hair missing on kittens tail

i just recently got a kitten who was found as a stray. he's rather young, maybe 10 weeks old or so i would guess. and i've had him for about a week now and just noticed what appears to look like he burned the tip of his tail.. the fur is missing and the skin underneath is very rough and dark.. im rather concerned, and was hoping someone could give me some advice as to what i can do?

We're not vets here, and anyway, it's impossible to diagnose from a picture. Your kitten ought to be checked over by a vet anyway - he'll definitely need flea treatment, worming, vaccinations etc. Book a vets appointment and ask about the tail injury while you're there.

Thank you for taking this little guy in - he's lucky to have found such a loving home

sandraa said:

i just recently got a kitten who was found as a stray. he's rather young, maybe 10 weeks old or so i would guess. and i've had him for about a week now and just noticed what appears to look like he burned the tip of his tail.. the fur is missing and the skin underneath is very rough and dark.. im rather concerned, and was hoping someone could give me some advice as to what i can do?

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Sorry for not answering earlier-  although I did saw your post yesterday...  It disappeared for me anyway....

Colombine gives a very good answer, here as in so many other of her posts.

The question here, if the kitten did lose his end of the tail somewhere earlier - which hopefully will not have negative consequences for him in his future life.  Although it must have hurt when he got this wound.   Its although not impossible a vet must  make some correction surgery, taking down corners and such.   Not very complicated surgery through.  A decently experienced vet can do it home in his free time practice.

But if it is some sort of infection, it needs some  vet treatment - you dont want to risk it spreads further around your house. and thus, yet another reason to visit your vet.

Although hopefully it will stay with a routine check up, deworming and the usual works, which every cat owner does.    

Tx for helping this guy!

i don't believe it was a previous injury because i thoroughly checked him out when i got him and didnt notice it before. he does chase his tail a lot though so i thought maybe he bit it himself, but it appeared more burnt than anything to me. im taking him to the vet this week for vaccines, tests, deworming etc. and I'll have them take a look at that also. i just didnt know if there was something i could do in the meantime. it doesnt seem to be causing him any pain/ discomfort
discomfort so far. but thank you both for your advice

Does your cat live outside. Is it possible that the cat was bitten by another animal.

he is an indoor cat now, but was found as a stray. im more than certain he's been biting it, i saw him do it and he continues to do so. it has only gotten worse, now the tip is down to the bone and bleeding a lott. im going to put antibacterial on it til i can get him to a vet

i just dont know what would cause him to continue to bite it so aggressively and i dont know how to prevent him from continuing to do it..

Has he been treated for fleas?  A lot of times when they're very itchy animals will bite at the itchy places.  Definitely see a vet though, it could get infected while he is biting on it, and there may be other problems that need to be addressed.  Vet's office can also bandage it properly and set you up with a cone of shame or something similar to keep him from continuing to bite it.

he has not. he hasnt been to a vet at all yet. i just called and scheduled an appointment for Thursday to get all necessary vaccines etc. & have his tail looked at. this is the most recent pic of his tail, it got very bad, very quickly..

Ooh. That looks nasty   Bathe it with saline, at the very least. See if you can mock up a cone for him for tonight, or try to get down to the vets to get a proper one. Its vital to keep him from chewing it any further. To be honest, I'd be trying to get him seen as an emergency, but if that really isn't an option then at least get the cone for him.  The last thing you want is infection setting in.