Why does touching my cat's hindquarters make him bite his paws?
Recently (within the past 2 weeks or so), touching my cat's hindquarters has resulted in him frantically biting his (FRONT) paws. I noticed it for the first time when I was petting him while he was sitting (he looked like a drinky bird). Also, if he can't reach his paws (I'm in the way or something), he'll bite whatever is in reach.
The biting isn't a problem (he had stomatitis so badly that we had his teeth removed), but I can't figure out what's causing this behavior (and the other 3 cats don't do it). Has anyone ever seen this before?
Update: After a few weeks all of our cats developed this behavior.
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Cats are sensitive and highly strung, and can sometimes have odd reactions to being over-stimulated. A cat I had would repeatedly pop out her tongue when her back was scratched and would stop when you stopped.
Snapping with the teeth is common reaction in many cats, leading to the 'but I thought he liked it' cry. Usually it is at the hand doing the scratching.
I would just interpret this as a reaction to being over-stimulated and ease off when the biting starts.
I think what you're encountering is called Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome but the common name is rolling skin disease. Not all symptoms may manifest, but according to Blackwell's consult, the episodes can range from several seconds to minutes in length and can involve one or more of:
twitching skin
violent tail swishing
vocalizing
biting or licking
He may also have dilated pupils and appear further agitated.
There are some medicinal treatments, but one practice is to try and train them out of this if possible (may not be, causes will effect this). However, as the linked article notes, there are other diseases/illnesses that have similar symptoms (e.g. hyperthyroidism), so getting him checked by the vet would be a very good idea regardless.
Some additional information available on the Reno Animal Hospital site as well.
Edit
Evidence for front paw activity from the Cat Channel and on VeterinaryPartner.com. I don't think you should rule this out, it may be a mild case.
I have a male tabby, Richard, who is kind of a "thick" cat (not chunky but big) and he also bites his front paws when you scratch his hind quarters. He also makes a drawn out chirping noise that, to me, sounds like he is ticklish. My parents have one of his sisters and she behaves the same way.
I also grew up with a Russian Blue who liked to be "spanked" with a rolled up news paper. She would end up shedding it She loved that game. If she saw or heard a paper being rolled up, she would come running. I've heard that cats don't have the "ability" to be ticklish, but it sure seems like it to me.
The skin problems that cropped up at about the same time eventually led our general vet to recommend us to a dermatologist.
The veterinarian dermatologist told us that when a cat bites at their front legs while you're touching them, it's an itch response. They nicknamed it "corn cobbing" because it looks like the cat is eating a cob of corn (except instead of corn it's their leg).
Cats can't verbally tell us where they're itching, but signs like "corn cobbing" and hair loss helped the veterinarian dermatologist to find the culprit in our case - the 0.38 mm cheyletiella mite.
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