Hyperesthesia (FHS)

Kitty in question: Evil Minion ... "Oh hai!"

On Saturday June 4th my cat suddenly developed Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome for the first time ever, as I wrote about here. Since googling is how I learn things about my cats, I decided to share what I've learned so far about Minion's problem. I hope anything in here helps you. Here's how the post goes...

0. My latest thoughts.
Updated Dec 13, 2014

1. Description of what happened to my cat.

2. Ongoing updates about her condition. Updated Sep 6, 2011

3. Would thundershirt work?

4. People's experiences with treating FHS with food changes. 
Updated Dec 15, 2013

5. Random info on why I feed my cats canned / low carbohydrate food.

NOTE: I am not a vet! Take any advice here at your own risk! ;-)

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0. Latest thought: Before you read everything below... My latest thinking (keep in mind I'm no expert, just get people who email me sometimes) is that FHS is triggered by different things for different cats. In Minion's case I think beef, rabbit, and some sort of pollen trigger her.  Another person wrote me, who completely eliminated all fish and fish oil, and had success that way.  My vet uses a certain hypoallergenic crunchy food, and has had success with that.  Another friend of mine, they didn't change their food at all--their cat got a needle from the vet, and that seemed to make the symptoms subside. (Oh, and the woman whose cat is allergic to fish, also shows FHS symptoms when she's frustrated cause she isn't getting her way! lol) 

So my completely unprofessional opinion is: (a) Do talk to a vet, but if you don't get results you're happy with [and do NOT let them convince you to cut off your cat's tail!], or the solution is drugs you can't afford, then (b) try an elimination diet. Fish, red meat, all carbs, going outside, etc.

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1. EVIL MINION'S ORDEAL

I have two cats. I've always fed them Evo kitten canned, which is a no grain, very low carb, high protein food. One day I had some cheap No Name food to get rid of, so I started feeding it to them. Within about 2-3 feedings (I feed every 6 hours) Minion reacted like this:


* licking herself all over
* rippling skin
* bolting all over the house
* dilated eyes
* generally looking at me like "WTF!"
* She would need to hide under a blanket to calm down (something she never does)

She had the first attack 30 minutes after eating. Her first attack lasted 4-5 hours. I figured out what she had by googling, and was relieved to see that many people solve the problem by putting their cats on a low grain diet. That's when I made the connection between the grainy food she'd just eaten and the attack. I fasted her for a bit, then slowly reintroduced her regular food.

She would fall asleep after awhile, then leave her blanket, have a soothing finger-suck (that's her thing), think she was recovered and wander off. Then an attack would come on and she'd run like lightning back under the blanket. The attack would last a little while, then she'd fall asleep, wake up,  etc.  This repeated itself all day Sunday except the attacks, though frequent, grew shorter. She knew every time that going under a cover would self-soothe. By Monday she wasn't staying under the blanket more than 5 minutes, 2 minutes, 30 seconds. By Monday evening she was back to her normal self.

Hiding under blanket.

Poking head out of blanket.

Self-soothing

2. UPDATES:

Dec 2014: They stopped selling Evo in Quebec. I now feed Minion a mixture of carb free softies from three companies. Chicken from Almo Nature, fish from Weruva, and pork from Hound & Gattos. I have no idea why she can eat pork, but not rabbit from the same company--but I tried rabbit once and she had major itchie-gitchies. (I feed my cats the three different kinds in part to give them complete nutrition, and to prevent Minion from becoming allergic to one specific thing.) Oh and they have a little bit of tooth cleaning crunchies in the AM and before bed.

Minion gets the occasional itchies, more than she did on the Evo. But she's very good at self-soothing now--she gets herself off to a blanket up on a shelf, and gives herself some licks, and calms herself down.

April 2012 - Minion still hasn't had any major attacks. Only the occasional little one when out on the balcony in the early morning.

Sep 6, 2011 - Minion continues to do fine having been put back on her regular food, Evo canned for kittens. But out of interest I tried other non-grain brands (all canned) on her. I discovered there's only one other non-grain brand that doesn't give her a small case of the itchies (Go! Grain Free ). This leads me to believe it has to be at least partly a food allergy.
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3. Just came across (Feb 13, 2013) this product called a thundershirt, that's meant to calm dogs and cats. I wonder if it would work for FHS cats? Worth a try, at $40.

4. TREATING FHS WITH FOOD 

I read everything I could find on the nets about FHS and food.

Dec 15, 2013: Someone wrote me to say she had success eliminating all fish and fish oils from her cat's diet. Worth a try!

