Does A Twitchy Back Always Mean Fhs?

[charbasaur]

Hey everyone. So we've had our rescue kitten for about a week now, she's just under 2 months old. These past few days I've noticed her back was twitching occasionally which made me think FHS (I only know about this condition from My Cat From Hell). Most times she seems to ignore it, this last time I've noticed it, she scratched at her back and groomed herself a bit, but there's been no outright aggression towards herself or hallucinations or anything like that. This has happened during play, shortly after playing and 1-2 minutes before she went #2. She also plays with her tail but I've read that's fairly normal for kittens. Other than that she's eating normally and her energy levels seem age-appropriate.

So anyway, is this normal, should I be worried about it potentially getting worse? Is she just a happy kitty with a paranoid mom?

 

[fionasmom]

My Chelsea has a moderately twitchy back...more like she does not like to be touched there...and does have FHS. I don't know the answer but your question is a good one and I have even wondered about it. Chelsea definitely has the classic hallucinations, aggression, forgets that what she wants to mutilate is actually her tail. Having said that, I have owned lots of cats whose backs twitched without having FHS....flea, itchy skin, quirk, something that signals to your kitty that she needs to use the potty. I don't think that she necessarily has to have FHS.

 

[mservant]

From the cat's I have lived with it seems most will occasionally have a twitchy back. Probably when fur isn't sitting quite right, a bit of an itch, or perhaps a little muscle twinge. They will scratch and move about a bit and then settle down.

If it is more prolonged and they are reluctant to be touched or respond with aggression then it would definitely be an indicator of something going on, but from what you say it doesn't sound like it is.

With kittens and other new cats introduced to the home, or indoor outdoor cats, it is definitely a good idea to check for parasites.

 

[daftcat75]

I have a medical device called the Assisi Loop which pulses low voltage electricity through a loop. I don't understand all the details but it basically induces an electrical current in the cat where calcium ions bind to receptors that kick off a self-healing cascade that ends in increased blood flow and reduced inflammation. I use it on her hips for arthritis. I have tried it on my own runner's knee a few times when Krista decides to end her 15 minute session a little early. I don't ever feel anything. But when I get the Loop near her back, it will twitch a little like she's either feeling the device, or maybe she just feels the proximity of something to her back. The twitching is only momentary (a few twitches) and it goes away the moment I set the Loop on her. My thinking, at least for her, is that she's very sensitive to something sneaking up on her back. The follicles register that quickly. But then once she sees that it's not a threat and that whatever was approaching has finished its approach, she relaxes again. Or perhaps the therapeutic effect relaxes her.

Now having just looked up FHS, I have seen that behavior in her too. Not the full-on freak out with dilated pupils and aggression. But I've seen her back twitch and she goes to town on biting and grooming it. It's like a wild bug came out of nowhere and bit her. I think it's just a hair follicle going rogue or something. Twitch, bite, groom, and it's gone just as quickly as it came.

 

[Lari]

My cat is pretty twitchy. I don't think she has FHS, though maybe I should look into it more. She never attacks herself though, just twitches.

 

[Jem]

I've had a few twitchy cats who did not have FHS. Some cats are just more sensitive than others, and I find that even my cats, who don't twitch that often, do twitch when they are excited/stimulated, after playing, after getting pet, if the fur is a bit ruffled and so on. If the only symptom you see is the twitching skin along the back, I would not worry.

 

[charbasaur]

Thank you all, I feel a lot less worried now. I'm still gonna keep an eye on her and make sure I tell her vet about it if any other symptoms show up

 

[charbasaur]

An update just in case someone ends up reading this in the future: Kitty's back still only twitches when playing or otherwise excited. No other symptoms have occurred (hallucinations, self-harm etc.) and all other behavior is normal. I guess it's just a thing that can happen