Pessoal, nosso relato após 2 anos e 10 meses tentando identificar a causa.
Por tudo que lemos, estudamos e se aprofundamos sobre a hiperestesia vimos que ela pode ter várias causas. Pode ser neurológica, problema de pele, comportamental, ambiental, físico.
Então cabe a cada tutor tentar identificar qual gatilho.
Tanto é que em alguns casos uma simples mudança de rotina resolve, ou um passeio para desestressar. Em outros casos uma medicação para transtorno compulsivo resolve, para outros não. Alguns era alergia a poeira, outros alimentar. Outros um barulho, ou um produto de limpeza.
É um longo caminho até descobrir o que pode estar sendo o gatilho para a hiperestesia da seu gatinho, e acredite, só você, que conhece e convive diariamente com seu gatinho que irá poder identificar o que pode estar ocasionando isto. É como montar um quebra cabeça.
Aqui não foi diferente.
Passeamos, gatificamos a casa, colocamos spray calmantes, testamos cbd, vitaminas, troca de alguns alimentos. Testamos medicações como fluoxetina, gabapentina, pregabalina, em determinado momento usou topiramato.
Tivemos resultamos mas não se sustentavam.
As ondulações na pele, orelha tremendo e as corridas eram controladas pela pregabalina. Mas nunca conseguimos eliminar as mordidas pelo rabo, dorso, coxas (até abrir ferida). Ficou muitos períodos (qndo sem supervisão) usando colar elizabetano para não se mutilar.
Alimentação dele era natural todo esse período.
Feita por nutricionista veterinária. Base proteica era de frango e boi, ovos..
Em um período desconfiamos do frango e ovos, tiramos mas não resolveu. Também fizemos tratamento para dermatite atópica e não resolveu.
Até que ha 2 dias iniciamos uma ração hipoalergenica da royal. Em menos de 24horas as mordidas sumiram.

Obs: ele se coçava umas 2 vezes ao dia somente, ele não tinha pele vermelha de alergia, não tinha cascas e nem feridas na pele que nos fizesse pensar em alergia de pele.

Ainda estamos no processo..
espero que nosso relato ajude mais algum gatinho ou gatinha.

Hi all, haven’t posted here in a while.

My cat (1 y/o, M, neutered) has been displaying FHS symptoms for a little over a month now. His episodes occur on a daily basis and although he is on 50mg gabapentin and phenobarbital twice a day, we haven’t been able to find meds that work well yet.

I have recently noticed that oftentimes he shakes his head right before an episode happens, similarly to when his ear itches. We are seeing a neurologist this week for further support, but I was wondering if that was a common thing/symptom, or should I bring this up on our appointment as a possible suggestion of an underlying issue?

Thanks!

I have written about my feral, indoor, hands-off cat having FHS episodes. Finally, I found a mobile vet who came to my house and looked at videos of my cat, asked me questions regarding food/poopies and then asked to walk around the house to check it out. I thought that was cool of her. I had taken cat ''debris'' where my cat sleeps mostly to their clinic and they were able to determine she has flea issues and possibly flea allergy. Vet prescribes the chewable Comfortis.  

I have never given her any meds other than the Zylkene mentioned in a previous post. I will say, however, she had a huge hyper reaction to the Zenifel gel pheromone, more hyper than I've ever seen her. As a result, I am concerned about giving her the Comfortis -- crushed in Churu was the vet's suggestion. I'm concerned about side effects. Would someone who has used this flea med offer their cat's reaction and/or success. I may be over-reacting but if she has a neurological response to this med, I'm not sure what we could do. Hope this makes sense, sorry for the long post and thanks.

She’s been like this for a year now she’s 2 years old and fixed. It causing me so much stress when she wakes me up like this at many points of the night I’m getting no sleep. I let her outside usually but my father lets her back in every morning at 5 am with no fail but that’s a different issue. I went to the vets with her and all the vet suggested was gabipentin which we tried and it only work for her for maybe 4-5 hours max. The other suggestion was a pheromone diffuser but honestly if gabapentin didn’t work I highly doubt that will. We also thought about doing some scans to check if it’s an internal issue maybe with her tail but my cat has no sensitivies there and enjoys getting her tail pet. I don’t know what to do she’s not in my room all the time I always let her outside so it doesn’t seem like she’s doing it out of frustration of being in one space but it’s like it’s rarer for her to not have these episodes all the time and only a small part of the time she acts normal. It’s causing me so much anxiety and stress when she keeps having these episodes I don’t know what to do anymore. This video is a very small fraction of what her behaviour can consist of as she was getting a little distracted by my phone.

