Vet Advice on Identifying and Treating Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome

Why would they be hyperactive with lots of movement if they were in pain?

I'm worried my cat is suffering from this, but symptoms are sporadic. Back twitching and running as if scared are not everyday occurrences, but her back and tail have become sensitive, she used to like being touched there. We transitioned her from being an outdoor to now indoor 3 months ago.

Who tf can afford all these test?😮

My cat has had head shaking from 8 weeks old. She's 8 months old now and the shaking hasn't stopped but now she has excessive grooming, I call it cat parkour she could literally be recorded and used as a sound track when she gets the "zooms" And parkours off the walls and the back of my head. She screams through the house

All I heard from the video is We have no idea what we are doing. We will do all the expensive tests and give a random medication untill things get better

I thought my cat originally may have had this but unfortunately it doesn't sound quite right. His back feet/legs continually twitch while he's at rest.. they never stop. That's it no other sypmtoms so now I'm guessing neurological? Will have to save up for that tho.

Do cats with flea infestations or flea allergies run around wildly? Our cat just got treated for fleas and seemingly still has the same issue.

My cat is doing all of these things…it only started when I put a new flea collar on him.i thought it was possible that he had an allergic reaction to the collar as well don’t have any issues with fleas just using it as a precautionary

This is the first of your video's I've seen, and I clicked to watch because I have cats and I'm always looking for information to help me be a better cat parent. I rescued a cat around 3 years ago from the local shelter who is very vocal, and the video described this cat so well. He's never been diagnosed, and I'd never heard of this, so I would've never thought to ask his vet about it. He will have episodes where the skin on his back will ripple and roll, and he will shoot through the house like his tail is on fire. He is a lovable cat and wants to be petted but only for short periods as he tends to be overstimulated very easily. He prefers to only be petted on top of his head and around his ears. The first year we had him was difficult because he would seem fine and would seek out attention from us only to quickly turn into Catzilla. During these episodes he would scratch or bite at us, meow loudly, take off running like he was being chased, and when he stopped running would bite and chew his claws. We quickly found that if we touched him during those times he would scratch or even bite us. He also will not tolerate anyone touching his back. When he is going through one of these episodes, he will sometimes attack my husband's cane (that he uses due to mobility issues), and not because it moved, he will chase his own shadow and obsessively lick the wall. I know cats get the zoomies, but this is so far beyond any zoomies I've seen from any of the cats I've had.
Thanks so much for the information given in this video, now I know what I should mention to his vet.

My almost 4 year old female cat has these weird back twitches throughout the day and is always grooming. She is long-haired and tuxedo-ish (black and white). She does not have zoomies but hates people touching her and reacts violently at hands, swatting and biting even at myself (her main caregiver). She might even ask for cuddles by leaning her head but will then attack afer she's "done" or "doesn't want" pets anymore. She also despises being held.. but she used to be the cuddliest of girls and loved being pet and purred a lot. It's been years since I last heard her purr. Unfortunately, she was fixed at 8 months under my brother's care (I was living abroad due to covid) and was forced by vets to get her blood drawn for pre-surgery process. I really think she has hypersensitivity and want to help her 🙁

Thank you for this video. There is more information here than what my vet offered at our last appointment two months ago. My American Shorthair is almost 9 years old. When he was a young adult, he began over grooming. My vet and the dermatologist agreed that we give my cat cyclosporine capsules. The med stopped the need to over groom. A year or two later, my cat began to ocassionally urinate outside of his litterboxes. After a thorough exam (we have two full exams a year), it was decided my cat should take fluoxetine capsules. The fluoxetine has helped, though there is an ocassional “accident”. My cat has always been super-friendly and cool about being touched, picked up, petted, etc. It’s so odd that the vet says that stress is the reason my cat has litterbox issues. The most stress he gets is having the meds shoved in his mouth everyday. About two months ago, my cat began to have FHS symptoms. It doesn’t occur every day, but it is worrisome to me. He doesn’t seem to be in pain. I apply Revolution Plus once a month even though he’s an indoor cat. I interact with him throughout the day and have regular playtime. I guess all I can do now is keep an eye on him to make sure it doesn’t get worse.

I had no idea my cat was in pain for so long. I thought he was just a bastard.

