Strange Array Of Symptoms. Help?

Hi there! I have a kitty named Kitty. She's an american short-haired Calico, about 2 years old. She is the kitten from a stray. One of the best cats I've ever had, very calm and always happy. She is an inside cat, but only lately, because I moved--- She's a coward and will run away from the noises outside.

For the past while, she's been showing some strange symptoms which have not gone away. Some of them may be irrelevant, but I figure I should mention everything I've noticed that is different about her:

1. Missing patch of fur on her belly which never grows back.
2. Shaking her head, mostly when she gets excited and is about to meow at me.
3. Twitching on her back.
4. Sometimes one eye is squinted. I believe she switches the eye. Sometimes one eye is watering a LOT and I have to gently wipe her face. Sometimes she looks totally normal.

Since I was worried about her, I brought her to the vet. The vet looked her over based on the things I've said: He looked in her ears, at her belly, in her fur, and in her eyes. He gave her some coloured eye drops to look at her sinuses under a black light. He determined there's no problem there. He said her skin looks good, even though her fur was missing and could not provide any explanation for that. He said her ears also look good, so I was sent home with nothing but some eye drops just in case.

In the past, I attributed the twitching back to fleas, which she indeed got from the lawn over a year ago. I did give her flea treatments and baths with dawn dish soap. The fleas disappeared over time and I have not noticed any on her lately, but the back twitching still happens.

Otherwise, she is a totally normal cat who eats, drinks and purrs. Hope someone can provide some insight. Thanks for reading!

I forgot to mention that the head shaking seems to have gone away as well. I thought after the vet that maybe it was just a weird quirk of hers when she got excited. Dunno anymore.

Some other things I forgot to mention: Sometimes the eye goop is totally clear. Other times it dries black, or reddish in colour.

Lately she also drags poop nuggets with her out of the litter box and they end up in random places. It's uncommon but embarrassing, I think it sticks to the hair on her butt. I dunno if that means she has a problem or if she's just clumsy.

If she has not had a good broad spectrum parasite treatment i think you really need to get that done. Almost all outdoor cats will get parasites, and if she had fleas then tapeworms are almost a given. So she will need treatment for that. That could also be the cause of the litterbox problem. I would have her back in, maybe even to a different vet, if this first one did not even treat for parasites?
A second opinion with all of her symptoms couldn't hurt.
Do keep us updated!

To add on, to duckpond's suggestion, allergies. When I first opened a brand new plastic box one of her eyes was closed. Box smelled. Took the box away and she was fine. My cat Maggie sometimes plays by herself. She will splat her paws on a wall and jerk her head and run all over the place. Psycho kitty

duckpond : I guess you are right, I should do that. There are other vets nearby I could easily take her to. The one vet I was at, it was a bit difficult to communicate with the doctor as well. (He was a little lacking in English.) I don't want to drop money to get the same doctor and have the same thing happen.

maggie101 : I actually considered allergies too, especially with it periodically flaring up worse and then going away completely.

Thanks for your input, guys!

Just like with Dr. for myself, or my child when he was young, if it was not a good fit with a Dr. i would find someone else. You need a Vet that you can feel comfortable with. Language can be a barrier, but i have found that even with that barrier if its a good fit it works anyway. So maybe he just was not a good fit for you and your cat.

I am wondering if she has an allergy to the litter you're using. You might try switching to an all natural type litter and see if that helps. Could also be food allergy. A grain free diet might help.

I have tried all natural litters and couldn't stand the smell. What do you use?

If you have a walmart nearby i like Litter maid walnut clumping litter that i get from there. I also like grass litter, i get Abound from my local Kroger store, or order Pioneer pet brand from Chewy.
Another litter i like is Dr. Elseys respiratory relief crystal litter. I get mine from chewy. Its a very fine grain litter and the only crystals my guys like, its like sand.
I think all 3 of these do as well with odors as any clay i ever used, and better than most. All basically dust free and all fragrance free. these are my 3 picks

How is tracking with these types of litter? I have a bit of problems with the litter bits following my cat outside of the box. The floor in front of the box and past the litter carpet tends to get messy too quickly for my liking.

I should try some of these (hoping they sell it, or similar, in Canada). After that I could try to switch her food. I had a lot of people suggest to me Blue Buffalo, so she's been eating that all her life.

well, these track, just like any other litter. I think Dr. Elsey' s crystal litter may be the least tracking litter. Im not sure if it is in Canada?

I would try changing the food. I know a lot of people feed Blue, honestly im not a big fan. If she has been eating chicken? Maybe try a different brand at least. And a different brand with a different protein would be good!

Have you heard of twitch skin syndrome? It's a condition some cats have where their nerves are over sensitive and can cause them to have episodes where they may act as you discribe.
Twitch-Skin Syndrome in Cats

duckpond : It seems Dr. Elsey's is available here, but not in the crystal variety. I may have to do some research to see what else to pick, or just deal with the tracking. I'll have a better area for her when I move, with probably some more litter-grabbing carpets. Any suggestions for food? Blue does provide grain-free and/or non-chicken varieties, but I'd rather get advice from someone who has better opinions on which brands produces the best food for cats. So far I've only heard good about Blue and that nothing else quite compares. But I'm sure others exist. Haha.

IndyJones : Actually, yes! I was researching that a bit after the back twitching started. When it first started, she seemed shocked by the twitching on her own back and would dart around like she was trying to run away from it, biting it occasionally. Since then it's not as crazy, she just gets twitches and does not act overly affected. I'll give her a good scratch in hopes that it relieves her.

I can't say that I notice her over-grooming enough to explain the lack of belly hair though. Her skin also looks like it's in good condition there. It's really a mystery.

I suppose she may or may not have this condition, either way it looks like there is no treatment for this syndrome--- Worth exploring other things before determining it as that. Thanks for the suggestion!

I do like my grass based litters. They dont track any worse than clay i dont think, and at least it is soft, so does not hurt feet, wont damage wood floors, and is easy to clean up. You can also get one of those big litter box mats that may help.

I don't really know about Blue, i know you hear good and bad on all brands, its just one i have never been fond of, for some reason, may just be me....lol we all have our things. I do know they recently sold, so there may be changes coming, don't know.

To see if she has a problem with chicken you will need to find a food without any chicken in the ingredient list, sometimes hard to do as they sneek it in further down the ingredient list . Im not sure what brands are available to you, im guessing Canada fresh would be? they have a beef and a lamb. If you can get Merrick backcountry they have a rabbit that my guys like quite a bit. Walk About has some wet foods without chicken. And i know a lot of people looking for food without chicken use Hound & Gatos, as they have a few. Maybe someone else from Canada will have suggestions on what is available for you.