Ginger the cat relaxing at Cat Care Society.
Ginger, a shelter cat with feline hyperesthesia syndrome, recovers after a tail amputation and is now ready for adoption.

In a shelter in Colorado, an orange tabby cat sleeps peacefully in her favorite spot, unaware that she has gone viral on social media for her fight with a rare condition.

Ginger, a roughly 3-year-old cat, first arrived at Cat Care Society, a free-roaming non-profit cat shelter in Lakewood, Colorado, in February. She had been relinquished by her owner to another shelter for chronically attacking her own tail.

Her condition was so bad that she was transferred to Cat Care Society to be treated by its dedicated veterinary team.

"This isn't just chasing her tail...she was causing these deep, deep lacerations where she was really, really hurting herself," said Cecily Palamara, Chief Veterinarian at Cat Care Society.

Ginger couldn't stop attacking her own tail to the point that she had severely maimed herself, said Palamara. She was so distressed and her quality of life was so bad that she was almost considered for euthanasia.

"It started to get to the point where it was like, if we don't do something, she's going to be a euthanasia candidate because this is just not fair for her," she said.

Ginger, being the special cat she was, required special treatment.

A diagnosis: Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome

Ginger was suffering from feline hyperesthesia syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes extreme skin sensitivity, sometimes resulting in distressing symptoms. The sensitivity most commonly occurs along the back, especially in the area where the tail connects to the body.

Symptoms vary in presentation and severity but can include rippling or "rolling" of the skin, frantic or excessive grooming, biting or licking of the skin, drooling, vocalization, a strong reaction to being touched, aggression, tail-chasing, or, in severe cases, self-mutilating behavior.

Ginger's case, unfortunately, landed in the latter category.

"When she got to us, we noticed right away that her tail was just mangled and the wounds that she had inflicted on herself were really, really deep and infected and very, very chronic," said Palamara. "So it looked like this had been going on for a really long time."

Ginger was also easily overstimulated and sensitive to the world around her, said Palamara. Simple interactions like petting resulted in her becoming aggressive, attacking the person or herself.

Ginger undergoes treatment

After observing Ginger, Palamara suspected hyperesthesia syndrome, a diagnosis made through a process of ruling out other causes and underlying conditions.

It was important to find a way to treat Ginger promptly, said Palamara, both psychologically and physically.

"When they attack themselves like that, they'll get a secondary bacterial infection and that makes the wound hurt even more and makes them want to go after it even more," she said.

After putting Ginger on an antibiotic, caring for her wounds and placing her in an e-collar, Palamara said the real challenge lay in addressing the root cause of the behavior.

Feline hyperesthesia syndrome is poorly understood and veterinarians have not come to a generally accepted conclusion as to what causes it. While some believe it is a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder or maladaptive pain response or processing disorder, others believe it is caused by underlying seizure activity in the brain.

After a barrage of tests to ensure Ginger wasn't battling another condition that could explain her behavior, Palamara and her team began experimenting with different medications to alleviate Ginger's symptoms. While her vets were working out the correct balance of anti-seizure, nerve pain and anxiety medications, Ginger was experiencing successes and setbacks in her own private "presidential suite" at the shelter.

"We noticed a huge improvement in her behavior and just in her overall comfortability around people. She was rolling over on her back and wanting belly rubs, just really social and interactive," said Palamara. "As soon as she was allowed to see any type of action outside of her little suite, she started attacking herself again and she got to her tail again."

Tail amputation was a last resort

Amputation was a last-resort measure for the veterinary team, Palamara said, especially because Ginger could end up redirecting her attacks to another part of her body after her tail was gone. Ultimately, however, Ginger's case became so severe that removing her critically-damaged tail emerged as the best option.

"We really like to give cats a chance to succeed no matter what's going on with them," said Palamara. "And we did not feel like we wanted to give up on her."

Initially, the results of Ginger's surgery seemed promising. She didn't react like she had to people touching her backend, said Palamara, and seemed more relaxed. However, the fear that she would redirect her attacks briefly came true when shelter staff noticed her biting at her front legs.

"It's very frustrating to treat," said Palamara. If they were unable to find a treatment for Ginger, she would have no meaningful quality of life.

Luckily, after months and months of medication trials and environmental changes, the veterinarian team finally found something that worked for her. After increasing her anti-seizure medication one more time, staff noticed Ginger becoming a calmer, happier, more social cat who was increasingly able to handle more and more stimulating situations and interactions.

"Now she seems like she can really be a normal kitty. She's enjoying her life," Palamara said.

From anxious to adoptable

Ginger is now considered adoptable and will soon be ready to look for her forever home. She would do best in a calm, stable household with no other pets or small children, where she can relax and enjoy a quiet routine, said Palamara. Her new family would be required to attend a veterinary consult and be willing to maintain and adjust Ginger's treatment as her needs change.

"She is probably one of my top favorite kitties that I've met since I've been here," said Palamara. "We've seen her come from such a bad place and are just really seeing her blossom."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: This cat had a rare condition where she attacked her tail. Now she's up for adoption.

Reporting by Mary Walrath-Holdridge and Anastasiia Riddle, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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