Cat suddenly acting strange

[kittenmittens84]

My cat Juan has been acting weird/very out of character for the past 5-6 days and I’m stumped about what could be causing it! He’s about 10 months old and is a pretty typical young cat, he’s playful but gentle (doesn’t usually bite unless you hold him for way too long), is very active, and isn’t really a lap cat but loves to sit next to me on the couch when he’s napping. He’s an indoor cat who has access to a small screened in patio sometimes.

However about a week ago he started acting super weird - the first thing I noticed was that he was frequently very puffed up with his hair standing on end even when he was just relaxing or walking around. He’s also really restless and meows a lot more than he did previously, he paces around the apartment and can’t get comfortable and sometimes seems like he’s looking for something that I can’t see. 90% of the time now he swishes his tail in the “I’m pissed off” way that cats do, and if you pet him more than 2-3 times he lashes out and bites which is really out of character. Basically he seems to have had a big personality change out of the blue, it seems like something is really bothering him and I can’t figure out what!

I have a vet appointment for Tuesday but in the meantime I’ll take any suggestions y’all have. The oddest part is all the stuff you usually see when a cat is sick or in pain is completely normal; he still has a ravenous appetite, normal litterbox habits, and normal sleeping/playing habits. No changes in food or environment either, he eats tiny tiger and fancy feast pates. It’s hard to tell but he might be scratching more than usual, so I was thinking maybe fleas or mites? Anxiety? He’s trying to warn me about an earthquake? Help!

 

[EmersonandEvie]

I am not a vet, and I am so glad you are taking him to see his! To me, this sounds like it could be something called feline hyperesthesia. Feel free to Google it and see if his symptoms are what you're seeing. I would ask about it at his vet appointment.

 

[kittenmittens84]

I am not a vet, and I am so glad you are taking him to see his! To me, this sounds like it could be something called feline hyperesthesia. Feel free to Google it and see if his symptoms are what you're seeing. I would ask about it at his vet appointment.

FHS came to mind for me too, but from what I understand it’s very episodic - seems like cats with hyperesthesia have periods of tearing around like crazy/rippling skin/aggressive grooming or attacking their tails, which doesn’t sound like Juan at all. He seems moderate unsettled all the time, but not aggressive or twitchy and his grooming is normal. I’ll definitely ask the vet about it though, since it seems like a pretty varied disorder.

 

[EmersonandEvie]

Good luck! Maybe he is just going through a moody teenager cat phase in his life?

 

[Jem]

Is he neutered yet? It could be hormones, causing him to be agitated / territorial to something outside.

 

[Jem]

Even if he is neutered it could still be territorial...

 

[kittenmittens84]

Is he neutered yet? It could be hormones, causing him to be agitated / territorial to something outside.

Yes he was neutered 6 months ago. Some sort of animal or wildlife causing him to act weird is definitely a possibility, we have lots of coyotes and other wildlife prowling around here. I was also wondering if my neighbors got a new dog or cat? Or we have mice? So many possibilities!

 

[kittenmittens84]

The other issue is that he had FIP and still has a few weeks to go before he’s officially in remission, so every little thing that’s off about him makes me so paranoid! Logically I know it’s not a relapse because his relapse symptoms were mainly sleeping a ton and not eating, neither of which he’s doing now, but still so much anxiety ahhh

 

[Jem]

Do you by chance have a camera you can hook up to look outside so you can see if there are any intruders?

 

[Jem]

So glad he was able to recover!

 

[MissClouseau]

The other issue is that he had FIP and still has a few weeks to go before he’s officially in remission, so every little thing that’s off about him makes me so paranoid! Logically I know it’s not a relapse because his relapse symptoms were mainly sleeping a ton and not eating, neither of which he’s doing now, but still so much anxiety ahhh

Wait, what do you mean he had FIP? FIP is the mutated version of coronavirus. Coronavirus isn't a disease but FIP is and it's fatal. Do you maybe remember the wrong name?

 

[kittenmittens84]

Wait, what do you mean he had FIP? FIP is the mutated version of coronavirus. Coronavirus isn't a disease but FIP is and it's fatal. Do you maybe remember the wrong name?

Nope, we treated him using the new experimental GS-4414524 medication that came out of research at UC Davis- Feline infectious peritonitis: From fatal to treatable

Speaking of coronaviruses, they’re actually using the same drug (remdesivir) to treat the wuhan coronavirus that’s spreading in China right now.

It was a miracle but also now I’m forever on alert for signs of the disease coming back!

 

[kittenmittens84]

Do you by chance have a camera you can hook up to look outside so you can see if there are any intruders?

