Our little guy got his tail caught in the door several weeks ago and needed the tip amputated. The recovery has been difficult since he gets what I would call hyper-focused on his tail at times and will aggressively go after it... even when it was bandaged and with a collar.
It's taken several visits to the vet over the last month and a lot of bandage changes because he wouldn't leave his tail alone. Last Saturday we took the bandage off permanently and his tail has been healing up quite quickly. The bandage seemed to be really bothering him and he was constantly licking/biting at it (remember this is 4 weeks after the initial injury).
He seemed to be a lot happier with it off, even with the collar on. However, he was having an episode once or twice a day where he would still get aggressive towards his tail but the collar made it tough to get at.
We want to get him back to normal so have started taking the collar off for extended periods and are watching him closely. Now he's continuing the strange behavior but it's more frequent. It almost seems like it's symptoms that seem similar to hyperesthesia. Several times a day he'll again become hyper-focused on his tail, swish it back and forth, tuck it in close, will stare at it, run around almost like he doesn't understand it's his own tail, and will sometimes go after it (licking/biting).
Petting him on his back and tail don't seem to make him any worse though and from what I've read that should make him jump if he had hyperesthesia. Scratching him under the chin or distracting him with a toy/laser stops the episodes as well.
Outside of these episodes, he's pretty much back to normal aside from having a shorter tail and a small scab that I think will be gone in a few days at the rate he's healing.
Is he just getting used to seeing his tail again after 4 weeks of a cone and bandage? Is it residual pain from the surgery that he's still getting over? Could the bandage have aggravated his skin and is still just irritated after 4 weeks of having it? What do you guys think?
It's taken several visits to the vet over the last month and a lot of bandage changes because he wouldn't leave his tail alone. Last Saturday we took the bandage off permanently and his tail has been healing up quite quickly. The bandage seemed to be really bothering him and he was constantly licking/biting at it (remember this is 4 weeks after the initial injury).
He seemed to be a lot happier with it off, even with the collar on. However, he was having an episode once or twice a day where he would still get aggressive towards his tail but the collar made it tough to get at.
We want to get him back to normal so have started taking the collar off for extended periods and are watching him closely. Now he's continuing the strange behavior but it's more frequent. It almost seems like it's symptoms that seem similar to hyperesthesia. Several times a day he'll again become hyper-focused on his tail, swish it back and forth, tuck it in close, will stare at it, run around almost like he doesn't understand it's his own tail, and will sometimes go after it (licking/biting).
Petting him on his back and tail don't seem to make him any worse though and from what I've read that should make him jump if he had hyperesthesia. Scratching him under the chin or distracting him with a toy/laser stops the episodes as well.
Outside of these episodes, he's pretty much back to normal aside from having a shorter tail and a small scab that I think will be gone in a few days at the rate he's healing.
Is he just getting used to seeing his tail again after 4 weeks of a cone and bandage? Is it residual pain from the surgery that he's still getting over? Could the bandage have aggravated his skin and is still just irritated after 4 weeks of having it? What do you guys think?
