My Cat is stressed and I don’t know why / how to help!

[SSimone]

Our cat Banjo seems to have chronic stress and I can’t figure out how to help him, so I’m looking for advice/ ideas from you guys!

The reason why we know he’s stressed is because he has had diarrhea on and off (mostly on) for the past 2 months, and he lost some hair due to over-grooming. We brought him to the vet twice, but the vet couldn’t find anything physically wrong with Banjo. He suggested his symptoms are stress-related.
There are other symptoms/behaviours that make me think he’s stressed, or something’s not quite right:

• He often seems restless, agitated, and “twitchy”: I noticed the tip of his tail is almost CONSTANTLY twitching, … he’s also often shaking his head, scratching his ears, and sometimes I see his back twitching.
• In the evening, he often has a hard time settling down and can’t seem to lay sit still for more than 2 minutes. He then gets up and paces around the apartment, meowing at nothing in particular. We play with him a lot (usually twice or three times a day), and also try to distract and calm him down with playtime, but that only works as long as we play. Once we stop, the pacing starts again.
• Sometimes he gets “crazy zoomies” (different from regular zoomies, which he also gets): one moment he’s chilling out, the next moment he meows, jumps up and runs away as if he just got attacked, he runs into another room, where I hear him running around and meowing loudly and in agitated tone (different to his “regular” zoomies chirps). Again, it’s as if he would be attacked, except there is nothing happening, not even loud noises or anything.
• He also has gotten more “bitey” lately. Whenever I try to pet him, he almost always and immediately tries to bite my hand. Often he comes up to me, rubs against my legs and meows at me, seemingly asking for pets, but the moment I reach out to him he flops on the floor, onto his back and tries to bite my hands. It’s like petting induced aggression, except I’m barely touching him before the “aggression” (biting) starts. I never play with my hands, and when he bites me I say “no!” and move my hands away. If he keeps getting after my hands, I get up and walk away. So far, this strategy has not resulted in an improvement. In fact, he seems like he's getting more and more determined to bite my hands.

I’ve read a lot about anxiety and stress in cats and all the articles always say to “address the cause of the stress”. The problem is that I’m not sure (anymore) what the cause of his stress is!
We only adopted Banjo 3 months ago, and in the beginning, he was really afraid of us and his new surrounding, so our obvious conclusion was that this is what was stressing him out. However, he has come a long way in the past few months, becoming quite comfortable around us, and he’s always seeking out our attention and company. So, I’m not sure anymore that his adoption is still the cause of the stress..?
But what else could it be? We haven’t made any changes to our living situation or to his routine.
And if Banjo is still stressed due to his recent adoption, how am I supposed to address that!?

A couple of quick Banjo-facts: He’s a 3-year-old neutered male. Only-cat, indoor cat. We have not made any changes to our living situation or his routine. He gets wet food three times a day. We have tried several supplements and medicines to help him calm down (like Feliway diffusers, Zylkene pills, Homeopathics, and CBD oil), without much success. Not much is know about his past, as he was found on the streets.

 

[ArtNJ]

Sounds a little like feline hyperasthesia.

Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome (Twitchy Cat Disease) | PetMD
Feline hyperesthesia syndrome - Wikipedia

Maybe a second veternary opinion might be useful.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I heartily second A ArtNJ 's suggestion and recommendation. This really does sound like hyperesthesia. While it is not curable, it is often quite controllable, especially when caught early.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Our cat Banjo ....
There are other symptoms/behaviours ... something’s not quite right:

• He often seems restless, agitated, and “twitchy”: I noticed the tip of his tail is almost CONSTANTLY twitching, … he’s also often shaking his head, scratching his ears, and sometimes I see his back twitching.
• ... gets up and paces around the apartment, meowing at nothing in particular. ...
• Sometimes he gets “crazy zoomies” (different from regular zoomies, which he also gets): one moment he’s chilling out, the next moment he meows, jumps up and runs away as if he just got attacked, ...
• He also has gotten more “bitey” lately. ...

But what else could it be? We haven’t made any changes to our living situation or to his routine.
... he was found on the streets.

S SSimone - How is Banjo doing? I was reading your first post here, and saw that he was a 'street cat' during his first years of life; was fostered for a few months, then adopted by you and you've had him several months now. I wanted to ask you if you have had him on any flea meds, since a cat who is having issues with fleas can demonstrate many of the behaviors you describe for Banjo. So, I wanted to bring that up... as sometimes it can take many months to get rid of the cycle of having fleas. It can be really uncomfortable for the kitty -- especially if they have an allergic reactions to flea bites. I just thought maybe it was a possibility to consider in Banjo's case. Did the vet bring this possibility up to you?

 

[SSimone]

S SSimone - How is Banjo doing? I was reading your first post here, and saw that he was a 'street cat' during his first years of life; was fostered for a few months, then adopted by you and you've had him several months now. I wanted to ask you if you have had him on any flea meds, since a cat who is having issues with fleas can demonstrate many of the behaviors you describe for Banjo. So, I wanted to bring that up... as sometimes it can take many months to get rid of the cycle of having fleas. It can be really uncomfortable for the kitty -- especially if they have an allergic reactions to flea bites. I just thought maybe it was a possibility to consider in Banjo's case. Did the vet bring this possibility up to you?

Hi PushPurrCatPaws , yes, we've done flea treatment. Before he came to us, his foster mom gave him one dose of flea treatment (the stuff that goes on the skin of his neck), I did one a month later, and more recently, when we brought him to the vet because of his hair loss, the vet gave him another broad spectrum flea treatment.
I haven't really discussed the "twitching" issue with our vet, as we were more focused on treating (and getting rid of) the diarrhea, but I will bring it up with him and see what he thinks.

 

[SSimone]

Hi A ArtNJ , I have heard about FHS before and I agree, the symptoms sound very similar. However, over the past few days, I've read a bit more about this disease and also watched some videos of cats that have it, and I'm not so sure that's what Banjo has.
If I understand it correctly, cats with FHS have "episodes" where they show all these symptoms (twitching, licking their backs, running away, meowing, and sensitivity to touch), but with Banjo, those symptoms show up one at a time.. For example, I see his back twitching, but he's not licking himself or running away. And when he get's the crazy zoomies, I've never noticed a twiching, and it's sometimes quite easy to distract him from his zoomies. I also never noticed that he would be especially sensitive to touch around his lower back.

I have a feeling (which might be wrong, because I don't have much experience with these issues), that many of his symptoms/issues, like the running and meowing as well as the hand biting, are attention seeking behaviours rather than an actual medical issue... or maybe it's a comination...

 

[SSimone]

Even if it is FHS, they say the first step for treatment is to reduce the cat's stress level. Which brings me back to my original question of how do I reduce his stress, when I'm not sure what's causing it?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Well, you can try giving him chamomile tea. It relaxes gently, but without sedating. Buy the PLAIN, unblended tea bags at the store. Brew a cup, and chill it in the fridge. When cold, administer 1-3 tsp per dose, up to 3 doses per day. If he weighs over 9 pounds, you can increase that to tablespoons. I'd give it via syringe or medicine dropper.