Leave me alone!!!! (KAREN, come see!)

New video and update post 27.


I finally got this on video!!

Caramella has been doing this for some time now... She acts suprised that her tail is there and flopping around and it annoys her terriably, so she attacks it. In this video you can hear her groweling at her tail and how she carries on.. I have had cats all my life and I have never seen a cat do this. It is like she is telling that tail "LEAVE ME ALONE!"...She is extreemly annoyed at that thing that keeps bothering her this day! Anyone ever see a cat do this?

Click on the picture....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psb7bce059.jpg

Oh, Laura - that reminded me - I never sent you the answers from the Ask a Vet show! Hang on, I'll email it to you in a minute!
They did address this behavior!

Okay, Laura I just emailed you the two audio files concerning your girl, take a listen, okay? I sent it to the email address under your Pet Talk profile!

O how adorable! I especially love when the tail is draped down the hole in the perch and flicking away underneath!!!!

I've seen this, in young ones, not much after age 5 or so. Hilarious, isn't it?!!! Like the tail has a life of its own. :D

Oh my gosh! That's the first time I've seen something like that. That's too funny! :D

That is funny - but obviously not to Caramella. She doesn't seem to realize it's part of her. I've seen cats chase their tails, but never growl at them :)

Beautiful cat! Tail biting and growling/aggression towards the tail could be due to impacted anal glands or fleas in tail area. I've read that it can sometimes be due to pain in the spine or pelvis. Or could be kitty version of OCD due to anxiety, stress or boredom. Our cat was doing this years ago and for her, it turned out to be impacted anal glands that the vet (and 2 techs!) emptied. She was not amused! Caramella could also just be having fun too and being silly but just wanted to throw those other ideas out there just in case. :)

WOW!!! Caramela sure has grown! I've never seen anything like this, apparently she doesn't realize her tail goes along with the rest of her. Great video, I laughed several times while watching it. What a beautiful kitty girl!

How old is this cat. I do believe it's a funny, bored, excellent cat xox:D

Caramella is about 2 1/2 years old..


Emeraldgreen, those are some worthwhile ideas you have given me, all the suggestions are things I hadn't thought of. The time I did mention it to my vet I asked him if it could be a nerve problem in that area, that is what I think it is because of how she works/moves that skin on her back in that area. She does not like you touching her back close to her tail...

Karen-I listened to those clips you sent me and I learned some things I did not know, as for socialized.... LOL....she is SUPER socialized. Actually all my babies are. Next time I take her to the vet I will show him the video and let him see first hand how aggresive she gets with her own self.. This video is by far the worst she has done that and the longest she has acted like that.

Oh, Caramella! You are so pretty! I kept waiting for her to fold her tail around her but she kept waving it. :confused: I hope nothing is wrong!

Hi, Giz and Samantha! :love: :love: :love:

This is very funnny-she clearly thinks that tail gets on her nerves. She reacts as if it was a baby who wants to play while mom wants peace and quiet;)

Wow! She acts like she hates her own tail. She sure has grown into a big girl too. My Pearl will chase and play with her tail but she's never growled at it or bitten it before. Hopefully it's nothing serious that's causing this.

That is so funny and adorable. And how gorgeous is Caramella!!!! Love seeing videos like this.

Does she ever harm herself while doing this?? I suppose I wouldn't be too concerned about it unless she starts to self-mutilate. Are there any behaviorists in your area you can consult with?

That is so sweet and Caramella is getting cuter every day.
My Kevin Scrapster sends a Special Meeow!!!:love:
http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/y...ture003-15.jpg:love:

Kimba attacks his tail like that. My vet said some young cats do this as they aren't mentally developed enough to recognize that that squirmy, annoying thing that WILL NOT GO AWAY is a part of them. This is supposed to stop when they get a little older. We'll see.:rolleyes:

katladyd-Glad to find someone else who has a baby who does that. It's just the oddest thing I ever saw and I had never heard of it..

She has never really harmed herself in doing that yet, she mainly watches it, giving it the evil eye and wishing it would go away and she'll bite at it and every now and then she actually catches it and bite it. It is funny to watch it but after laughing I feel so guilty because it really annoyes her and she is really upset!

He's done it since he was a young kitten. He is now a little over 2 years old, about 27 months. He bites it whenever he actually catches it. He doesn't act like it hurts him or anything like that. Maybe if it did, he would realize it is HIS tail!:eek:

My foster Marnie still chases her tail, and she's 10+ years old!

I'd keep an eye on her, and watch that tail for any injuries. My Cricket had feline hyperesthesia, which caused her to attack and bite her tail. She wouldn't let the injuries heal, so eventually her tail had to be amputated.

Here's some more info on hyperesthesia: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=1998

Thank you Prairie Purrs! That link explaines it easy and simple. I am amazed that we have 2 like this already on PT! So it is not "that" uncommon..