"Took her to vet neurologists, gave her very expensive (because they had to be made into treats) meds which helped a tiny bit, maybe, tried chiropractic (it relaxed her very nicely but only temporarily). Brandy had already been on grain-free high-quality foods, so I tried raw, without a lot of change. Anyway, to shorten a very long story, I started to suspect that fish had something to do with it, and I’ve confirmed it. In Brandy’s case, the FHS isn’t related to food brands or grain/no grain or supplements – she simply cannot have fish or seafood in any form (not even fish oil, and not even as part of a raw diet, not even as the last ingredient on the list). No fish, no switchy-twitchies. This summer I tried a new food that was not accurately labeled (I found out on-line that it did contain salmon oil; the label had coconut oil twice) and Brandy had a bad couple of weeks – the first symptoms in a year. (Unfortunately, the switchy-twitchies don’t start right away after eating fish; it takes a few days to get in and then out of her system.) Otherwise, she’s been free of FHS symptoms as long as I read all the tiny print on all cat food very carefully. “No fish not even oils” limits our food choices but it’s better than FHS."

Here are a bunch of comments supporting the idea that putting a cat on a grain-free diet will alleviate the symptoms of FHS. As this theory could be wrong I've included counter-evidence, as well as other non-drug ideas. For mild cases like Minion's I think non-drug approaches are worth exploring, especially since vets aren't always familiar with the condition. In any case do your own googling before you see the vet, or before you try anything. (I'm no vet either!)

For cats with SERIOUS cases, where your cat is harming herself (some bit their tails off, or lick themselves hairless), get vet help right away. But then read the forums like this one when it's time to consider her long-term care. Hopefully a mixture of high quality diet, nutritional supplements, the right home environment, and drugs will obviate the necessity for tail docking and a 24-7 collar, as some have tried. :-(

CATS WHO'VE IMPROVED ON GRAIN-FREE FOOD:

• "I have been using Wellness Core canned Chicken and Turkey formula. That's all - no kibble. I occassionally give her some pieces of raw chicken or beef. She is still doing great; I have not seen her have an attack in over two years. I hope this works for Sassy." (youtube)

• "A grain free diet worked for my cat. All symptoms are gone." (youtube)

• "Feline Hyperesthesia Disorder - I have found that my cat improved 100% when switched to zero-grain food. These foods are usually not sold in major pet stores. You must seek out the mom and pop shops or order online. Also, increased exercise helps." (earthclinic.com) 

• "After trying many grain free brands in order to find one that would suit my fussy girl's palette :), I found a high quality canned formula. She has been on this diet for about two years now and has not had an episode in all that time, and, her fur is incrediblly soft! I was happy to find a natural solution, rather than getting her on meds." (a gardenweb forum)

• "did your vet diagnose hyperesthesia? my mom suspects i've had it since i was 6 months old, lots of twitching and overgrooming. mom changed my food to grain free and i'm a lot better but not 100%, mom thinks i might have other allergies and is going to try to take me to a specialist even though i loathe vets.." (dogster forum) 

• "Among other things, Jamie is allergic to soy and beet pulp, both of which are in many dry foods in particular. Eliminating them from his diet, which would have been easiest to do on a strictly canned diet, which he refuses, we've managed to greatly reduce the rippling & hyperactive episodes. He seems to do best on meat and/or fish only almo nature or Applaws, which are European brands, and Ziwi Peak. There are probably a lot more options outside Europe, and a food change might be worth looking into with your vets." (jcat on catsite forum)

• Here's a mixture of drugs & diet for a cat with a different type of seizure issue, similar to FHS: "No I will never take him off the phenobarbital. I won't risk it. If it means a shorter time with him, so be it. At least that time has been the best he could possibly have. That's what matters to me. I agree with Jcat that finding a better diet may help. All that brewers rice, by-product, wheat and corn. Perhaps a grain free, or limited ingredient diet may help. Tolly eats a high quality canned diet. No by-products or artificial anything,no sodium nitrate or sodium nitrites, no wheat. No fish. (fish can contain heavy metals)" (otto on catsite) 

• "My Diva had hyperesthesia symptoms and a 1" diameter bare spot above her tail that disappeared when we all went grain-free. She's black and her coat went from dull-looking to glossy in a matter of weeks. I don't feed raw, but feed canned and dry foods that are completely grain free. The dry brand is "Orijen"" (lowcarber.org)

• From someone who ran out of her regular food and "accidentally" stopped feeding corn gluten to her cats: " Tessa was diagnosed with hyperesthesia syndrome.  She'd shriek, jump around, had rippling fur, and chewed herself relentlessly.  It started about 6 weeks after I switched foods. I turned down the steroids and the anti-psychotic medication the vet wanted to give her. (She's way too young for a lifetime of heavy duty meds.) She improved on Wellness grain-free and is now perfectly normal on grain-free homemade.  I had it narrowed down to sensitivity to either fish meal or corn." (From an anti-corn-gluten thread)