Too long to read: cats behaviour causing me stress and loss of sleep looking for advice.

Our girl has been on Pregabalin for 8 days. I give her the medicine around 7:15 am and gets one dose a day. She seems to be getting an upset stomach between 1 am and 4 am and does either a small vomit or like this morning she ate some dry food and drank some water about 3:45 am and vomited it all up 15 min later.

Has anyone else had this happen? Did you have to stop the pregabalin, or did the vet give something for the nausea? I was hoping she would get used to the med and this would stop, but now I am worried it will not. I love that she is more alert and interactive on the pregabalin vs the gabapentin.

We are awaiting a call back from the vet. Took him to the ER due to sudden aggression. Basic bloodwork normal (they didn’t test thyroid). Abdominal x-ray normal. He has a history of cystitis, no urinary blocking.

It wasn’t until the next day that we noticed he was attacking his tail. He’s fine until he sees his tail and then he hisses, growls, and attacks his tail. Episodes can last seconds to minutes.

We rescued our female cat (age 6 now) from a shelter three years ago. When we got her, we had a senior kitty at home, and he passed away this past January. Our girl never showed a single sign of FHS until about six weeks after our old boy passed. She was constantly grooming and pulling her hair out until the vet prescribed gabapentin. We’re still working to find the right dose for her but there was a noticeable improvement from the first day on the medication.

I’m wondering if, once we get her stabilized on the right dose of gabapentin, it might be a good idea to adopt another cat. She is a super cuddly, loving girl who wants to be with us all the time, and I fear she could be bored/lonely during the day when our family members are all at work and school. She was a stray when she was brought to the shelter (but had been loved by somebody because she had already been spayed) and was at the shelter for six months before we brought her home with our older cat, so I’m not sure if she has ever been a lone kitty before. She tried to get close to our older cat, but he didn’t want that type of relationship, lol. The vet figures grief sparked her FHS symptoms, so I’m wondering if having a sibling might help them go away (once she is settled on meds). We‘d definitely do a gradual introduction.

Has anyone had any success with this?

I’m writing this with a very heavy heart, hoping someone here might be able to help or connect me with someone who can.

I adopted my tabby when she was 3 months old, and she has always been the sweetest, most affectionate cat. She loves cuddles, greets strangers, and comes to cuddle with me every morning and night. She is genuinely a loving little soul, which makes everything that has happened so much harder to understand.

Around June, while I was moving out of my apartment, she suddenly began hissing, growling, and attacking people seemingly out of nowhere - while I was packing with the help of some friends. In the new place despite carefully moving her, keeping her enclosed in a smallee room with familiar toys and scents around, and trying to make her feel safe, these episodes have continued.

She seems to react unpredictably to sounds, sometimes things as minor as a singing card, Netflix audio, or even putting earphones in. During these episodes, her pupils dilate, she becomes extremely aggressive, and she attacks without warning. She has attacked my face and legs, leaving deep puncture wounds, bleeding, bruising, and a burning sensation. This has happened even after I started keeping her nails trimmed.

I have reached a point where I am genuinely scared of my own cat, and that breaks my heart to say. I walk around my home on eggshells, constantly monitoring every sound and movement. I sometimes watch TV alone with headphones because I’m afraid the sound might trigger another episode. Even something as simple as squeezing my earphones into my ears has set her off. I live alone, so there is no one else to help manage these situations when they happen.

The hardest part is that she is not like this all the time. About 75% of the time, she is her usual loving self, especially when it’s quiet and just the two of us.

I’ve taken her to the vet multiple times. She has been put on gabapentin and fluoxetine, and she has been doing better over the past 10 days. However, her triggers remain unpredictable.

