Sudden twitchy cat syndrome?

[Auzora]

Hey guys. So my cat Kodlak had tooth extractions about two weeks ago. One of the stitches came loose a few days ago, so we brought him back and they put him under for about half an hour to clean out the extraction site and put a fresh stitch in.

Since that second vet visit, he has developed what looks exactly like twitchy cat syndrome (feline hyperesthesia), and it's heartbreaking watch him being so uncomfortable in his own skin. It's worse when he's walking around for some reason.

I have a vet appointment for this coming Friday, but until then, does anyone have any insight of this situation? Like ways to help him, other potential causes for the twitching, etc.? I don't want him to have to go the entire week being so uncomfortable.

The strange thing is, one of my other cats developed the exact same thing like half a year ago (except she hadn't recently been to a vet at that point). I looked for bugs and didn't find any, and I shaved her back (long-furred, so I thought shaving might help her be more comfortable and help me to look for bugs). Nothing worked, but then it went away on its own within a few days. Super strange. And now Kodlak is having the same issue. I checked for bugs on him too and didn't find any, and inspected all over him for anything that would cause irritation but didn't find anything with that either.

So, any insight would be greatly appreciated. I hate seeing him so uncomfortable.

 

[Alice07]

If it is hyperesthesia, one trigger that I found online, and that has really helped me help my twitchy cat, is dry air.

For my girl just making the room a little humid, like putting a wet sock on the heater, makes a big difference. The dry air just bothers her sensitive skin.
Meanwhile, all I can do is distract her - usually with treats.

 

[di and bob]

It could be a side effect of the anesthesia too, which is very common. It takes several days for it to completely leave the system. Bring it up to the vet and see if they can change it if she needs more, or give her something for it. if she is receiving any antibiotics or meds it could be them too,

 

[fionasmom]

I agree that you might have something going on from the anesthesia which will resolve itself. I do have a cat who is diagnosed with FHS and has all the symptoms...big dark eyes, twitching back, does not recognize her own tail and would self mutilate if I did not intercede. But these episodes are not that frequent, at least in her case. If this is continual or ongoing I would suspect the anesthesia and let your vet know before Friday.

Feline Hyperesthesia – TheCatSite Articles

 

[Auzora]

Sorry for the delay regarding an update. Thanks for your responses, Alice07 , di and bob , and fionasmom .

I don't think it would be a dry air thing. We haven't run the air conditioner for weeks and it has been raining a lot recently as well. It being a reaction to the anesthetic is possible, but I'm not sure since this has also happened with one of my other cats as mentioned in my original post and she hadn't been to a vet recently at that point.

Kodlak's situation seems to be getting better, though. He's happier and seems to be less twitchy each day. The first evening back from the vet he was constantly darting around the house, twitching, licking, and flicking his tail. Now it rarely happens. Hopefully in a few more days it will be fully gone.

Either way, we'll see what the vet has to say on Friday!

 

[fionasmom]

Please let us know.

 

[Auzora]

Please let us know.

Okay, so the vet figured either fleas or allergies. She searched him for fleas and checked some dirty spots on his skin for a red tint (flea poop turns red when wet as you probably know) and didn't see/find anything, so she sent us home with antihistamines for six days. It's day two and he's still a bit twitchy so I'm not sure if they're working. But we'll see how he is after the last dose. If he still is at that point, then we will try flea treatment in case he does actually have some on him. Process of elimination and such.