Mutilating Disease / Rippling Disease, Hyperesthesia

[brutis&miep]

My Cat Brutis has been diagnosed with feline hyperesthesia.

For those of you who don't know what this is...hyperesthesia is, or at least I have researched to be, a vague term for "your cat is mutilating his hind quarters." It can be a symptom of epilepsy, a nerve disorder, a behavioral disorder, and some studies that don't agree with say it is food related, but I think this is a food allergy or malnutrition not a disease. Anyways, in less severe cases the cat rips out its fur, in severe cases, like my cat, they mutilate and chew through the skin to the bone of their back end, tail and sometimes back legs.

He has siezure like sypmtoms that cause him to literally attach and mutilate his tail. This started on Thursday of last week when I thought he was just playing with his tail only to find out that he had chewed 3 inches off the end of his tail. We took him to the vet. They amputed part of his tail. Later that night when the anesthesia wore off he attacked his tail again, under a bed and when we finally got to him he had mutilated farther down his tail, which led to a visit to the emergancy vet clinic. They resuturd his tail, bandaged it, and gave us a cone to put on his head. This vet suggested that he had feline hyperesthesia. This info was sent to his regular vet.

My regular vet is awesome. While all the studies recommend that we put him on phenabarbitol, my vet would rather try a VOM Adjustment first, which from what I understand is a nerve reallignment. She called me Friday morning to confirm that she received the fax from the Emergency vet clinic and that she is going to do research and call me back. My only concern with the VOM adjustment is that many of the sites I've read on this disease say that touching the cats back end can bring on another episode. Until Monday, we have him on herbal nerve stuff called Hypercalm that my vet gave me, Azmira's herbal anxziety pills, and pain killers for the amputation.

This morning (sunday morning) he had another episode, in which he growled at his tail and began attacking it. I got to him before he ripped open his bandage. But he out right went after my dog, which he has never done and even swipped at me. Again, siezure like behaviors??? I put the cone back on his head after this.

My questions are...
1. After the VOM adjustment, should we stop medicating him to see if it worked?

2. What should we do if it doesn't work? Amputate his entire tail? Other sites on this disease suggested we just amputate the entire tail?? I don't have a problem doing this but will he start on his legs after this?

3. How expensive is phenobarbitol? Are there after affects of this medication?

4. Will he grow out of this?

Anyone familair with this disease? Any suggestions?

[Cindy]

How awful! Your vet sounds great, I hope your cat can recover from this. The more I read about cats and what diseases and such they can get, the more overwhelming it is. No wonder I am seeing more and more "cats only" vets. Good luck!

[Traci]

How old is your kitty?

Was the behavior a result of an injury, that might have been something unbeknownst to you? (i.e, trapped in something, fell from something, insect/spider bite, harmed by children, etc) Having come on so suddenly, an injury should have been ruled out first and foremost.

When the vet tells you to keep the e-collar on, he means keep the e-collar on!. You should only remove the e-collar at times you are there to watch him every single moment (like when he eats), and then put it directly back on. The chewing/nipping/biting occurs when pain or a nerve response is illicited, and without an e-collar, he will bite at it again and again and again.

Both vets need to rule out internal illness as well as spinal problems, since tail problems like this can also be indicative of a spinal lesion or disc problem, etc. Was an xray ever taken, and was an xray repeated after surgery to evaluate the spine as well? Some organ disfunctions can also cause pain, too numerous to mention here, anal gland masses should also be ruled out.

Phenobarb is not without problems. This is also not true seizure activity from what I can gather from your posts. Seizures occur from organ disfunction to viral infections, to numerous other health issues, and phenobarb should only be prescribed when the patient has been fully evaluated with extensive exams, full bloodwork, and direct observation in the clinic so the vet can determine the type of seizures that occur. Any patient on phenobarb must be monitored closely, and blood testing must be done frequently to monitor phenobarb levels in the blood, as well as to determine effectiveness for the seizure condition being treated.

If either vet felt hyperesthesia was the final diagnosis, they might want to look into anti-anxiety medications rather than phenobarb. Although these should be used as a last resort because they too are not without risk, and sometimes they only mask the problem, not truly treat it.

Personally, I would strongly recommend you see a feline neurologist promptly, since a board-certified neurologist has the experience to deal with this situation, and can recommend appropriate treatment for your kitty's needs. He would want to evaluate kitty with bloodwork, exam, and determine from the behavior if this is hyperesthesia or not.

There very well could be a nerve defecit or pinched nerve problem, but without a neurologist's professional opinion, surgery to correct a nerve problem by an inexperienced vet could be risky. You need a certified neurologist to determine if this is necessary or beneficial for your cat.

Forget the herbal (or homeopathic) stuff, it's worthless, won't do a thing, and is only wasting your time, and delaying vital treatment for your kitty. Your vet should know better. Most herbs do not act well with other medications, particularly pain medications, and none of them have ever been tested for safety or efficacy in animals. You know that many herb products are taken off the market each year due to severe illnesses and deaths, why owners take chances with pets is beyond me. Cease the herb products, they are useless and could have potential for causing harm to your kitty.

See a qualifed, board-certified feline neurologist, and get professional opinion/diagnosis/treatment pronto. Stop the herb stuff and refuse any that your vet recommends from this point on.