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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / July 2006Cat Agoraphobia?
Hi -- My cat Frankie is an 11-year-old male, who somewhat resembles a Maine Coon cat (dark tabby, medium lenghth fur, large body, short legs). Generally he has a very laid back and friendly disposition, but also through the years he's been scared of a number of things, usually sounds. He used to go outside in the yard to bite grass and run around (especially when it's raining!). He's never attempted to jump over the fence or leave the yard. He likes to stay near home. Until a month or so ago, going outside in the yard seemed to be one of his favorite things to do. He also used to like to sit by the window and look outside. About two months ago, after Frankie had been outside, he came running in, in a sort of panic. He also had a twitch in his back, and repeatedly licked on spot on his back, and then would run back and forth in a kind of maniacal way. He did this for a while, and then hid under the couch. For the next few hours, he had a strange look in his eye and couldn't seem to relax. That one spot on his back seemed to twitch a lot, but he also was generally "twitchy." We thought he'd either been bitten by something or had eaten something that affected his nervous system. But he recovered and then was normal for the next couple of weeks. Then, almost the exact same thing happened again, only it wasn't as severe and didn't last as long. Plus, Frankie had only been outside for a moment, and didn't really have time to have eaten anything or been stung by anything. After that I decided to keep him indoors for a couple of days. Since then, he absolutely will not go outside. He won't even sit by the sliding door or any windows. If the door is open and he feels a breeze, he suddenly gets twitchy again and runs under the couch. My husband tried just carrying him outside to see if he'd stay, but he got extremely frightened and ran inside immediately. Anyone have any ideas of what's going on? I've been telling this story to my friends who have cats, and nobody yet seems to have a clue. Thanks, Donna > Hi -- > [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > Thanks, > Donna This rang a bell. My feral cat used to live on the streets but developed a fear of the street after being brought inside. She is now in a more secluded place and loves to go out but not with the same abandon as the street cat she originally was. She shows a lot of caution that was not there before. Is it possible a stray bit your cat? Or he smelled a really mean cat somewhere. Some things I finally noticed, duh me. Other cats. I had not noticed them for a while because they are ferals and not too easily seen. So she is picking up scents. Something might have spooked your cat. A hawk? Or just a fear, however groundless, that sank deep into the hippocampus or whatever cats have that stores traumatic memories, whether real or not. Cats can be rather psychic. Once I picked her up to carry her back inside after one midnight romp and she got spooked and gave me a bloody nose! But that has not happened since, luckily. But for the life of me I could not see or hear anything that would spook her. But my eyes and ears are not as good as hers. I sometime wonder if I seem worried she picks up on this and is timid herself. Also, there were possible dangers, or so it seemed to my cat, that I had not been good about tuning into. Whenever I open the door, she lays back, most of the time, if during daylight, before venturing out. She is cautious and will go out but definitely smells other animals that dare to "trepass" and is freaked by that. She also waits until I open doors for her although she can open doors by herself. I don't know if that's caution or her being a princess. Just throwing out some thoughts. treeline -- Thanks for your ideas. There are plenty of cats in the neighborhood, some are strays. Frankie is rarely afraid of other cats (he usually bounds up to them in what looks to me like a friendly way & scares them because of his size!) but I know that in the past he has been afraid of the voices of neighbors, especially children. (He originally lived with neighbors who had small children, who then abandoned him when they moved out, when he was about 5 months old. We found him living outside in the rain, with only a cardboard box for shelter.) I'm pretty sure he wasn't bitten by a stray, but you never know. When Frankie's in the yard we're not far away & I don't think there were any other cats in the yard that day, but I can't say for sure. There's only one stray that occasionally comes in our yard and we always chase him out. Your idea about a smell also makes sense. Before this incident, there were plenty of times Frankie suddenly got scared and ran inside for no apparent reason. (But then he was always happy to go right back out shortly thereafter. His not going out at all any more, or even sitting up on the window to look outside, is really surprising.) I guess what stumps me as much as the fear is the twitching behavior, which I hadn't seen before. But maybe that's just his "nerves" on overdrive when he gets scared. -- Donna > treeline -- > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > -- Donna He may have been stung by an insect--it doesn't take long!! The twitchiness on his back and his attention to that area would make me think of something like that. Cats can have very looooong memories when something hurts them!! Or could someone have thrown something at him and hit him? Just the fact that he was twitchy in that one area and kept licking it makes me think something came in contact with him. I've also had cats that will compulsively groom themselves if they've been embarassed or frightened but usually they didn't concentrate on one spot like that. Bonnie Bonnie -- Originally, I too was thinking he must have been stung by something. But when I've brushed & combed him -- even just after the first incident -- there was never any irregularity or scab or sensitivity on that spot. And why would he continue to concentrate on that one spot several months later? It's only when he gets spooked that he licks that spot. Which is why we thought it was some kind of nervous or psychological thing. -- Donna > He may have been stung by an insect--it doesn't take long!! The twitchiness > on his back and his attention to that area would make me think of something [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Bonnie Not every sting leaves a welt or spot. But since it doesn't seem he was hurt he must have been frightened badly by something--you'll probably never know! Short of any other physical problems sounds like whatever scared him did a good job--and he's associating all outdoor things with something BAD. Poor kitty! Bonnie > Bonnie -- > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >> >> Bonnie Yeah, I'm beginning to think it may have been a sting that traumatized him. But of course I'll never know for sure. But at least he seems to enjoy life to the extent that he spends a lot of his time sprawled out on the living room floor on his back, the very picture of relaxation! > Not every sting leaves a welt or spot. But since it doesn't seem he was > hurt he must have been frightened badly by something--you'll probably never [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > >> > >> Bonnie > treeline -- > > Thanks for your ideas. There are plenty of cats in the neighborhood, > some are strays. Frankie is rarely afraid of other cats (he usually my, my, donna, you're so polite, are you new here? > I guess what stumps me as much as the fear is the twitching behavior, > which I hadn't seen before. But maybe that's just his "nerves" on > overdrive when he gets scared. > > -- Donna in my very limited experience, i found that neurologists as a group of medicine men are rather incompetent, and that animal neurologists, for the most part, do not exist, outside a major research place, like boston. twitching always bothers me. after i had my cat dewormed, probably unnecessarily, and shots, and this and that, too much, she had a slight twitch with the left paw. but it's rare now but still there. i don't follow twitching on the back. you might want to take notes. exactly where, how many twitches, how long duration, what were immediately preceding circumstances, and so on. your cat might not feel better, but you might. and if you ever meet someone who acutally knows about cat's neurophysiology [and there are some since the cat's nervous system is very, very similar to we human animals and hence a big-time part of neurological research, poor kitties] you can use your notes then. when he twitches, can you massage the spot? is it spasming? people do that too. I do it. it's a major cause of bad backs in my not so humble opinion. and stress alone can bring it on, besides physical locomotive stress. and muscles have emotional memory, hence, the rolfing method of massage and counseling combined. you really need to sit down and have a long, soothing talk with your cat. he knows best what ails his furry bod. Update: Someone emailed me & suggested Frankie has something called feline hyperesthesia & from the descriptions (on various pet & vet. websites), Frankie does seem to fit the pattern. The symptoms include twitching & compulsive licking along the back part of the spine & general hypersensitivity to touch, which would explain why he gets freaked when he feels a breeze. It also sounds like there are other cats who have symptoms similar to Frankie's, though Frankie's case sounds less severe than most. For now, he seems to be doing fine as long as he stays inside, so I'll just keep an eye on him. -- Donna |
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