Kitten attacking tail/bleeding/strange flickering

Hi all, I took in a pregnant stray Bengal & one of the ladies that adopted a kitten (kitten is now 4 months old) contacted me concerned how her kitten has been chewing her tail to the point of it bleeding. She said she's been doing that since she got her, but it's getting worse & she sent a video that to me does not look right. Her tail flickers & whips around quickly, causing the blood from her chewing the tip to fling everywhere. Her vet said it seems to be seperation anxiety & suggested adding yeast or vitamin B1 to her diet. Has anyone heard of using either of these? The kitten was weaned & about 10 weeks old when separated from her mom. No fleas or parasites known of & I recommended trying Wellness grain free kitten food, which I feed a brother kitty I kept. The video really concerns me b/c her tail flickering just doesn't seem right, but not sure if I can upload it here. She said other than that Stella seems fine & is playful, but very needy for attention. She was the runt of the litter & the sweetest kitten, so I hope this is nothing serious! All kittens had full vet exams, dewormed, & vaccines prior to going to new homes, btw. Any thoughts or advice, especially about feeding yeast or B1, would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks

Is it only her tail she chews? I have a male cat with allergies who gets itchy and he will chew his legs/feet/tail to the point of bleeding when it's bad. Likewise he will also overgroom until he bleeds.

The flicking *could* be that she's causing pain to the tail and flicking it because it's sore, but if it's flicking blood it sounds as though she's doing a LOT of damage. Hard to tell without seeing.

If it were me I'd be getting a 2nd opinion from another vet. It could be stress related. Feliway plug in or spray may help calm her a little if it really is stress or anxiety, but if she's getting other area's as well it could be allergy related.

Hi Tobilei & thanks for the reply! It's only her tail she attacks & chews. I thought about mentioning the feliway plug to her, but I've seen so many mixed reviews on it & it's not cheap. The vet she goes to is known around town as being inexpensive & "time for him to retire", so I agree that a 2nd opinion should be done. I did not give these kittens away for free, so I feel like I owe at least some helpful advice to any problems they're having. If you want, email me @ [email protected] & I can send you the videos
Thanks!

My first thought was FHS. But if it is only the tail--could she have injured it somehow?

new2bengals said:

Hi Tobilei & thanks for the reply! It's only her tail she attacks & chews. I thought about mentioning the feliway plug to her, but I've seen so many mixed reviews on it & it's not cheap. The vet she goes to is known around town as being inexpensive & "time for him to retire", so I agree that a 2nd opinion should be done. I did not give these kittens away for free, so I feel like I owe at least some helpful advice to any problems they're having. If you want, email me @ [email protected] & I can send you the videos
Thanks!

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Yep, I'd get the 2nd opinion before anything else.

Feliway isn't cheap, although I can find it online in Australia for half the price the vet charges for it. I wouldn't use it as a first port of call without the 2nd opinion however. When we used it we purchased the spray first (online) as it was cheaper and it gave us an indication if it would help at all or not. The results for us were positive so we went ahead and ordered the diffusers.

Let us know what happens!

It sounds like Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome to me.  I would definitely look into it, as the kitten is truly damaging herself.  I think this will take more than just Feliway to control.  Here is a recent thread about it.  You can find more on this site by searching in the search bar at the top of the page, and you can also Google it to read other articles about it.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/299539/feline-hyperesthesia-syndrome

Hi & my apologies for this really late update[emoji]128568[/emoji]! The kitty is doing much better! Her owners switched to grain free food & pretty sure they took her to another vet for opinion. She was given a topical antibiotic & it seems an easy diet change did the trick! Thanks to all that replied :-)