Cat upset when brushed

[adrianna25]

Hi everyone! I wanna first say how much I love this site and all of the help I get from here, thank you. [emoji]128522[/emoji]
So I now have 2 new male cats that I have adopted from my mom, sort of. The dad is 8 yrs old named Drake and one of his babies is 7 named Kayo. We have had drake since he was a kitten and Kayo too. They have been outdoor cats until I got them a year ago.
Drake just loves to be brushed and lays wherever necessary to make him feel good. Lol.
Kayo is different. He can't handle having his back end brushed or touched. It's from the middle of his back to his tail, but not his stomach. I am curious as to what you all think. He won't even let me look through to his skin, he just can't handle it. Is it dry dry skin or maybe something else? They have both had fleas in the past and both treated for them. They haven't had anything in about 4 years.
I will take them both to the vet in the next few months, but wanted to hear what you all may think.
Thank you so much.
Adrianna

Kayo

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• adrianna25
• Mar 15, 2015

 

[pinkdagger]

Hello fellow Torontonian!

Pretty guy! He could be very sensitive. Some cats can feel overstimulated, especially with those nerves closer to their tail. It's the same reason some cats love getting back scratches there and will flop down for more, and some will push you away or get their claws out if you try to pet them too long. Sometimes a different, softer brush can help.

However, if you're having problems even touching him there, a vet may be your best bet. Since they used to live outdoors, it's possible there's an old injury on or below the skin that's effecting him. Do you know if this was an issue before you took them in?

 

[adrianna25]

Hi there

Yes I thought about sensitive skin but I feel horrible for the little guy. He was not like this as a kitten (under age 3) and I do know he has had a few abscesses in his later outdoor years. They have also lived on dry food only because they did eat a lot of birds and little animals. Now that they are indoors, I feed them wet food to provide moisture and lots of water along with their dry food.
I'm hoping it is a sensitivity thing although I won't know until the vet does blood work and stuff.
Now that they are getting older, I want to get a full blood panel on them and check out their kidneys. My other two boys that I recently lost both had kidney problems and I told them that I would learn from them when I get other kitties.

Thank you so much [emoji]128516[/emoji]

 

[pinkdagger]

Abscesses could have something to do with it. Our older cat used to live in a rural-ish area, and he was an indoor/outdoor cat briefly. In that time, though, he did develop and abscess at the base of his tail that likely caused some nerve damage. In his case, he just can't always feel when he's done pooping (TMI? lol) but there was a span of a few weeks where he lost use and control of his tail altogether.

If Kayo did have an abscess in a sensitive area that could have pressed on nerves, he may have nerve damage in his back end from it that causes him to be so sensitive.

So sorry about your previous two boys. Kidney problems are unfortunately so common in cats.

 

[adrianna25]

Hi Pinkdagger

Yes, that's a good point about nerve damage. I never thought of that. My mom did a good job taking care of that though. I think she pet him one day and it broke open. She cleaned it out and put some antibiotic cream on it for him. She is a retired pharmacist and knows a lot about medicine. Anyways, it healed well but could have done some damage.
I can't wait to take them to my vet.

Thanks.