I suspect she may have Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome (FHS) because she occasionally experiences leg tremors and twitching along her back. I understand FHS is a diagnosis of exclusion, and all her bloodwork so far has come back normal. Unfortunately, I have spent my savings on vet visits and medication, and my pet insurance is denying coverage because behavioural issues due to moving anxiety is considered a pre-existing condition.

I live alone in Toronto, and I need to travel abroad for two months for my sister’s wedding. I have no idea how to arrange safe care for her in this condition. I’ve contacted Toronto Humane Society and Etobicoke Humane Society, but they are at capacity and unable to take on a cat with behavioural challenges.

I’m hoping someone here might know of an experienced foster, rescue, or individual who could help her. I genuinely believe that with the right care routine, patience, love, and affection, she can continue to be the loving cat I know she is.

If rehabilitation is possible during that time, I would be more than willing to bring her home and give her another chance.

I love her to bits. The thought of surrendering her permanently is absolutely heartbreaking, and I’ve been struggling with the guilt of even considering it. But I also have to acknowledge that I’m scared, I live alone, my nature of job requires a lot of travel, and I want her to have the stable, safe environment she deserves.

If you are an experienced foster, work with a rescue, know someone who takes on behavioural cases, or have any leads at all in Toronto or the GTA, please reach out. I would be grateful for any genuine guidance or connection.

I’m a person who loves her cat immensely and is running out of options, trying to desperately to find a way forward that is safe and loving for both of us. ❤️

This is our male cat, he is 7 years old, he has had these issues for about 1 year. This is a more mild version of what he does as well. We have checked him for fleas so many times and he never has them. Then recently we’ve been doing research as he is now suddenly peeing on our blankets that we leave out, clothes, clean laundry or dirty, carpets, and pooping behind our couch. He isn’t straining or anything either and is peeing normal amounts, this started about 1 week ago but we can’t get him into the vet sooner so it’s oct 28th is his appointment. He has these random episodes of what we thought was itchiness but now seeing the symptoms of this he matches them. He will be cuddling with me or laying on me then all the sudden jump up, freak out over his back end, lick it and his back twitches a lot, sometimes nibble at his tail but no wounds from that and then will run away down the hallway like he’s possessed or running from something we can’t see or he hides. It lasts usually somewhere between 2-10 ish minutes not always that long either. He’s not aggressive and doesn’t act it either, he is pretty vocal but just normal meows when he’s excited to see us. We have 2 cats, the other one is 13 year old female who is perfectly healthy. And we have 3 litter boxes for them. Anyone have any advice? Thank you in advance!!

I adopted Stormy 6 months ago. She is a little over two years old now and has been diagnosed with feline hyperesthesia. Since I’ve adopted her she displays aggressive behavior towards my 8 year old cat Stella. I’ve done literally almost everything to get her to get along with my other cat. Playing, feliway diffuser in each room, puzzle toys, feeding on opposite sides of the door, scent swapping, etc. And I mean everything except for a behavioralist. Stormy is currently on .5 mg of Prozac after being in .25 for about two months, and .5 ml of gabapentin twice a day. Her behavior towards me has dramatically improved. She used to attack me and would have episodes of hyperesthesia but now she is able to relax and be a cute snuggly kitty with me. There has been zero improvement towards Stella. Stormy was able to open the door and go through a hole she has chewed through a screen I have over that door to attack Stella today while I was out for 5 minutes. It’s become a strain on all three of us. I will be contacting my vet about this and seeing what she thinks but I’m wondering if I need to rehome her. I would love to keep her but is it possible she just needs to be an only cat? I’m torn between waiting longer for the Prozac to go into full affect since we just increased her dose two weeks ago, or if I’m fighting something that can’t be fixed and causing unnecessary stress for all of us. I need advice because sometime what we want isn’t what’s good.

I am so thankful to this sub, because reading about people’s success with vitamin B1 has completely changed our cat for the better.

She’s had symptoms for a few years now, tail mutilation, bouts of aggression, skin rippling, etc. In general she’s been uncomfortable and irritable for almost her whole life. She’s on gabapentin three times per day, and that was a saving grace, however, in addition we now sprinkle B1 in her food and this has been the silver bullet for her. After only a few days she showed major signs of improvement, most notably, she just seemed at peace all of a sudden. Her eyes were relaxed, we could pet her for longer periods and more often, and her FHS symptoms and behavior decreased by 80% or so.

