Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I boarded my 2 year old Orental shorthair cross for 3 days and 2 nights and when he came home on the 13th of January he suddenly started thrashing his tail side to side. He then progressed to trying to catch it - running in circles and atacking it and THEN to running through the house at breakneck speed (running away ffrom it) and then crawling into a dark small place to hide.

I have researched this and Vet confirms it to be feline hyperthesia syndrome.

Has anyone else's cat suffered this and what can i do to calm him without zonking him out?

He also has VERY concentrated urine and did block so is on purina ur.

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Heidi - mom
Kotton - LOVING Ice-blue-eyed Siamese girl
Ben - Houdini of a Spotted Tabby boy
Princess Missy - Tiny courageous Silver-Beige/white Kitty girl
Panther - Young Black "Master of Da Bird" boy

3 SPECIAL Angels

Minnie -CA LICO Saint of a Kitty girl
Schatzi- LOVINGEST EVER Tuxedo Standard Poodle Boy
Corkie - BEST EVER - cat - & LOVE OF MY LIFE

Hi There,

My Jonny Cat also has hyperesthesia syndrome and is doing very well on a medication known as clomipramine. He has been on this drug for a few years and it has made a huge difference.

I highly recommend that you ask your vet if clomipramine can be prescribed for your kitty.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Can you tell me more about his sypmptoms and what the meds do for him?

Does he still chase his tail?

Panther acts like his tail is not a part of him. He was eating food and suddenly jumped and ran through the house 3 times like his tail was on fire!

My Vet wanted him on Amitriptiline but IT zonks him out!
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Heidi - mom
Kotton - LOVING Ice-blue-eyed Siamese girl
Ben - Houdini of a Spotted Tabby boy
Princess Missy - Tiny courageous Silver-Beige/white Kitty girl
Panther - Young Black "Master of Da Bird" boy

3 SPECIAL Angels

Minnie -CA LICO Saint of a Kitty girl
Schatzi- LOVINGEST EVER Tuxedo Standard Poodle Boy
Corkie - BEST EVER - cat - & LOVE OF MY LIFE

Hi Heidi,

My Jonny Cat doesn't do the tail chasing thing. His problem is severe "rolling" of the skin on his back and a lot of twitching. He used to attack me or one of the other cats when this occurred, but not since he has been on medication. I believe that hyperesthesia can be painful and he was just taking it out on whoever was closest to him at the time. Jonny Cat is also a sprayer but this no longer happens as long as he gets his clomipramine.

Amitriptylline was a decent drug at one time to use in cats but the side effects are troubling. Besides the obvious, it can also affect the heart.

Jonny Cat gets a quarter of a 20 mg.tablet of clomipramine every night. Most cats start with 1/8 of a tablet.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Samantha had feline hyperesthesia syndrome about two years ago. She didn't chase her tail but all of a sudden, became very sensitive on her lower back right above her tail. She also had the 'rolling skin' in that area. When you touched her there, her little head would jerk like she was going to convulse. My vet said that it looked like feline hyperesthesia syndrome and treated her with a predizone injection. He said that she would probably have to have an injection every three months for about a year and might need an anti-anxiety tablet as well. But he just started with the one prednizone injection and within a couple of weeks, it went away completely. I was sort of expecting it to return when the first three months were up but it never did.

I wish you luck with a treatment for Panther, Heidi, and hope that it's as easily cured as Sammi's was.
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Ruby and the Kitties
Simba, Samantha, Katrina & KatyKatt
Meow!! Meow!! Meow!! Meow!!

How wonderful to do nothing and then rest afterwards. Meow!

I also have a cat with Feline hyperthesia. Every vet I have seen so far looks at the symptoms and not the disease, even though I live with him, and told the vet I work for now about how he fits every single symptom. I have been told it is everything from skin allergies to seizures due to head trauma which he does have. No one can explain his bursts of energy, his dimentia, his self biting at his hindquarters. I even printed out information on feline hyperthesia. I have now contacted another vet, who I have already talked to about this, and she actually understands!

What I do for Marley, he is siamese mixed by the way, is I got Dr. Ackermans siezure & epilepsy medicine. You can buy it online at the Only Natural Pet store.com, and the stuff works great! He has only been on it a week now, but it is helping with every symptom. The poor guy is no longer biting himself, he is not doped up, this is all natural. the valerian root, helps calm him. Also at Purely Pets.com, you can buy something else they have, it is a tonic that has alomost all the same ingredients in it.
They also have wonderful articles on this. I refuse to put him on any chemical meds, I have stopped his chemical flea control, they is info on natural flea/tick control with The Only Natural Pet Store.
For heartworms, I use essential oils like lavender in his shampoo, you can also use lavender pure, and just groom it on him, which can be hard with their sensitivity. I can hardly groom this cat, he is actually afraid of the brush, and it is a soft one.