Cat chewing his own tail

[val douest]

Has anyone else had experience of a cat who not only chases his own tail but catches it and bites it hard (squealing with pain while he does it!)?  Tash is an 18-month-old neutered male cat acquired as a five-week-old barn kitten when he was due for an appointment that afternoon with a bucket of water.  He is a fairly independent fellow, has free access in and out through a cat flap, can be affectionate but also has a nasty habit of going for your ankles if the mood takes him.  We have another much older cat who ignores him as much as possible but will turn on him if he persists in being cheeky and a nuisance.  Tash will sit and watch his tail waving around (it seems to have a life of its own) and will then viciously attack it; this happens especially if he's been stopped from biting ankles but can happen anywhere at any time (I've seen him do it in the garden and even when sitting on the roof of the car).  His tail, which was beautiful, now has a bare batch with a sort of bedraggled pompom on the end. He's a very big shorthaired cat, is regularly wormed and frontlined, keeps himself well groomed, and apart from his tatty tail seems in A1 condition.  We are a loss as to what to do to deter him from the tail biting as apart from looking awful there's a real chance the tail will become infected (he actually makes it bleed sometimes).  It is of course possible he just has a screw loose somewhere!  Anyway, if anyone has come across this behaviour before or has any ideas on how to stop it I'd be very pleased to hear from you.

Thanks,

Val

[Nicos]

Inbreeding????

A fine waterspray may sort out the habit????

[pouyade]

I suggest that a search on google on reputable uk sites may assist - I spoke to an expert I know, who said that IF fleas, skin irriation/allergy/mites/injury/splinter etc have absolutely been ruled out then boredom is a hghly likely explanation. If not that, then some cats apparently just do develop odd behaviours which lead them to needing a cat 'shrink'. Honestly!.

Pouyade

 

[Pierre ZFP]

Sounds almost identical to a cat I had many years ago.  He would chew and suck at his tail or left front leg until raw, and making clawing actions (think its called Tamping) at the same time, usually when he was very relaxed and sitting on my lap, now since he was a big powerful cat, this could be very painful, to me that is, not him.  He did this to his dying day.  In his case we think it was because he had brain damage.  When we went 'just to see' a litter of cats, the 5-year-old brat of the owner pick up this cat and proceded to throttle him.  The mother did nothing except say that 'he's always doing that', so I managed to pry the cat from the kid's hands (who was remarkably strong) and after a bit of massage, the cat started breathing again.  We took the cats shortly after that, far too young to be parted from theit mother but we felt there was no option as the kid would kill them.  We put the cat's odd behaviour down to oxygen starvation or parted too young from his Mum. 

[vervialle]

Yes, I had a cat once that did exactly that, we spent hundreds on vets fees, and what was so upsetting the cat was distressed when doing it. Well it got to the point , we could not stand watching her, so I know it might be a bit extreme but the vet said amputation was the kindest thing.So we went ahead with it and she was as happy as larry with her short stump, it did not cost much and she had pain killers to get through the first few weeks without her tail.She was a real character and appeared very happy without her tail.There might be other thing available now as I am talking 15 years ago, but it was well worth going through the heartache to end up with a contented cat.

[Pads]

We had a cat that did this after, much treament and expense it turned out to be because of blocked anal glands , once they were clearered and kept clear he stopped doing it .

Could be worth having a look , once you ae shown how to do it you can keep them cleared your self, but your cat will run a mile when it sees the rubber glove ................

[Lassie]

Dear Val

 

They key thing you mentioned was that the cat was just 5 weeks old when you had him. Thats inadequate mothering time and most kittens will be emotionally fragile as a result. 10 weeks is about right. However, the more he is cuddled and loved and allow to suckle your sleeve or tread your tummy, the happier he will be and catch up on some mothering. Ankle catching is just play but the tail waving is a sign of a screw loose as you say. I am not a cat shrink but have had the same problem. Our rescue cat ( no known history but likely to have had a bad time) was fine until she went to a cattery for 10 days. During that time she experienced loss of her known environment, loss of our company and caught fleas which irritated her ( all for 10.5 euros a day!) When she came home she started growling like a dog, yowling and chasing her tail which she had never done before.  We sorted out the fleas and she is regularly wormed too.  It took many visits to the vet ( he said stress was the cause) , a course of sedatives and months of loving before it abated.  Now it only happens very rarely and in a mild way if she is frustrated at not getting through a door for example. Of course we are nervous of trying to leave her in a cattery again as the behaviour was extremely upsetting for her and us too. There probably isnt any cure as you cant counsel cats but, like adopting a disturbed child, you do the best you can. Best only to have a kitten who has been mothered for long enough . There are some negative aspects to living in France and attitude to animals is one of them. I wont be sorry to move away from my next door neighbour's Doberman who lives outdoors all year round in a small garden and likes to bark at 4a.m. and during the day while they are both out at work. Heigh Ho.