My Kitten twitches

Question
Hi, I would be really grateful if you could shed some light on this. 1 week ago I found a small kitten trapped in a fishing creel.  Once I rescued it I realised it was covered in fleas, so treated it the same day.  The next day I took the kitten to the vet to be checked over and the vet reckoned that he was about 12 weeks old, and apart from being a bit underweight, seemed ok.  He also checked and confirmed that I had managed to get rid of all the fleas.  I have also de-wormed him aswell.  However, I have noticed that this kitten is very nervous, and shakes quite a lot, until I have been with it for a good few minutes, then it settles slightly.  Ive also noticed when he sleeps, his whole face, mouth, eyes, and paws twitch and shake, do you know what this might be?  I would be really greatful for any advice you could give.  Thanks

Answer
Laura,

The twitching you have noticed should be mentioned to a vet as it can have a number of causes including neurological damage...It is quite possible that this kitten was exposed to distemper in utero as this can cause twitching, difficulty walking, head bobbing and other neurological symptoms. Your kitten could have a seizure disorder and be having petit mal seizures or minor grand mal seizures. You should also consider having your vet test for feline leukemia, FIV, FIP and other viral infections as twitching and shaking may be seizure related and could be caused by viral infections. Another disturbing possibility is that your new kitten has had serious head trauma as a result of cruelty or being hit by a car. It is possible that this kitten has been poorly treated as it sounds as though he may have been a victim of animal cruelty. Your new kitten may well be fearful of people in general and if this is the case it may take a significant amount of time before he decides to trust you completely. There is a chance that this little guy may have been exposed to alcohol or drugs by previous owners. Some people think that it is cute to get a cat drunk or stoned and unfortunately when this happens cats can become addicted to a substance and experience serious signs of withdrawal including tremors, vomiting, diarrhea. I don't if the fact that the kitten is undernourished could potentially have anything to do with the shaking. As for the twitching during his sleep he may very well be dreaming if he doesn't have a medical issue that could provide an answer for the cause of his shaking. You could try allowing your kitten to bury his face in your armpit or covering it with your hand to help decrease your kitten's anxiety when you pick him up and see if that improves the tremors. Ultimately your vet should be consulted again to rule out medical reasons for this kitten to shake. If your vet is unable to find any physical reason for the shaking then the sad truth may well be that this kitten was a victim of serious abuse and cruelty which really should be reported to your local cruelty investigation team so that they can investigate and hopefully find the people responsible for this and ensure that it doesn't happen again. I hope that you have found this information helpful. If you have any further questions, concerns, or you would simply like to send an update or some pictures my way, please don't hesitate to contact me again.