I get from the vet. I don't think it really makes a difference but he seems to like it and throws a fit when he's low or out. I figured I would try going back to grain free, but since he's back to avoiding any wet food (probably because I had been giving his meds in it and he doesn't trust it) it is sitting on the shelf at the moment.
He seems to growl a lot and when we try talking to him he lashes out. I've tried playing with him, but he's not always interested in playing. He's never been aggressive or tried to attack anyone other than himself, but when he growls and hisses it can be very scary (and there are times when he screams). I have not found a vet that has ever dealt with FHS or even knows what it is, so I'm at a dead end there. The last time I called my vet she basically told me she's done all she can and recommended a specialist or behaviorist where even if I could find one, I can't afford it. I bought the book, The Cat Whisperer, hoping there might be info in it that could help me, and while there is some good info, none of it has helped yet. I thought about requesting a consultation by the author, but that is about $300 and it is either by Skype or phone. I don't really have the money for that either. We've already spent over $1000 between special food, meds, and urgent care boarding, and blood tests.
I apologize for this being so long, but I'm so lost and feel so helpless about how to help him. He's no longer on meds, but I'm so afraid we will end up with a bad episode like last May and I don't know what I can do if that happens. I'm glad that I changed my mind about having him put to sleep, but I don't know what to do now. His behavior is causing a lot of tension in the house. I toyed with the idea of trying to find him another home or to a no kill shelter, but I don't know or think it'll make a different and I'm just passing the problem onto someone else. I also can't bear the idea of him thinking I've abandoned him. I've actually considered contacting Jackson Galaxy to be put on My Cat From Hell, but I'm not crazy about being on TV. Can anyone help me?!
Taz Mom
His episodes seem to be worse early morning when I'm up and getting ready for work and in the evenings after I get home. Strangely enough he is relatively quiet and calm during the day, which makes me feel like he's doing this for my benefit or that he's angry with me somehow. He used to come in and sleep with me at night and he hasn't done that for a good week now. I had tried going grain-free at one point and it didn't seem like it was making a difference, though I don't know how long I should've been doing it to see any change. Right now he is eating Royal Canin Calm formula kibble that I get from the vet. I don't think it really makes a difference but he seems to like it and throws a fit when he's low or out. I figured I would try going back to grain free, but since he's back to avoiding any wet food (probably because I had been giving his meds in it and he doesn't trust it) it is sitting on the shelf at the moment.
He seems to growl a lot and when we try talking to him he lashes out. I've tried playing with him, but he's not always interested in playing. He's never been aggressive or tried to attack anyone other than himself, but when he growls and hisses it can be very scary (and there are times when he screams). I have not found a vet that has ever dealt with FHS or even knows what it is, so I'm at a dead end there. The last time I called my vet she basically told me she's done all she can and recommended a specialist or behaviorist where even if I could find one, I can't afford it. I bought the book, The Cat Whisperer, hoping there might be info in it that could help me, and while there is some good info, none of it has helped yet. I thought about requesting a consultation by the author, but that is about $300 and it is either by Skype or phone. I don't really have the money for that either. We've already spent over $1000 between special food, meds, and urgent care boarding, and blood tests.
I apologize for this being so long, but I'm so lost and feel so helpless about how to help him. He's no longer on meds, but I'm so afraid we will end up with a bad episode like last May and I don't know what I can do if that happens. I'm glad that I changed my mind about having him put to sleep, but I don't know what to do now. His behavior is causing a lot of tension in the house. I toyed with the idea of trying to find him another home or to a no kill shelter, but I don't know or think it'll make a different and I'm just passing the problem onto someone else. I also can't bear the idea of him thinking I've abandoned him. I've actually considered contacting Jackson Galaxy to be put on My Cat From Hell, but I'm not crazy about being on TV. Can anyone help me?!
Taz Mom