• "One of our cats, Yoda, has the same problem with the "heebie jeebies", as you call it. He used to eat Purina Cat Chow indoor, which is loaded with crap, and he'd have this problem all the time. Since switching my crew to Wellness canned and dry, his "attacks" are far less frequent and he's not nearly as on edge as he used to be." (From an anti-corn-gluten thread)

• "One of my younger cats used to get the "heebie-jeebies", too.  It was almost like she had gotten bitten by something and her skin was "rolling".  I never thought about it possibly being food-related.  Interesting.  I can't remember her doing the "rolling" in awhile now. ... When we said goodbye to corn gluten and grains in our pets' foods, we also said goodbye to vomiting, diarrhea, mucousy stools, dry skin, greasey skin, runny eyes, various sores." (From an anti-corn-gluten thread)

•  "Changed his food to Taste of the Wild  Rocky Mountain Feline Formula with roasted venison and salmon which is the dry food after a short time maybe 2 weeks symptons started to be less frequent and now I haven't seen him do anything with his back for months. This is a grain free food which is more healthy for the cat in my opinion just though I'd share this information." ( vet to vet message board)

• "Earlier on he had bouts of Hyperesthesia, a seizure disorder due to (I think) a combination of a bad reaction to build up of toxins from a partial dose of one of those nasty spot on flea treatments; a rabies vaccine and eating different food for a while which contained grains. Putting him back on his home prepared, grain free diet and finally discovering that extra Taurine and fish oil have seemingly reversed or eliminated the hyperesthesia spells, he at least no longer has spells where he acts very aggressive and tries to bite off the end his tail." (a human homeopathy forum ... I tell you... people just can't not talk about their kitty-pals)

DIET-RELATED IDEAS:

• Squeaks the cat was helped through nutritional supplements. This vet does promote a home made diet for cats that is grain-free and low in carbs.

• "Anyone with a hyperesthsia kitty should look into Taurine, Magnesium, a quality purified fish oil such as from Nordic Naturals and maybe an herbal nerve remedy such as Nerve Restore from Quantum Herbal. These things along with a quality home prepared diet with small meals throughout the day (my cat is 14-15ish) have helped immensely and have left him 99% symptom free for about a year." (from an allergy site) 

• This person (you gotta scroll down) had success with switching to Felidae kibble, which is high quality food. They do make a grain-free (but high carb) canned food, but that's clearly not what this person bought. However they seem to be using rice, not corn.

• "I've researched the food I was feeding him and spent about a year experimenting with assorted grain free high quality wet foods. I've settled on Wellness chicken and turkey formulas to avoid any possible reactions with seafood and beef. I also make sure he gets lots of physical exercise ( chase him around with cat toys and play tag) and lots of mental exercise (hide his toys, treats, etc. so he has to "hunt" for them). I also make sure I don't cause him any undue stress; no furniture moving, feed him at regular times, don't let the other pets pick on him, make sure if I'm away he has someone he knows come and stay here with him, etc. We have it under control for now and here's to hoping it stays that way" (Pets.ca)

• From someone who ran out of her regular food and "accidentally" stopped feeding corn gluten to her cats: "In early November I stopped feeding the final food with corn gluten, and now use only three dry foods that do not contain it.  Here is what has happened since: Cameo’s tummy is much less distended-looking, although she is still rather fat overall.  She has almost no eye drainage. Phantom has had no more attacks of the “heebie-jeebies.”  Her personality has also changed; she has become much more playful and affectionate, much less edgy.  She has not vomited after eating dry food at all. The only difference is that Phantom and Cameo are not eating corn gluten." (From Say no to corn gluten )

• "MissKitty wants her name put on the list cuz her mommie took away her Science Diet around March 11th. From July 2006-March 2007 was WAY TOO LONG for her mommie to wake up. She admits addiction to dry, but is trying really hard to eat more wet now than dry. Her skin doesn't itch, she has no more bare spots, hasn't had to have another cortisone shot, she likes to be petted, she plays like a kitten and she lost weight" (From Say no to corn gluten ) 

EVIDENCE AGAINST THE GRAIN-FREE THEORY

• This fellow tried a grain free food and it didn't work. 