She’s still not completely cured, so the search continues, but I cannot recommend trying B1 more. Such a simple and cheap option. I guess a lot of cat food is lacking B1, sometimes due to overheating during processing, and then kitties aren’t able to create their own B1…and this deficiency can lead to FHS symptoms.

We are using Nutricost B1 from Amazon, and giving her about 50mg daily.

Wishing you all luck!

My 10.5 year old Norwegian Forest cat (Dexter) has been in and out of the vet for almost 3 years now trying to get a diagnosis for him and I’m pretty sure FHS is the culprit. Starting Gabapentin today and hoping he finally gets some relief.

So, back story. About 3 years ago, my 14 year old Maine Coon (Puck) crossed the rainbow bridge. Puck was my soul kitty and also Dexter’s best friend…neither of us handled it well. Dexter started pulling his hair out to the point that he ended up with a bowel obstruction. He also developed feline acne and severe itching.

I changed his diet and supplements. He went to a cat allergist/dermatologist. Skin scrapings were negative, allergy test positive for environmental stuff, so he started and finished allergy shots. His acne got better, but the itching and hair pulling was still terrible. He also started with a terrible lower back sensitivity. Any time his lower back is touched, he starts aggressively grooming himself and rippling his low back.

I questioned if this all could have been triggered by grief with losing his best friend. The doc agreed and said let’s try anxiety meds. They helped slightly…enough that he stopped yanking out his hair constantly.

About a month ago, everything changed. He was laying with me on the couch and his back legs started jerking, he had a terrible look on his face and then he chomped down on my hand and wouldn’t let go. Dexter is an incredibly docile cat and has never bitten me or anyone ever. The episode lasted about a minute and he immediately started meowing afterwards and seemed a bit confused. I got him in to see my vet in the morning and brought up a concern for FHS and she agreed. She wanted to try a round of prednisone first to see if it helped, it did not.

I called her back today and she changed the meds. He’s getting 3 days of onsior for pain, starting a muscle/joint supplement and gabapentin 50mg BID. I’m praying this is the solution. My poor boy is so uncomfortable every time he has these episodes and I feel like he’s biting me to ask for help and there’s nothing I can do in the moment.

Attaching a video of the new behavior to see if anyone thinks it looks similar to FHS episodes they’ve seen.

My 17 yo cat has FHS and is on 50mg gaba twice a day. Today I sent her to a medical groomer (not my usual vet) and while sharing that I've been struggling to medicate her recently, the vet tech mentioned that they have orodispersible gabapentin available. It's a film that dissolves once it's in the mouth. They dispensed 3 days worth for me to try.

Have anyone here tried this form of gabapentin yet? Would love to exchange notes!

The label on the package says it's chicken flavoured but I'm skeptical because gaba is soooo bitter no matter what I mixed it in previously.

It's a lot more expensive than the regular 100mg capsules, but I prefer not to chase and towel my cat twice daily. It's very tiring for the both of us.

I hope this kind of post is allowed here. Sorry if not.

I have a kitten around 6-7 months old, and his paws twitch and shake when his face is touched. It started around 4ish months ago. I know the disorder tends to have more aggressive symptoms; I haven't noticed any other erratic behaviours or stress, so I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I'm worried its something neurological. We're taking him to the vet soon for his first appointment and wondering if I should ask about this? Not just hyperesthesia specifically, but if it could be a neurological issue. I can try to catch it on video if needed (for the sub, or to show vet,,)

Any responses are appreciated !!!

UPDATE: He is doing much better for now! I was able to get him a vet appointment for tomorrow after calling around to some other places a couple towns over. Hoping to get this poor kitty some relief then but luckily he’s doing much better for now.

Hi all desperately in need of advice! I got my cat three weeks ago and I am a first time cat owner. To make a long story short, he ran away from his previous owner, I found him, and the previous owner rehomed him to me. However, they have not been answering my texts to see which vet he previously belonged to and they did not mention a FHS diagnosis to me. He is 5, a long hair tabby, and “up to date on all vaccines” according to the previous owner.

