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Why is my overweight cat twitching, hiding, and uncomfortable?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 5 years and 11 months old | 16 lbs

Hi, I'm Makaylah and I'm here asking questions regarding my cat Piglett. I've had him since he was a kitten Hes about five and a half now. Last year I started noticing a drastic change in his behavior. He started hiding a lot and freaking out and twitching his back. I can no longer pet his mid to lower back. He constantly seems uncomfortable. He scratches the living hell out of his neck but no fleas. He's rather overweight at the moment. Just wondering if you could give me some insight on this.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist, Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner

Published on September 12th, 2017

I'm sorry Piglet is having this problem. There are a few things that come to mind with Piglet. Since he is overweight, we commonly see skin problems along the lower back of overweight cats that can't groom themselves normally. Your vet can do some simple tests to evaluate for yeast or bacterial infection that could be causing Piglet to be itchy. We also see something called Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome where cats are overly sensitive along their lower back. This condition may require medication to resolve. Here is more information on that. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=3000 I would recommend taking Piglet to your vet and get their opinion. Hopefully this is something that can be treated and return Piglet to his normal self. Good luck! I hope that was helpful! Thank you for using PetCoach.

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