# Urgent! Cat acting super scared all of a sudden...



## topsybimbo

Hi, 

I have tried to look for a forum, website, blog and any other resource that will help identify what my cat is going through. However, I wasn't able to find any single resource that talked about the several symptoms she has been showing the last few days. I am posting here hoping some members here will have some insight.

So here is the background.

I have 2 cats (Bimbo and Topsy), both sisters, from the same litter. They are almost 2 years old. Both spayed when they were around 7 months old. They have the most adoring personalities and have been very active and playful from the very beginning. Now, they have grown to be more 'individual' and pretty much do their own thing. Both are still pretty active though.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that Topsy, comparatively shy out of the two, was experiencing some twitching on her back. I immediately googled it and realized it was Feline Hyperthesia. She exhibited pretty much all the symptoms, including getting scared suddenly, darting at imaginary objects, being generally nervous and conscious etc. I was planning to move her to a natural diet, off of catfood, if it persisted. Turned out, it did subside a little bit on its own, so I never ended up changing her diet. It looked like it had taken care of itself, at least visibly. She was pretty much herself too.

That was around 4-5 weeks ago. The last couple of days however, she has started acting very strange. She is extremely scared of I don't know what. She prefers to be alone and just goes and sits in one corner of the toilet, staring at nothing, for hours together. Even if I pick her up and bring her to bed, she literally dives under the blanket and buries herself in it, and stays there for hours, endlessly. She is still eating her food (and I have moved her to a natural diet...some chicken, fish etc. over the last 2 days), and she is not aggressive or ferocious at all. She seems to be sleeping OK too, although it is hard to tell because she lays under the blanket most of the time. Every now and then, when I try and peek in, she meows very lovingly at me and I hate myself for not being able to help her. 

I am planning to take her to the vet, but unfortunately, I might not be able to do it for 3 more days. It is killing me that I am not able to do anything and it is in this state of anxiety that I have signed up here. Every time she meows, it feels like she is reaching out to me for something and I feel helpless and want to cry.

Has anyone seen anything like this before? Could it be related to the FHS?

Btw, Bimbo, her sister also seems to be avoiding her more than before. She doesn't seem curious at all that Topsy is acting strange. Instead, she is comfortable staying in a different room and hanging out by herself, as if nothing has happened.

I don't know what to do. Really hoping someone here has had a similar experience before and would be able to advise on it...


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## Little Zooey

May I ask when you last treated them for fleas?


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## chillminx

A cat who hides a lot (e.g. under a blanket) may be in pain. Does Topsy go outdoors? If so maybe she has been injured e.g. by a fall. I think you need to get her fully checked over by the vet, as her behaviour does quite sound worrying. 

Btw, if you are feeding her cooked chicken and fish please note they are not nutritionally balanced foods. Without the necessary minerals and vitamins she will soon suffer from dietary deficiencies which will damage her health. If you are determined to feed home cooked food then you need to add a supplement to it, such as Felini Complete or TC Pre-Mix.


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## topsybimbo

@little zooey: she's never had major flea problems, so I've not treated her particularly, ever. She did have a few fleas at one time several months ago, but just some thorough brushing took care of that. Also, and I forgot to mention this in my original post, she is quite obsessive about cleaning herself. You'll rarely see her sitting idly doing nothing. She's constantly cleaning herself, and being mostly white in color, we can usually tell if she is having a lot fleas.

@chillminx, Topsy does not go outdoors a lot. Not as much as her sister anyway. But now that you mention it, she did disappear for a whole day, 4 days ago and didn't turn up the whole night. This has happened before on occasion, so I didn't think too much of it. The next morning when we went looking for her, she was crouching in small crevice near the building and looked quite shaken. We just assumed she must have been scared of a dog or something and gone and hidden there. We had to pretty much pull her out of there and bring her home. And she's been acting strange ever since. Also just last night, she ran out of the house and went straight for the same spot again...the crevice! I hadn't thought of her being hurt, because her movements seem OK...but I'll have her checked. Anything I can do to figure it out before I can take her to the vet on Friday? 

Also, thanks for informing me about the cooked chicken. I will change that right away and make sure she gets her nutrients.

Thanks a lot, both of you...This really helps...


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## chillminx

Re: her diet I should add that it would be OK to feed her some chicken or fish occasionally (e.g. maybe once or twice a week as a treat) without adding a supplement and the rest of the time feed a high protein wet food. But if you intend to feed it every day then it does need a supplement added. 

Re: figuring out what's wrong - it could be she has had a bad scare outside the house, but if that was the reason then I'd expect it to make her reluctant to go outdoors at all. Hiding under the blanket is more a sign of pain or feeling unwell. Especially as it's been going on for several days.

Does she show any reluctance to go out? Does she have a choice to use a litter tray indoors if she prefers not to go out? 

Have you checked all over her body carefully for any painful areas, or any signs of broken skin? 

If she had been bitten by another cat it would look like 2 puncture wounds side by side, which by now might have formed an abscess underneath. (a lump under the skin).