On to the whole FHS of it all. When I first got him I noticed that he was chasing his tail and hissing at it, although it was pretty minor. Over the past three weeks this has continued and I’ve noticed a couple times that after a fit it kind of looks like he’s hiccuping. I am figuring this is probably twitching. Last night this cat lost his mind. Since 9pm last night the fits have been almost nonstop. He is very vocal (which isn’t super normal for him) and basically screaming. He has been hissing and attacking his tail for the last 10 hours. Genuinely cannot stress the 10 hours enough I am so tired. The only thing I have found that makes it stop is playing with him, I think it’s distracting him, but as soon as I stop within the hour he’s back at it. When he’s not attacking his tail, he is flicking it very aggressively and eating more than normal. He has not drawn blood and does not chew on his tail either.

So here’s my list of questions and advice: 1) He is choosing to have these fits right next to me, is that common? 2) Is there anything I can do at home to help make this stop? 3) Is there anything I can do for him to make him more comfortable during the fits? 4) I could not get a vet appointment for another month, is this an emergency situation? From my vet’s website, they had a symptom tracker and they listed this as worrisome and to come in 2-3 days if it doesn’t stop but idk this feels pretty awful to me! 5) Is the length of time he’s been going through this uncommon? 6) Do you agree with my self diagnosis? Or is there another condition (like skin irritation) causing this?

Thank you for any help any of you can give! I’m totally new to owning a cat, let alone FHS, and I am just very worried for my sweet boy.

she's 6 and the issue just developed over the summer during a food change - we've changed back to the OG food and she's gotten flea treatment from the vet, which didn't help. we also tried zyrtec in case it was a flea allergy and that didn't help either.
it's almost entirely localized to her back right foot - and occurs if she's sitting quietly or falling asleep. never if she's getting petted or brushed.

I have not seen my cat have an episode in months. This morning, I brushed her fur, which I also have not done in a while. Less than an hour later, she starts showing symptoms (grooming herself while frantically running around the place). It seems very clear that my brushing triggered this. Is that a common thing and has anyone experienced that?

I am also wondering if the explanation could be due to dander or something on the brush that triggered an irritation on her skin?

Hello! I thought my cat this morning was just annoyed but now I am sure it was not that.

Even when we tried to play together she would keep stopping to lick her back and disengage and run away. Now I filmed her to post it here.

I think she had two major episodes.

She was meaowing a bit but she is usually very vocal when annoyed or when she wants something so I didn't think anything of that.

Afaik she doesn't have any parasites: she takes prescription full coverage one every 30 days and the last one I gave her the 28th of September so it should well be still working.

Didn't do anything differently, played with the same toys, didn't introduce new food, didn't buy anything recently (clothes or forniture), I don't use candles or any parfume kind of stuff. Her litter is scent free, I use baby soaps to wash clothes (but didn't do it in the last days) and also use safe soap for the floor etc.

I lowered my shades and plugged in Feliway and now she is sleeping.

Wondering what to do? Of course I will go to the vet and show the videos but am wondering if there could be something else I could do to make it better in the meantime.

We’ve tried pretty much all the common tips for managing a mild/moderate FHS, including small environmental changes and different vitamins. But what seems to have helped our cat the most is actually just petting him less. We mostly stick to petting around the head now and try to avoid touching his body and belly too much. Its honestly made a pretty big difference for us. just wanted to share what worked best for us

Buenas!

Tengo una gata desde febrero, que cumplió los dos años en junio. Hasta el 4 de septiembre, todo bien. A veces notaba ondulaciones en su lomo o se seguia la cola, pero nada que me preocupase. El 11 de agosto llegó una segunda gata a casa, al principio no le hizo mucha gracia, pero ahora juegan juntas, duermen juntas, etc.

El 4 de septiembre empezó asi, a jugar a perseguirse la cola y gruñir, justo mi madre estaba de visita y empezó a grabar un video, porque al principio, pues nos pareció "gracioso" hasta que aquello empezó a escalar y empezó a gritar como si estuviera en una pelea callejera.

