Sudden Feline Hyperesthesia Symptoms, caused by fleas?

[Gizm0]

I have a 1.5 year old neutered male cat who started displaying symptoms of FHS just a day ago. It completely started out of the blue. I went to bed and he was fine, and I woke up 8 hours later and he was running around like he was scared, to the point he was panting. He's no longer running around and panting but he is still twitching his back occasionally, flicking his tail around, dilated pupils, doesn't recognize his tail and feet sometimes and will bite himself (but not to the point of injury, just quick bites). He's not violent to us thankfully and calms down when he is held. He's strictly indoors and couldn't have got into anything poisonous that I know of.

We are currently dealing with fleas. We have 9 cats that are all indoors so the fleas must've hitched a ride in from a person. I treated everyone with Frontline Plus about 2 weeks ago ago and treated with Capstar 3 times between now and then. I doubt the flea medicine is causing the reaction or I would've seen it sooner. I called the vet and they said as long as he's eating and using the litter box he can wait a few days for an appointment.

The only other thing I can think of is the fleas causing him to be hypersensitive. Maybe he's allergic to flea saliva? I'm still finding large live ones even after the Frontline so I may have to switch to Revolution and give alongside Capstar.

It's killing me because he's usually playing with his brothers and now he just wants to sit there and he looks miserable. Can FHS appear so suddenly? Could the fleas be triggering something?

 

[iPappy]

I've used Frontline and Frontline plus and I have found it doesn't work as it used to. Revolution or Advantage still seems to work fine, so I would talk to your vet about switching. IDK if FHS can appear that suddenly but if you know he has fleas and he's biting and twitching, he could just be reacting to the sensation of them moving around on him and biting. IME FHS cats often can have redirected aggression at themselves or anyone (cat or human) in their path. Could you go over him with a flea comb once or twice a day to minimize how many he has on him at one time until he sees the vet?

 

[Gizm0]

I've used Frontline and Frontline plus and I have found it doesn't work as it used to. Revolution or Advantage still seems to work fine, so I would talk to your vet about switching. IDK if FHS can appear that suddenly but if you know he has fleas and he's biting and twitching, he could just be reacting to the sensation of them moving around on him and biting. IME FHS cats often can have redirected aggression at themselves or anyone (cat or human) in their path. Could you go over him with a flea comb once or twice a day to minimize how many he has on him at one time until he sees the vet?

Yeah, I'm hoping its just sensitivity to the fleas. He is a bit aggressive towards himself but not to the point where I'm worried he's going to draw blood. The first day it started was the worst though, and the twitching was like an 8 hour episode. I seen FHS usually doesn't last that long, mostly shorter episodes, but he was showing some of the other symptoms so I was worried. I was hoping to save a bit of money with the Frontline Plus but I should've known these fleas survive just about everything.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You could try Advantage II (non-prescription) and see if you get better results. The thing is with that many cats, even if they are indoors only, the fleas will be hard to get rid of without also treating your home, inside and out, and doing a lot of vacuuming as well as washing of bedding/towels/etc. in hot water.

Also, it can take several months to completely rid the cats and the house of fleas/larvae/eggs. So, it might be premature to say the Frontline Plus isn't working.

As far as a possible flea allergy in your one cat, talk to the vet about temporary use of a steroid or maybe an antihistamine while you battle to get rid of the fleas. Also, consider that it might be the combination of flea treatments that is bothering your one cat.

You might find this web site helpful - FleaScience

 

[fionasmom]

Chelsea had diagnosed FSH. Her episodes were quite violent, as she went after her tail, but once they were over she was just a normal cat. There was no long term twitching or scratching. While I certainly cannot say that your cat does not have FSH, I would definitely investigate the flea angle.