Dear Sinéad, Siouxsie and Thomas:
I found your feline hyperesthesia syndrome article on the Internet and thought you might be able to help me a little bit. It was very interesting and informative but I'm still looking for more!

I have a 7-month-old kitten I found abandoned on the street when he was about 4 to 5 weeks old. He was really tiny (and is still extremely small), and I wasn't sure he would even survive. He's short-haired and his hair is also not very thick; it was winter so when I felt his body shivering I assumed he was cold and always held him wrapped in my clothes or in a blanket to warm him up.

I realized a few months ago that he shivers when he couldn't possibly be cold, so I began observing closely what was happening. I discovered his leg and rear end muscles shiver as in chills, and at times actually seem to spasm. All the information I've found says FHS usually appears at 1 to 4 years of age, maybe since he's so young it's going to progress, I don't know. When I touch the base of his tail or his rear end to hold him he has always let out a scream and acted hurt or angry. These are the only symptoms he has except for the first time today when I picked him he actually turned on me and really attacked. This evening he's watching me closely as if he either thinks I'm going to do something to hurt him again or possibly trying to search my face to see if I'm mad at him for turning on me.

He's very small-boned and even though he's all white, he has Siamese bone and facial structure so it's possible he has some Siamese in him. He's also deaf and is apparently unable to purr. Since he doesn't have any of the other behavioral problems which seem to be related to FHS, do you think it sounds like that's still what he has? I live in South America and the vets here aren't as knowledgeable as the vets in the US, so I'm sort of on my own looking for possibilities. I've learned that quite often if I have knowledge of diseases, symptoms, tests and treatments I can guide my vet in the right direction or at least stir an interest in her to go searching for more info, so anything you can share with me would be very appreciated.

I have another cat who was abandoned at a very young age (animals are treated terribly here!) who is FIV-positive. He doesn't have contact with my little guy but since he has it, I will be getting the smaller guy tested for FeLV and FIV next week. Do you think, from your investigations that it's possible that Paqari's (the little one) symptoms could be caused by FIV or FeLV? The big guy has many behavioral problems which I've learned can be caused from the effects of FIV in cats that have had it from a very young age.

As you can probably tell, my cats are very important to me, and keeping them healthy and happy is my first concern. I would love to hear any of your thoughts on this.

~ Lauri

Sinéad: Well, Lauri, it does sound like you've got a bit of a medical mystery on your hands. But we may have some advice to help you and your vet get to the bottom of it.

Siouxsie: While Paqari's symptoms could be evidence of hyperesthesia, we have a feeling there's something else going on.

Thomas: What you're seeing when Paqari screams and/or lashes out when you touch his hips is also a standard reaction to pain. We think that between the reaction and his occasional muscle spasms and twitching you mention, it's possible that little Paqari has an injury or a structural malformation in his hips.

Sinéad: Has your vet taken any X-rays to see if Paqari has sustained an injury before you found him? If he fractured his hip or a leg bone (if, say, he got hit by a car or thrown hard by a cruel person) and it didn't heal properly, that could lead to weakness, tremors and pain in the hindquarters, too.

Siouxsie: He could also have a herniated intravertebral disc. The discs, as you may know, are little cushions between the bones of the spine; they serve as shock absorbers and make us flexible. Discs can get herniated or ruptured through an accident, a hard fall, or abusive injuries.

Thomas: Again, this could be the result of an injury. Herniated discs may not show up on an X-ray, and the vet may have to do an ultrasound or MRI exam to detect muscle or ligament injuries. We don't know how widely available these diagnostic tests are in South America, but in most of the US and Canada, there's at least one clinic per state that has the facilities to perform these tests.

Sinéad: Your best bet for finding MRI or ultrasound exam facilities is probably going to be at a veterinary school with a teaching hospital, or in a large city.

Siouxsie: Cats can suffer from hip dysplasia, too, although it's much rarer in cats than it is in dogs. Hip dysplasia occurs when the part of the hip that holds the top of the leg isn't properly formed. This causes stress and strain on the ligaments and pain from the bones not fitting together properly. If your kitty has hip dysplasia, he might not want to jump down from high places, or if he does, he might favor one leg or the other.

Thomas: There are some chronic illnesses that can cause rear-end weakness in cats, but these illnesses don't generally cause pain. These illnesses are generally associated with older cats, anyhow, and it's not too likely that a 7-month-old kitten would develop, say, hyperthyroidism.

Sinéad: It's possible that something in the environment could be causing Paqari's problems. Lead poisoning, for example, has a lot of neurological symptoms.

