Why does my hyper cat calm down when wearing a jumper? Is it safe?

Hello, and thank you for using PetCoach. I can understand why this syndrome may be confusing - as it's still a fairly poorly understood disorder. Hyperesthesia simply means "abnormally sensitive", but in cats it usually refers to sensitivity of the skin along their back. These cats often exhibit a strange twitching of the skin, and may suddenly take off running as if frightened or painful. There isn't a test for this condition, so your vet will develop a suspicion based on observations during an exam, your description of whats happening at home, and often taking a video of an episode can be very helpful. The cause is not completely well understood, but there is some belief that these could be related to focal seizure activity, due to the fact that many cats will respond well to seizure medication. If Mars does have hyperesthesia syndrome, it is possible that wearing a jumper could make it worse. I recommend having Mars examined by your vet to determine if it's worth doing a trial of medication for hyperesthesia syndrome Feel free to request a consultation if you'd like to discuss it in more detail. Finally, you may have come across this page in your searching but there's some good information here: https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/04/04/feline-hyperesthesia-symptoms.aspx Hope this helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lucy. I recommend asking her veterinarian for a prescription sedative. If she does not calm down, she runs the risk of damaging her incision site and experiencing surgical complications. I hope this information helps!

She will calm down with time. Kittens are generally very hyperactive and extremely playful. This behavior will continue until about 1-2 years of age but sometimes longer. I hope this helps and feel free to post any additional questions,

Yes, Zylkene is a very safe product if you want to try it with opal - it's made from milk proteins, and does not contain drugs of any kind. In my experience, it can certainly be helpful in promoting relaxation and relieving stress in some cats. I'm not sure whether this will help her feline hyperesthesia syndrome or not, as most of the time prescription medication like gabapentin or prednisolone is required to treat this problem effectively, but there should be no problem at all with giving it a try :)

Regularly scheduled feeding times (feed her twice a day) and play periods, for example, may help keep an insecure cat relaxed and well exercised. And any type of physical activity that may irritate or overstimulate the cat—such as scratching its back—must certainly be avoided. Leave out a little catnip fo Luna, and change her toys regularly so she doesn't get bored with them. Put on music or a "cat video" when you have to be gone. Provide a perch for her so she can comfortably watch what’s going on outside as long as this isn’t a trigger for her. Provide scratching posts and structures to climb on. Finally, keep her schedule as regular as possible.

I'm not surprised Chippy is jumpy, he was ambushed and he likely doesn't feel safe at the moment. I would get Feliway diffuser, it releases calming pheromones. Pair it with a Sentry calming collar, this may help him.

Poor Poppy! I would make sure she doesn't have any fleas. Fleas can sometimes cause cats to have bizarre behavior. I would also be concerned about miniature seizures or back/neck pain. Since this is happening frequently I would have your vet take a look at her. Your vet will be able to do a thorough exam to help determine the cause. They may want to start her on a little anti-anxiety medicine to see if this helps decrease the episodes. You could try Benadryl twice a day to see if this makes a difference. I hope this helps. See link below. https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/cat/benadryl/#!