I read that article with great interest, but it doesn't seem like this is Kimba's problem. His skin never ripples, he doesn't overgroom, and he LOVES to be held and petted. So, I guess my little eccentric fella just likes to chase his tail sometimes.:rolleyes:

This is really funny Laura.

i tried getting our Jasmine on film watching your Caramella on film,because Jasmine was freaking out
watching her.
and i was sitting here thinking"why is my cat Jasmine so freaked out?"
then i realized,your Caramella looks like our "Polly" here.

Jasmine doesn't really like cats,but she found a friend in Polly.
so,that made me laugh even harder.(the light growl)
i wonder if she is checking on Polly right now,because
Jasmine just took off around the corner into another room.

This is such a funny catch on film.glad i saw it.

also, i am so glad to be back,it has been awhile.
Carla :)

OMG that is hysterical! I've seen a youtube video where the cat actually catches it's tale and takes it up a flight of stairs to present it's "kill" to his meowmie. Doing circles up the stairs. Caramella is still the cutest thing ever!

WHAT A HOOT!!!!! I could hear her growly at it!! You should make a video of it with a human's voice and put it on YouTube.

I can't get over how ahem, svelte she's become. She's definitely in the right place.;)

This is the latest video of her and how bad can she get.. This time she was more violent than she has ever been with that tail.. I started out thinking it would be like the last video I posted but this one brought me to tears when I watched it when playing it back... I DON'T find this one funny, I find it alarming! So the next time I took her to the vet, I took this video.

She had come down with her second UTI since March/April and I had him look at this video and asked the question could those UTI's be what is causing this behavior.. In examining her, he said even her anal glands were infected and when he just touched them, they started pouring out that stuff. Her girlie "bits" were so swollen he almost couldn't find them.. He had to shave her down there. He is like me and thinks those UTI's are what causes her tail attack behavior..

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i4..._Tailfight.jpg

For her UTI's he thinks she is to fat and the fat forces her body to cover up her girlie "bits" so we have her on a diet.. Only 2 days on the new food and it is very obvious that she is extreemly allergic to something and I am betting it is the new food so I have taken her off of it until she sees the vet again in a day or two. Poor baby just sneezes non stop all day...and I mean NON STOP! It is awful and I feel so sorry for her.. He told them to tell me NOT to give her any antihistamines before I bring her in. Poor baby just can't catch a break! :( He said that could very well be the answer to why she gets so mad at her tail, that she could be blaming her tail on her pain...

Poor girl! At least there seems to be an answer. Can the vet clean out her glands without causing her pain?

I hope her UTIs stay under control and that she can get a healthy food she likes. :love:

Poor baby, those infected glands must have been pretty painful! Hopefully you can get answers soon, and keep the UTI's away, too! Adding some canned pumpkin to her food can help - the extra fiber will help with the anal glands issue in many cases!

Awww, Caramella, sweety! I am happy to see you and hear from your meowmie again :) But I am sorry you are having to go to the doctor. I hope you feel much better soon! I will go light a candle for your meowmie and you :love: Sending kisses to you, Giz and Samantha!

I'm sorry to hear this.:( I hope she starts feeling better soon.

When my Ziggy went to the groomers for a kennel cut, they always check the animals anal glands. She did have a sight discharge. She used to drag her bottom on my carpet a lot usually to help clean her bottom but it may have also been because it felt bad. Now I've noticed that she seems so much happier and she's much more loving towards me. She now tries to sleep by my pillow at night and she never used to do this before.

Oh,Caramella, it is so good to see you and your Meowmie again! You are such a pretty girl. We are sending our prayers and good wishes that this can be fixed up soon and you will feel much better.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

Her allergy seems better this morning.. That's really had me worried but I felt brave enough to give her some of that diet food this morning.. LOL!.....and I noticed, NOBODY ate it.. I just have to get some clippers and keep her girlie bits shaved, that may help.... I am amazed at how "pronounced" her anal glands are right now. I just have to remember when she starts getting mad at her tail to check her "there".

Laura, one thing that I forgot to mention. When I had to put Ziggy on a diet, I was still able to use the food that I was already feeding her. I just had to feed her mainly canned food and only about 1/4 of a cup of dry food a day. This worked out well because she loves canned food. Canned food has much less calories in it than the dry food does. I don't know if Caramella likes canned food or not but you may want to talk to your vet about this option. This diet really helped my Ziggy to lose the weight that she needed to. Now I try not to give her too much dry each day. Good luck.:)

What a Yutz. I love the way she growls are her own tail!!

kak, Caramella don't like can food at all for some reason. She will come running and beg more than the others but once it is put down, she walks off, not interested! Funniest thing I ever saw.. She BEGS! BEGS! BEGS! Then walks away unimpressed.

Her sneezing and other ailments are a lot better today. I have only heard her sneezeing a few times.

So good she seems to be feeling a bit better!