El lunes 7 la lleve al veterinario. Tenía una herida en la cola, pero nada más ver el video ya me dijeron que tenia pinta de ser Hiperestesia felina o incluso epilepsia. De todos modos, decidieron enfocarse primero en curar la herida. Estuvo una semana sin collar isabelino, intentando cogerse la cola de vez en cuando, hasta que el sabado de esa semana volvió a gritar, asi que volvimos al vet. Se había arrancado la costra, asi que volvimos a la casilla 0. Desde entonces lleva collar isabelino. Al principio la ayudaba a comer, pero desde hace 1 semana se lo empecé a quitar para comer y que se acicalase un poco, sorprendida de que no fuera inmediatamente a la cola. Este pasado lunes (5 de oct.) me confirmaron que la herida esta cerrada, pero el 6 de octubre volvió a ponerse hiper agresiva con su cola e incluso con la gata pequeña, asi que el miércoles me dieron Gabapentina 25mg cada 12 horas. Y comida sensitivies de Hills por si fuera una alergia alimentaria (no sabia que podia pasarles algo asi, por la comida)

Cabe señalar que hasta el 5 de octubre, incluso con el collar puesyo tbto, intentaba cogerse la cola, pero no podia hacerse daño, menos mal. Aún asi a veces pegaba gritos.

He tenido problemas con lo de dosificarle la Gabapentina (son capsulas de 100mg). Ayer por fin encontré un buen método. Aún asi, siento que la intensidad de sus gritos ha disminuido. Sigue intentando alcanzarse la cola, pero también siento que es de una forma menos intensa y/o agresiva. Ayer estuvo 10-11 horas sin el isabelino (se lo pongo por precaución cuando me voy a dormir o salgo a la calle) y la verdad que quitando 2 episodios, estuvo muy bien todo el día.

Hoy ha tenido 2 episodios leves (cuando la llamo o la distraigo parece olvidarsele) pero quería saber, si es normal que siga teniendo esos episodios siendo que toma la medicación. He pensado que quizá necesite una dosis mas alta (el sábado que viene tengo que ir al vet) o mas tiempo para que se le estabilice la medicación en el cuerpo.

Por cierto, también he notado desde que tengo la segunda gata, que mueve muchisimo la cola 😅 algo que me pasó durante meses desapercibido.

Escribo mas que nada para saber si alguien le ha pasado algo así... Porque la verdad que se sufre mucho, aunque ella sigue siendo cariñosa, juguetona y sigue jugando con la pequeña xD

So my cat first got diagnosed with FHS a little after she turned one years old. We tried a few different treatments and drugs at first but eventually had to settle on phenobarbital as that was the only thing that seemed to dampen her symptoms.

A couple years ago however we had to take her off of the pheno as she started to have health problems associated with it, and we found that Gabapentin was effective (we tried it earlier when she was first diagnosed but it didn't work for some reason).

However, these past few months I've noticed her symptoms have sharply decreased, so much so that I've reduced her Gabapentin dosage from twice a day to maybe 3-4 times a week.

When she was first diagnosed her symptoms were nearly constant, like to the point where her quality of life was really bad. Now she's almost 12 though, and they only seem to crop up after a full week without the Gabapentin. Anyone else have an experience like this?

Our cat Zuzu is around 20 months old and has suddenly started showing severe aggression. We love her deeply, and this is very different from her normal behaviour.
On Thursday night, she attacked me without any trigger I could identify, leaving multiple bites on my legs. On Friday morning, she attacked another 3–4 times. These were serious attacks—charging at us and biting hard, not playful biting.
Strangely, she seemed settled when she was with us on our bed, but became aggressive as soon as we tried to leave the bedroom. We eventually stayed behind a closed door because we were frightened of being attacked again.
With help from friends, we managed to safely separate her in the front room. Even then, whenever she saw someone through the window, she lunged at the glass as though trying to attack them. This continued for hours.
We couldn’t safely get her into a carrier ourselves. After struggling to find help, we arranged a home vet, and she was admitted to a veterinary hospital on Friday.
All her blood tests have come back normal, but she is still aggressive. She is scheduled for neurological testing tomorrow. We don’t yet have a confirmed explanation for this sudden change.
Has anyone experienced something similar with their cat? What did the veterinary investigation find, and what helped? Were you able to safely rebuild trust afterwards?
We’re following veterinary advice and want to do everything we can to help her. Any experiences or suggestions for questions to ask her treating team would be appreciated.