My inkling is that she may have had a knock to the head, either through a fall, or someone throwing a heavy object at her, or maybe even her being hit by a vehicle. 

Check her claws, to see if they are shredded or torn at the tips. If they are, it could be a sign she has been hit by a vehicle. If so then you ought to get her veterinary attention straight away.


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## topsybimbo

Well, my first response was to check if she has been hurt, but at least outwardly, she seems OK. In fact, when I pick her up or stroke her, she seems perfectly normal. I have watched her clean herself obsessively and there doesn't seem to be any physical traces of an injury or a fight. But you know what, when she went out last week (the time we found her hiding the next day) the door to the house was closed. I think she jumped out of the window, which is at around 20 feet from the ground. I didn't think much of it, since it is not that big a height to jump from, for a cat anyway. But it is possible that she might have taken a tumble or something and is shaken because of that. Again, there is absolutely nothing that says that if you look at her. But maybe that's what it is. Also, I didn't mention this earlier, but everytime we have been gone for over a couple of hours, she has pooped and peed in the bedroom, in a cupboard, and in other places that are not her litter. She has easy access to food, water, and litter all day, so I am not sure why she would do that. 

As for the questions you asked, well, she has always been a reluctant to go out. Right now, she spends most of her time hiding and scared. But she did think about going out a couple of times when we had left the door open.

I also inspected her claws and they seem fine as well. 

While I will take her to the vet very soon, I was just worried about her condition being somehow related to Feline Hyperthesia, because I do see her twitching her back every now and then even now. Do you think they could be related?

Thanks again, Chillminx. You've been really helpful. I just hope she gets well soon.


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## Little Zooey

I can only add that we also had a cat with similar problems. Back twitching, jumping suddenly - really odd behaviour and our other ten plus cats were all fine. Purdy was also white and we didn't have a flea problem, but the couple of fleas she did have were driving her mad. It might be worth considering


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## chillminx

I have a cat with Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome (FHS) and yes, one of your cat's symptoms sounds bit like FHS, i.e. the hiding. But FHS symptoms come at intervals, they aren't present all the time. They may happen at frequent intervals or infrequent intervals. Also you'd usually see other signs too such as skin twitching/rolling, and the cat suddenly racing around like a bat out of hell. And you probably would've seen signs of it before the age of 2. So I'd tend to discount FHS at the moment.

However your mention of your cat jumping out of a window 20 feet from the ground is very worrying! I would be truly appalled if one of my cats jumped from such a height!  We are talking about a height higher than a first floor window there!

Contrary to popular belief cats who fall or jump from such a height do not always land on their feet. They may land on their back and damage their spine, or tip forward and hit their head or face. There are reports every year once windows get left open in the warmer weather of cats sustaining serious injuries from climbing out of open windows. If a cat falls from anything higher than about 12 ft, his legs and feet may not be able to absorb the shock.

My suspicion would be she has injured herself jumping from such a height. Many of our members have protective window screens in the summer so we can have our windows open but keep our cats safe. If you are in the UK have a look at these which some of us use:

Window protection for cats - Open your windows without endangering your cat

Also, would it be possible for her to have a microchip cat flap fitted on your back door so she can go in and out when she wants. This is better for a timid cat, as they gain confidence and independence from knowing they can get back in when they want to, instead of having to wait to be let in.

Regarding the house-soiling, it could be due to separation anxiety. She needs to be encouraged to develop more independence so she is not so reliant on you for company. Again, a cat flap will help with that, so she can go and find things to interest or entertain her outside.

But if you want to leave her shut in the house when you're out then you'd need to enrich the environment for her, by providing lots of things for safe 
climbing e.g. several tall cat trees, empty shelves, bookcases, tops of cupboards. I stress there must be safe ways down as well as up. Anything that's above 6 ft and the cat needs a slope of 45 degrees to be able to descend safely.

Here are some ideas you could adapt: (I have some of these in my house)

https://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/...v_prop=image&fr=mcafee&va=cat+shelves+imaging

Ensure she has a good view from the window of the birds, any squirrel activity etc. Put up bird feeders in the garden, or attach one to the window, for her to watch.

But so much easier really to fit a cat flap! 

When you are home encourage her to play with you, using rod toys such as Flying Frenzy. My 2 young cats are aged nearly 2, and they still love those toys.

As she is a timid cat give her plenty of places to tuck herself away in the house where she can feel safe, e.g. igloo beds hidden behind chairs, or cardboard boxes on their sides.

Hopefully when she sees the vet this week you can find out what's upsetting her.

EDIT: I do strongly suspect she is in pain; cats are very good at hiding pain, it is a survival mechanism. Every day she doesn't see the vet may mean another day of pain for her.


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## Yoshii

Hello any news on Topsy? My cat Milo is exhibiting similar symptoms


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## OrientalSlave

Yoshii said:


> Hello any news on Topsy? My cat Milo is exhibiting similar symptoms


This thread is from 2015.

Best you start a new one of your own.


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