Diagnosis Day

Wednesday, November 17, 2004



The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Koret School of Veterinary Medicine


Summary of disease and
treatment instructions for the owner
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Summary of Disease:
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Nekko arrived at the hospital after referral
from her veterinarian,
following complaints of being overly aggressive
and personal attacks targeting the tail and hind.
Physical inspection of the tail area - no pathological findings.
In an X-Ray of the dorsal, waist and tail spine -
no significant findings.
According to the history and the signs it seems to be
Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome.
A syndrome documented in cats without any clear cause,
and without any known treatment possible.
The disease is described in the literature as aggression
of the cat towards the area of the tail, much vocal activity,
and sudden episodes.
Nekko is released to the owners.

Introduction

Nekko suffers from a relatively rare
hereditary environment provoked
mental disease called
Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome,
Sometimes also called Rolling Skin Syndrome
The most important and potentially fatal symptom is
self mutilation.
This happens while in
Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome anger episodes.

During these episodes, Nekko is self attacking,

I and others are also attacked,
but not at all in the same manner:
Others are only attacked as if from over-paranoid self defense,
only when she fears an approach.
I - am attacked in the same manner - but only if
I deliberatly try to approach her,
trying to prevent her from attacking herself while
she is this agitated.

Self attacking occurs in sporadic sudden jumps at the tail
and hind legs during an episode, without any known
advance warning, except for the overall judgment
of the episode severity, affecting frequency and likelihood.

Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome
episodes and self-attacks are very vocal and loud,
expressing what seems to be excruciating internal
pain of an unexplained source, seemingly at the tail.

Attacks are strongest at the peak of the
Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome episode.
are concentrated solely at the tail and hind legs.

Trigger List

Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome episodes
can almost always be identified
as being triggered by an event starting to occur
or briefly occurring some 5-10 minutes prior to the first signs
of a Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome episode I can identify.

Triggers are almost always the same exact events that we
cat lovers are used to seeing to Excite kittens.
The more so, the more it will be an FHS trigger.

The severity of a trigger causing a
Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome
episode to sprout and develop,
I define by the severity of the episode,
adjusted to its estimated full blown potential.
(adjusting for Valiums given during,
or any other calm-down tactic initiated by me).

All is dynamic and judged by gut feel based on
many past experiences.

for the examples, assume a scale of 1-10.


1 a play with one of her toys
Nekko simply has no toys today.

2. an annoyingly imperfect bathroom session.
I found Mult-Soft to be somewhat effective in disolvinbg cat
hair and reducing vomiting.
After vomiting, there will surely be an episode,
so cat grass is a no-no, and Mult-soft is it.
Nekko hardly vomits.
I one extreme case early 2007,
where she did not go for a #2 for several days,
I stuff her with some castor oil,
which was quite quick and effective.


3. a fly.
The lighting in the appartment is arranged such that insects
will tend to keep to the porch and places where Nekko doesn't usually hang out.
When I am in the bedroom by the computer,
she would usually be there right by my side.
I keep a fly swat to make sure I get to all insects quickly,
hopefully before they get noticed by her.


4. a bigger fly, insect or cockroach.
(Ants are zero, or 3 if they are very large for Israeli ants.
a skipper is about 7)


5. thunderstorms. Nekko was 'alergic' to thunders much before FHS,
terrified, yearning for my Holding.
It was only much later, during 2007, when I dared and
discovered that Holding (ADHD style),
is actually effective in reducing FHS episodes.
Nekko is unaffected by thunders for some years now.


6. I speak in a consistently continuous monotone voice
over a sustained period, such as when dictating
details, especially over the phone.
I believe this is a trauma from countless hours
of undivided attention I gave to a girl I was tutoring
with Nekko present, and is automatically
associated with 'neglect' in Nekko's brain.

Its a type of distress, just like any other, not directly
correlated with Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome
in any manner.

The most difficult in this respect is playing the guitar
at night, when I wear the headset.
On one hand, I am paying much undivided attention to something else.
On the other - my ears - my main alertness tool
to her evolving episodes - where I need to be able to detect
the slightest typical sounds of Nekko in her early stages of
an episode - are disabled.
I make sure before hand she is calm, separate the rooms
by closing doors to make sure she is noticing as little as possible,
and am visually alert. If she comes to lthe living
room and start chewing on the guitar chord or my legs,
then it means I should stop for a petting session.


7. My being angry, with someone other then Nekko herself.
Anger towards her is mostly perceived as a type of attention,
which she responds positively to,
even during severe stages of an episode.

Anger was discovered before FHS was,
to be effective in quieting her down.
This concept led me be somewhat of a
dog trainer with Nekko.
Once I knew her sporadic behaviour is part of a disease,
I was trying to play anger.
This did not quite work at first.
She is too sensitive to tell apart real anger from fake.
I later found than being highly vocal, much more than in the angry days,
still works, to a degree.
Also, some episodes cause me much fear,
and if I play angry during, it seems much emotion
will come out when I raise the voice volume,
and this prooves effective.
Unfurtunatly, this is not in my direct control,
nor is it my desire that episodes will be so as severe,
so as to make me fearful for her.

8. guests. (varying lower degrees as well).
This is where ADHD correlation is most expressive.
The more guest there are, and the more noise they make,
the quicker she will be agitated and start developing
an episode.
As she does, her defined teritorial safe distance rises,
and suddnly, the slightest movement of a human leg
under a table is perceived as an attack on her,
even thought it has been as stationary,
some 70 centimeters from her, for some time now.
This leg will now be attacked.
It it is my leg it will not. She seems to be calm
and perceive whatever movement I make as non-aggressive,
regardless of my distance from her.
Yet in later and more sever stages, when it is no longer safe
for guests to be in the same room with her,
I would take her to be in a room alone with her, where I would be quite cautious. If I am prepared, I can let her try to attack my hand to measure her level of agitation.


9. a woman guest.


10. 9 plus 7 combination and its implications.