One of my cats has this. I have him on gabapentin (I just open a 100 mg pill and mix it in his wet food) – problem solved and he's soooo much happier. It started happening when he was about 4 (now he's 12). We think it's a back issue – but on the gaba – he's pain and skin-rippling and jumping around, free. He's a rescue btw, all black with amber eyes. The videos are exactly like the symptoms he had years ago. We highly recommend gabapentin, as long as it's indicated for your cat.

Thanks very much! I have a new little lady named Katy. She was an outdoor cat, but now is strictly indoor, though I have a screenroom and a catio I built for my other 2 cats. Katy is exhibiting the symptoms you spoke of. Katy has been taken to the vet twice now, for check-ups. The vet did not observe any peculiar behavior. Would a vet pick up on this diagnosis easily?

My wife and I have tried everything we could think of at home to help our cats obsessive, aggresive licking of his back and butt. We thought he developed an allergy so we have done an elimination diet. No poultry and grains. Didn't help. Reintroduced grains, nothing. Salmon oil to put in his dinner. High quality wet foods. Multi-nutrient powder for each meal. Flea medication. Brushing regularly. Plenty of toys. Giving him lots of love consistently. Feed him at the same time. Nothing has helped. I just found out about FHS about an hour ago and did a deep dive to then find your video. Amazing information! Our cat has all of these symptoms. I thought all cats' backs twitched/rolled if it itched like you'll see horses or cows do with flies. He is extremely vocal. He will be sleeping on my chest then out of nowhere go sprinting off me like he just saw a ghost. Will stare up at the ceiling like he is seeing stuff. Aggressive licking of his back with dilated pupils. Chewing his feet and butt/base of his tail. He doesn't bite and scratch us as much as he used to. I thought that was just because he has gotten older, but he used to a ton. I feel so thankful we now have a glimmer of hope to get our little dude back to being himself. Will be taking him to the vet asap to exclude a bacterial infection, neurological disorders, etc. and see if FHS is the issue. Thank you for this video! I've been feeling so bad for my little man not knowing what to do. Thanks again!

People can afford an MRI for their cat??? We don’t even have these vet specialties. Definitely not in my budget. I can just about do an X-ray.

Is this syndrome harmful and necessary to diagnosis? I’ve noticed the symptoms happen about three times. First time was when he was obviously stressed by a neighbors dog. Next time, I did some aggressive petting. Third time seemed somewhat random. He twitches but not to the point of hurting himself. Can reducing stress and not petting the back be enough?

I’m really tired of YouTubers saying things like “you’re not going to want to miss this”. 🙄. Also, why is she whispering?

Glad I found this video, my cat recently started showing these symptoms. Thought it had something to do with her recently being spayed. So I took her to the vet for an exam/physical and a fully body blood work exam. Vet said they only found traces of parasite cells but everything else was normal, she has been dealing with fleas recently, as my roommate brought their cat over from a different state and she had fleas. I've been applying a topical, constantly vacuuming and grooming them with a flea comb. I've dealt with fleas before and have gotten rid of them so hoping for the same result and do hope that this is just from the fleas. Was hard to tell if she was acting this way the last time she had fleas because she was also in heat a lot and those symptoms were more noticeable / frequent.

I think my cat has this. I watched the video and it sounds like vets don’t have any clue what it really is and how to treat it.

My cat has this but she doesn’t have fleas, our house is really clean, and she’s only one years old. Her skin doesn’t ripple but she bites at her tail and runs away or jumps on the couch. She also looks at her tail and hits it on the floor and runs away. What do we do? We took her to the vet twice and she’s still doing it!

my cat has been having issues that are the symptoms described in this video her whole life verbatim, and steroids, flea treatments, and worm treatments all failed. Now it's too the point that she will overgroom the same three areas on her body until she is bleeding/raw from it. This gives me a lot more information to bring to my new vet about this, so thank you so so much! Quick question, is this any more/less common in cats who are also deaf? My cat is white with blue eyes and has been deaf from birth.

Thank you so much!! Can't wait to learn more from you.

Thank you, still not sure, she has all the symptoms, the vet looked no fleas present, felt around her, and looked in her eyes, she got the all clear of everything, so I suspect this condition.
She gets very agitated with this, and wants to be near me, the scariest thing is her staring at the corner, seems since my dog passed away, she does it a lot when she has her episode, also her eyes widen and she stares for some time.😢