Siouxsie: And we'd bet that there's a lot of lead in the environment there. Mama says they might still be using gasoline with lead in it down there, and if that's the case, the lead comes out in the exhaust of cars -- and a car's exhaust pipe is just about the height of a kitten's face!

Thomas: Other heavy metals such as mercury or cadmium can also cause neurological symptoms. You might consider having a hair analysis done, in order to see what, if any, heavy metal toxins have built up in Paqari's system. Pet Test, a North Carolina-based company, does hair tests. We believe that all you need to do is send a sample of your kitty's hair, so this should be something you can do from South America without too much stress or expense. Find out more about the specifics from Pet Test's website.

Sinéad: Something else that you and your vet should be aware of is that your kitten suffered from some serious nutritional deprivation. If you found him abandoned when he was 4-5 weeks old, he hadn't even been fully weaned by that time. He probably didn't know how to hunt, and even if he did, his tiny little baby teeth probably wouldn't have been sufficient to kill prey.

Siouxsie: And his mother probably didn't get adequate nutrition when she was pregnant, either. So what this means is that the mother's nutritional deficit passed on some weaknesses and perhaps even physical defects to your cat. This malnutrition in utero and as an abandoned street kitty are probably why Paqari is so small.

Thomas: Paqari will need some extra support to stay healthy. We recommend that you feed him the highest quality food you can and perhaps even move to a raw-food diet (made with recipes from authorized and well-researched sources), and give him only pure water. Nutritional supplements would also be a great help. These changes would benefit your FIV-positive kitty, too.

Sinéad: There are two books you should definitely have on your bookshelf. The first of these is Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health Care for Dogs and Cats by Dr. Richard H. Pitcairn and Susan Hubble Pitcairn. This is generally considered one of the foundation texts on holistic health care for animals. It also contains vet- and animal-tested homemade food recipes for dogs and cats. They just recently came out with an updated edition, so even if you have an earlier edition of this book, you would benefit from picking up the new one. Mama says she plans to do so!

Siouxsie: And then there's The Goldsteins' Wellness and Longevity Program by Robert S. Goldstein, V.M.D., and Susan J. Goldstein. Mama just picked this book up a few months ago, and she's found that it has a good variety of information on an array of conditions, and some good recipes and nutrition supplement plans. This book has information for dogs, too, but don't be put off by that.

Thomas: The Goldstein book has an extensive bibliography and list of online resources for pet caretakers and veterinarians. Both of these books are available online through sellers such as amazon.com, and should be available on the shelves or through special order at any bookstore that sells a large number of books written in English. We think your vet might find them interesting, too. There may even be Spanish translations of these books if you or your vet are more comfortable reading Spanish than English.

Sinéad: What it boils down to, Lauri, is that we're pretty sure little Paqari's pain and aggressive reaction is due to an injury or bone/soft tissue malformation rather than feline hyperesthesia syndrome.

Siouxsie: If you hear hoofbeats outside your window, you should look for horses rather than zebras.

Thomas: Of course, if you lived in Africa, it would be a different story. Hee hee hee!

Sinéad: That's beside the point. What Siouxsie means is that when searching out the source of a symptom, eliminate the more obvious causes first. Hyperesthesia is actually quite rare in cats. Injuries and malnutrition -- especially in abandoned street kittens living in poverty-stricken areas -- are much more common. FIV and Feline Leukemia are also unfortunately common among stray and feral cat populations.

Siouxsie: We'd recommend that your vet run a blood test to see if Paqari's liver, thyroid, kidney and other hormone levels are in balance, and if his blood cell counts are in the normal range, too.

Thomas: There's another blood test called the Nutritional Blood Test, which the Goldsteins recommend in their book. It goes farther than the traditional veterinary blood test because it assesses which of your kitty's organs are functioning at peak efficiency and which ones are starting to falter (or functioning outside the optimal range). The results come with a list of recommendations for medicines, nutritional supplements, herbal and homeopathic remedies to support your cat's organ function and repair damage before it manifests as disease. The Nutritional Blood Test is offered by Animal Nutrition Technologies in Connecticut, USA.

Sinéad: We hope that some of these resources are of help to you and Paqari, and to your FIV+ cat as well as any other animals you bring into your life. Thank you for rescuing Paqari and your other cat and for providing them with much better lives and much more love than they could otherwise have expected.

Got a question? Need some advice? E-mail us at advice@paws-and-effect.com. None of the material in this column is meant to be a substitute for regular veterinary care.