Tail Chasing Cat

Hi: I have a cat that started chasing his tail about a year ago. At first it seemed funny and then he seemed to get obsessed with it. He'd run through the room with a terrified look on his face and bat at the tail. I've come home many times and found blood splatters over every wall in my house. He's actually clawing the tail. He had to have the tail shaved and cleaned because it became infected. When it was shaved you could see the line where he had clawed at it. The vet cannot find any cause. They gave him a shot for inflamatory problems but that didn't help. We can't see any mites or other pests. The vet wanted to put him on a calming medication but he spit it out when I tried giving it to him. He gets plenty of attention so I don't think that is the problem. Has anyone had this problem with their cats?
What are people's thoughts on declawing him? I know it won't stop the behavior but I hate to have him get his tail constantly infected to where they might have to amputate it. Is this one of the situations where declawing is for the benefit of the cat and not the owner so it would be acceptable? Any thoughts?

Try Soft Paws before you even THINK about declawing. It sounds like they would serve your purpose beautifully.

There's probably NOT a physical cause. It sounds to me like it's more of an emotional problem than a physical one. He could have a psychogenic issue and he could need to be medicated for it...most vets will prescribe Valium, but you have to be REALLY careful with it because if you don't to the dosage EXACTLY how the vet and drug manufacturer tell you, it can have pretty nasty side effects. You also might consider investing in a couple Feliway ComfortZone Diffusers, which you can get at PetsMart for around $40 each. A little pricey, but in my experience they work like magic.

I know this may sound odd, but you may want to look into getting your cat on an SSRI like Prozac. The drug companies make it in feline doses so it isn't toxic. It sounds like to me your cat my have a case of OCD. Before you take the Prozac plunge you may want to discuss this with a homeopathic doctor first to see if a natural remedy may be better for them. I would only go with a drug like that as a LAST resort after all else has failed. Hope that helps.

Heres a link for you to look at with regards to declawing

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41954

The vet wanted to put the cat on something like Prozac but when I tried giving it to him he spit it out and drooled and fought me. I tried to give it to him a few times and gave up. It was causing him more stress then the tail chasing.

Try crushing it and mixing it in his food, or put it in a bit cheese.

Well giving a cat a pill is a talent in and of itself. The best way that I have found is to grind it up and put it in tuna. That is unless you have a really smart cat like my Bit who will eat around the pill laced tuna.

This has shown up on the boards before. See this thread for info on Feline
Hyperesthesia

I also tracked down an article that Hissy wrote about it. http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/86/...resthesia.html

Thanks for your suggestions. The medication was in liquid form and I tried using a dropper, putting it in Fancy Feast, and tuna fish oil. Nothing worked..he wouldn't touch the food. Thank you for the suggestion about Feline Hyperesthesia. I read the threads and it sounded just like my cat. I'm going to research it further and talk to my vet about it. Hopefully it is something that can be treated.

I just searched the internet for info and found quite a bit of information.
Thank you very much for your help!! Maybe now I can find a solution to my problem.

Originally Posted by BUNJOCAT

Thanks for your suggestions. The medication was in liquid form and I tried using a dropper, putting it in Fancy Feast, and tuna fish oil. Nothing worked..he wouldn't touch the food. Thank you for the suggestion about Feline Hyperesthesia. I read the threads and it sounded just like my cat. I'm going to research it further and talk to my vet about it. Hopefully it is something that can be treated.

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You might want to try and get the medication compounded into a different flavored liquid. The compounding pharmacy that I have PJ's thyroid medication made at does all kinds of flavors because they've dealth with picky cats. If you have a compounding pharmacy near you and your vet can call in the order to them, try a flavor you know your cat loves. PJ laps up every last bit of her fish flavored medicine now mixed in with her food!

Originally Posted by BUNJOCAT

Thanks for your suggestions. The medication was in liquid form and I tried using a dropper, putting it in Fancy Feast, and tuna fish oil. Nothing worked..he wouldn't touch the food. Thank you for the suggestion about Feline Hyperesthesia. I read the threads and it sounded just like my cat. I'm going to research it further and talk to my vet about it. Hopefully it is something that can be treated.

Click to expand...

Hi Bunjocat, my Precious kitty was just recently diagnosed with Hyperesthesia Snydrome. I had the same problem as you with getting medcation in her. She wouldn't take her pills, I tried everything. My vet then had a compounding pharmacy put her medication in the form of an ointment that I put on the inside flap of her ear. It's easy and it works great. I have been doing this for about a month now and I am starting to see a little improvement in her. The price is a little more expensive but still very affordable. Good Luck
Precious Kitty

I appreciate your suggestion about the ointment. I didn't know something could be administered that way. I made a copy of that suggestion and will show it to my vets when I talk to them about what I found out on this site.
Thanks.