• "He is fed grain-free Wellness canned food and has really nice skin & coat, so I don't *think* it's allergy related, he was fed raw at one point in his life and it still happened." There's no update about what happened with this cat. Wellness is very low in carbs. (Ultimate Dressage ... cat people post on some weird forums) 

• "Well, Parker has been on the Wellness grain-free alone for almost a week and a half and I have to say that his episodes have already decreased dramatically. I know it was said it could take up to 8 weeks, but the improvement is there. He is no longer licking the floor and his leg thumping is down to every few days. The only thing that hasn't improved is the licking. While he isn't licking as frantically, he is still licking A LOT. Mostly the back of his legs and his paws.' (read full thread here) Later found an update that it didn't work for her.

SOME THOUGHTS:
While it's known that certain breeds of cats (the "Asian" breeds--Siamese, Persian etc.) are more prone to FHS, I wonder if certain personality types are as well. Some vets think it's a personality disorder; I wouldn't go that far, but after all this google reading it seems like cats who get it are often (a) nervous kitties, like my friends' cat, or (b) total energy Alpha cats, like my Evil Minion. When Evil Minion got better she ran around the house for two hours just to celebrate.

A lot of people mentioned playing with their cats more as one way of alleviating the FHS symptoms--I wonder if those are the Minion type cats, because she does indeed require a hella lotta play. (Luckily she has a sister to torment.)

If Minion's symptoms returned I would try adding nutritional supplements next, as well as some raw meat to her diet

If you ever find this particular post because your kitty is having troubles, and you decide to try treating with diet, please send me an email and let me know how the experiment works out--for good or bad (and if you give me permission to add it anonymously here). It's a freaky condition and the information on the net isn't very centralized, so I might as well turn this page into a resource since it's already posting high in Google.)

Bonne chance!

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Bela's Experience:
Part 1: (June 2011)
My experience with grain -free is that I am still waiting to see results. I switched Bela to Fromm's cat food about a month ago but I have not seen any changes yet. I also did change her phenolbarbital from 1/2 pill in monring plus 1 pill in evening to simply one pill in the evening. My goal is to get her off of the drugs but seeing that she still has the "twitches" I am not sure that will be possible. Her twitches now are at least manageable, although it breaks my heart to see her with that WTF face. Luckily she has learned how to just sit on her paws and relax for a few to calm down. Someone else wrote to me and we both found that our cats have being a stray in common - they were both strays who came to our doorsteps.

Part 2: (August 2011)
I have cut Bela's phenolbarbital to one pill per day, hoping I could wean her off it since putting her on a no-grain diet, but she STILL has the twiches. They usually come early in the evening (maybe when her pill is wearing off?) and last a few minutes. We are feeding her Fromm's right now.
http://www.frommfamily.com/products-fs-c-d-grain-free-surf-and-turf.php

My friend's cat Pedro
When they moved to a new city they switched their cat to Medi-cal dental. He'd always had some twitchy fur-ness, but a few months after the food change he hid under the side table for three days. The vet put him on anti-anxiety meds for a week, and he hasn't had an episode again.

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5. MORE INFO ON LOW CARB (GRAIN FREE) DIETS

I was *brainwashed* by the book below that I should feed my cats high protein diets (but CANNED). If you're interested to know more, here's the resources.

* Read here if you want to learn more about cats and protein. (Written by yet another pro protein vet.) She teaches you how to make the right calculations when reading the cat food can, to really know how much carbs are in the food (because it's not actually on the label.)

* Your Cat - Elizabeth Hodgkins, DVM : The great book that brainwashed me. She used to work for a pet food company, and she's a specialist cat vet. amazon.com   amazon.ca

 * DO NOT FEED YOUR CAT GRAIN-FREE KIBBLE. No-grain, high protein kibble can give your boy cats urinary tract infections, at least according to some discussion sites I've seen. Cats don't drink enough, so the other thing they need is to eat wet food, especially once they're eating a high protein diet. Then they'll be just fine--this is what the kitty body is mean to eat (think of eating small prey--lots of protein, nice and wet.)

* Grain-free kibble is still way too high in carbohydrates, which is why I don't like to call it a grain-free diet, but a low-carb diet. In nature cats eat a little grass, they eat the contents of their herbivore-prey's stomach, and that's about it. They don't eat potatoes and carrots, given the choice. (Which isn't to say my cats won't steal mashed potatoes off my plate. Just saying it's not what their body thrives off of.)

* Where to find? I'm in Canada, I shop at a pet food/supplies store where there's a big selection of food.

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Kitteh models
White-haired - The deceased Lord Sherringham
Tabby - The deceased Tigernan or Nombly
Tortoiseshell - Haley aka Halzebub or Lady Hissalot
Calico - Evil Minion or Evil Genius