Rippling Skin Disease in Cats

Several experts have called it a phenomenon, self-mutilation, feline epilepsy, and even twitchy cat disease; however, the official name for the disease is Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome.

It is very real and can demonstrate an entire range of conditions, from mild depression to seizures, severe chest pains, and even brain damage. If your cat has had this disease, or has it, you may even think they may have gone crazy.

What is it?

Cats rippling skin disease is a condition that is most common in Siamese or similar breeds of cats, and a condition where your cat actually acts like they may have gone crazy for some reason, or something is so severely wrong that they have suddenly lost any type of normal control for extended periods.

All cats will exhibit this type of behavior in spurts, especially kittens or young cats, as they are just acting crazy or playing in chasing their own tail or something along those lines. However, with Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome, your cat is actually in distress.

Something hurts them or they sense that something has hurt them so severely that they can’t handle the pain.

What is even more mysterious about this condition is that the stress that you show when this happens may be telegraphed back to them, causing even more stress to your cat.

No one knows for sure exactly what it is. Is it psychological, is it physical, is it an obsessive disorder, is it a compulsive disorder, or is it actually a form of an epileptic seizure. Or is it what they are eating?

But there is one thing that everyone agrees on, and that is that there is something horribly wrong, as when it happens your cats skin literally starts to ripple.

If you have witnessed it first hand, it is very frightening.

Symptoms:

The first symptom of rippling skin disease is the condition that bears the name, rippling skin. Your cats’ skin on the lower back will actually ripple as it seems to be moving.

It is often set off by you simply touching their lower back near the tail. As soon as this happens, your pet will start to either bite or scratch their back or their tail very aggressively.

Another symptom will be your cat, for no apparent reason, starts to meow very loud and for long periods of time, almost like they are crying. This seems to occur mostly during the evening hours or at nighttime.

If this happens, the next symptom that you need to look for is in the eyes of your cat.

The pupils of the eyes will dilate and it will appear that they can’t focus. Your pet will also look like they have lost reality and are just simply staring at nothing, and have no direction or meaning.

This is than often followed by your cat running in circles, or running back and forth, again with no meaning or direction. But besides the sign of the rippling of their skin, the largest symptom will be their sudden sensitivity to touch.

Your first inclination will be to try to calm them down by petting them but you can’t, as when you touch them they will act like it is very painful and many believe that at that point in time, it is extremely painful.

There have been some cases where the behavior has been so aggressive, that the cat’s tails have had to be removed from self-mutilation in rippling skin disease.

Causes:

No one knows for any certainty what causes this mysterious rippling skin disease, but there are causes that your veterinarian will have to rule out. The first will be some type of a toxin.

A severe allergic reaction to toxins such as flea dips and collars, aerosol sprays, hair sprays, second hand smoke, and scented candles could all be physical reactions that are causing pain in your pet.

Next will be checking for flea allergies, as a reaction to a flea bite can cause many of these same symptoms. Brain infections, tumors, or trauma that may be inflecting seizure type symptoms also has to be checked.

Yellow Fat Disease, or Panstaetitis, must also be examined; as some experts believe may be the real underlying cause of cats rippling skin disease.

Fat deposits by their very nature can be very painful to your pet and the symptoms are very similar.

What may actually be happening to your pet is that they have a Vitamin E deficiency as a result of their diet, causing the fat deposits.

If you cat is a fed too much tuna, either raw or commercial tuna pet food, check for the red tuna content. Too much red tuna and the mercury that it contains causes these fat deposits to build in you pets system

The result of these hard lump buildups are chest pains, abdominal pains, and lower back pains, exactly what you cat may be signaling.

Vitamin E deficiency in cats also results in impaired immunological response, retinal atrophy, muscle dystrophy and failure to digest food properly. Many believe this may be the cause of rippling skin disease.

Too much red tuna can cause a Vitamin E deficiency in your cat.

Treatments:

There are some drugs that can be used to treat severely affected cats such as anti-convulsing medications if your cat has had a seizure, but since no one really knows the exact cause, there is no effective treatment.

Helping to relieve your cats stress may be the best treatment.

However, all living things are what they eat or do not eat, and the best treatment for cats rippling skin disease may be what you are not feeding or supplementing your pet with.

Natural Treatments for Rippling Skin Disease in Cats

More About Skin Problems in Cats:

Alopecia in Cats Feline alopecia can cause a partial or a complete hair loss, it can appear as a pattern, it can be varied with no pattern, it can be symmetrical, or it may be totally random.
Cats Changing Colors Feline color changes can happen but they are not normal and if your cat’s skin starts to change, there may be something very seriously wrong with them.
Cat Hot Spots Feline hot spots are most generally caused by some type of a parasite such as fleas or mites but they can also be caused by insect bites.
Demodectic Mange Feline Demodectic mange is caused by a mite referred to as Demodex and can develop in two different forms.
Dry Skin in Cats The lack of omega-3 fatty acids is one of the more common causes of dry skin in your cat.
Feline Acne There may be several causes for acne in cats but what has happened is that the hairs in the pores of your cat have become blocked because of these glands.
Miliary Dermatitis Miliary dermatitis in cats could be caused by autoimmune diseases, abnormalities with your cat’s hormones, or nutritional disorders such as biotin or fatty acid deficiencies.
Fluid Bumps in Cats Small fluid bumps in cats are called pustules and are pus filled lesions that are almost blister-like in nature.
Lice in Cats Although feline lice infestations are not nearly as common in cats as they are in dogs, it is a misconception that cats cannot be affected by lice.
Mange in Cats Feline mange is a skin disease that comes in several forms and causes.
Myiasis in Cats Feline Myiasis has no gentle description as to what it actually is; maggots.
Pemphigus Foliaceus Feline Pemphigus foliaceus is a severe skin as well as an autoimmune disease, which makes it a tremendous risk to your cats overall health.
Hair Growth in Cats Feline hair growth has several misconceptions about how this protective coat actually develops.
Pruritus in Cats Feline Pruritus is an itching that has developed, but it is not an average everyday itch as it can very rapidly cross over your cats itch threshold.
Pyoderma in Cats There are also three very distinctive symptoms with feline pyoderma; lesions, pimples or pustules, as well as open draining sores.
Scabies in Cats Feline Scabies is an extremely dangerous to the overall cat population as it is very easily spread by any type of direct contact with an infected cat.
Walking Dandruff The cause of feline walking dandruff is by an infestation of the Cheyletiella mite which is found worldwide.