That’s a good idea, I actually do have a dashcam for my car...

 

[MissClouseau]

Nope, we treated him using the new experimental GS-4414524 medication that came out of research at UC Davis- Feline infectious peritonitis: From fatal to treatable

Speaking of coronaviruses, they’re actually using the same drug (remdesivir) to treat the wuhan coronavirus that’s spreading in China right now.

It was a miracle but also now I’m forever on alert for signs of the disease coming back!

I'm really sorry you are going through all this stressful time. My understanding is the GS-4414524 treatment is still on the getting tested stage and the success rate for if it works for a significant amount of time isn't well-known. Unfortunately I have read some cases in which the cat did well for a week or couple weeks but got sick again.

If he has FIP, I certainly hope that this treatment works. If I were you I would consider,

1) The original FIP diagnosis was wrong. Since there is no reliable test for FIP, misdiagnosis isn't uncommon. In that case what is making him seem off right now might also be connected to what he had the vet believed was FIP.

2) FIP is starting to cause different symptoms.

In case it's #1 (and I hope it is), a second opinion from a different vet could help. If you can , search for "my cat was believed to have FIP but this vet found out something else" reviews locally.

 

[kittenmittens84]

I'm really sorry you are going through all this stressful time. My understanding is the GS-4414524 treatment is still on the getting tested stage and the success rate for if it works for a significant amount of time isn't well-known. Unfortunately I have read some cases in which the cat did well for a week or couple weeks but got sick again.

If he has FIP, I certainly hope that this treatment works. If I were you I would consider,

1) The original FIP diagnosis was wrong. Since there is no reliable test for FIP, misdiagnosis isn't uncommon. In that case what is making him seem off right now might also be connected to what he had the vet believed was FIP.

2) FIP is starting to cause different symptoms.

In case it's #1 (and I hope it is), a second opinion from a different vet could help. If you can , search for "my cat was believed to have FIP but this vet found out something else" reviews locally.

Yeah there’s so much uncertainty, that’s what really gets me about this. I just want my little guy to be happy!

We’re 99% sure it was FIP, he had a pretty textbook case - large amount of abdominal fluid that was sticky and yellow, high albumin, anemia, positive realPCR, and he responded very well to GS which really only treats FIP. But the second one is my worry, considering that the disease can cause neurological symptoms I’ve emailed Dr. Pedersen the head researcher to ask about Juan’s case since he’s apparently very responsive to emails so hopefully we’ll hear back.

This morning I noticed a definite increase in scratching and head shaking/ear flicking and his ears are really red and hot in some spots, so maybe it is a skin or flea/mite thing?

 

[MissClouseau]

This morning I noticed a definite increase in scratching and head shaking/ear flicking and his ears are really red and hot in some spots, so maybe it is a skin or flea/mite thing

your description with his hair and not being comfortable and the head shaking could be there over fleas too for sure! Have you tried a flea comb?

 

[drelocks]

Yeah there’s so much uncertainty, that’s what really gets me about this. I just want my little guy to be happy!

We’re 99% sure it was FIP, he had a pretty textbook case - large amount of abdominal fluid that was sticky and yellow, high albumin, anemia, positive realPCR, and he responded very well to GS which really only treats FIP. But the second one is my worry, considering that the disease can cause neurological symptoms I’ve emailed Dr. Pedersen the head researcher to ask about Juan’s case since he’s apparently very responsive to emails so hopefully we’ll hear back.

This morning I noticed a definite increase in scratching and head shaking/ear flicking and his ears are really red and hot in some spots, so maybe it is a skin or flea/mite thing?

I actually thought low albumin was the factor in FIP, not high. Because the body starts producing extra globuling, less albumin is produced. All leading the the low a/g ratio.

But the fluid is def a sign.

 

[kittenmittens84]

I actually thought low albumin was the factor in FIP, not high. Because the body starts producing extra globuling, less albumin is produced. All leading the the low a/g ratio.

But the fluid is def a sign.

Yeah you’re right, I meant low albumin and high globulin! His AG ratio was like .3 at diagnosis, at his last bloodwork it was around .9

 

[kittenmittens84]

Good news!! Juan went to the vet today...he has ear mites. Everything else looked normal, the vet went ahead and ordered a blood panel since he’s due for one to make sure he’s still in remission and it’s coming back tomorrow but she saw no reason to think there would be anything out of the ordinary on it. She said she’s seen a few cases of mites in the area recently and she wasn’t surprised it would make him act weird. I have to give him pyrethin ear drops which will be an adventure but I’m relieved it’s something treatable!