Tubby's tail.....

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Don't look Samantha!

Tubby's tail is going bald!!!

I was brushing him tonight. There was a "white" spot on his tail so I decided to tempt fate and try and brush it. There are two things you don't touch on Tubby, that's his feet and his tail - his tummy too, to a point, but mainly you touch his feet or his tail and you lose your hand.

So I tentatively run the brush over the spot a few times and he doesn't complain. I brush a little more and it seems the "white" is kind of greasy, sticky sort of. It feels like ear wax kind of. So I keep brushing, then start brushing backwards - which he also absolutely hates, but allowed - and the next thing you know, I see skin! It was really kind of gross because it was sticky, greasy and I've never seen his tail bare, but I kept brushing as long as he let me. Here's the result.





He was just to the vet and his blood tests were fine, so I don't think this is cancer or anything, and it doesn't seem to bother him at all, so does anybody have any idea why this would be happening? Is it that he's just not cleaning himself good enough and the oils are building up on his skin? Does this mean I need to start giving Tubby a bath!?!?!?

Oh, and the rest of the tail wasn't as bad as this one spot. It does appear he's been neglecting his tail, but the rest of it didn't go bald as I brushed.

I just took time off from work to take Peanut to the vet, and we're going to be out of town this Saturday, so the first time I'd have a chance to get him to the vet would be next weekend, or do you think this requires an immediate visit? It's not raw, just bare. Should I just try and clean it up a little and keep an eye on it?

I've never had a bald kitty before, well, except for Peanut licking herself clean, but that's different. Instead of having one that licks too much, do I now have one that doesn't lick enough?

It seems like all of a sudden the sh*t has hit the fan with these two.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Poor Tail; Poor TUBBY!

"Greasy & Sticky" = ??
Boots *neglected* to do proper *maintenance* on his lower back (near the tail) this spring . The Spring Molt didn't all come out, and he got a bit matted and very "dingy" looking back there. He having not a great deal of patience towards the brush and slicker, I began a brush job with fear for my life (and hands/arms).

Hmmmm.... ?? NO objection from da Kat!
He seemed to understand all was NOT well back there - and actually *allowed* me to do a rather thorough brus & slicker job. We got enough dead hair out to build at least one extra Kat!

No real problem noted - he wasn't "sticky"; but the fur was sort of ICKY feeling until we got most of the dead stuff out. Then he actually started to spiff up and feel more normal. And that's just about when his patience ran out...

But he never developed any real "bare spots"...

What to do??
I'd suspect Mr Tubbs will need a visit to the White Coat for a scrape & microscopic exam of the area.
You *might* get somewhere by calling Doc and asking if YOU could do a scrape or swab of the bare spot and bag the results to just drop off for them to check out. Might be easier for you to drop off a baggie, rather than the Whole Kat!

As for waiting a Whole Week to find out what's going on...
Dunno if I'd want to wait that long...
If it's Lil Kritters crawling around - might be a LOTTA Lil Kritters marching all over the Howze affore you find out .
And if he's managed to pick up medical problem - it might spread on him and/or to Peanut.

I'd go for the Call the Vet to see if he can teach you how to get a good sample to bring in.

Good Luck!!!

/s/ Phred

[krazyaboutkatz]

Debbie, I'm sorry to hear that Tubby's tail is going bald. Have you ever heard of stud tail? In my cat book it says that stud tail, like feline acne, is caused by over-secretion of the large sebaceous glands at the base of the tail. If infected, these areas may become pustulate. Commonest in toms, it can also occur in females and neuters of either sex.

It also shows a picture that looks very similar to Tubby's tail. It says that it usually doesn't bother the cat unless a secondary bacterial infection causes irritation. The solution is to regularly wash the area with a cat shampoo or rub it with an antiseptic such as chlorhexidine. Antibiotic treatment is also sometimes needed. I'd take him to see your vet just to make sure he's okay. I don't think you need to rush him to the vet so next Sat. should be okay. Goodluck and please keep us updated.

[Killearn Kitties]

I don't have experience of the condition - just to wish you all the best with Tubby.

We have to catch Jessica every few months and brush her, down near her tail. It's very like Phred's description - a two person job and a towel over her head - and we get enough dead hair out to make an extra cat. I think she can't clean it properly because maybe she's not quite as flexible as she used to be and perhaps a little round? There has never been any kind of secretion or sticky substance associated with this though.

The description of stud tail sounds very similar. Perhaps you could phone the vet's initially to describe it and see what they think.

[catmandu]

Mr Scrappy once licked himself clean on his legs , tail and stomach. It turned out taht he was very allergic to Fleas and it only took one bite to irritate him.

[Vermontcat]

Poor Tubby is going bald in his old age!
Don't worry I didn't let Samantha see the photos.
Like Phred and KK mentioned above, Samantha gets an occasional fur mat on her lower back too.
I really need to get her a new slicker brush like you have since her regular brush is starting to wear out from so many years of brushing.
I really hope that it isn't serious and that Tubby gets better soon.
If you would like I could save some of Samantha's black hairs from her brushing and mail it to you to make a hair piece for Tubby!
It sounds like it could be Stud Tail, after all, Tubby is a real Stud!

[Logan]

I may be criticized for not worrying enough, but I think Tubby will be fine through the weekend without heading to the vet's office. If it isn't irritated and red (and it doesn't appear to be), I would just watch it a while, then maybe ask about it on the next vet visit. If you keep grooming him, the way you did, I'll bet it the hair will come back.

Just my two cents.

Logan

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by Vermontcat
It sounds like it could be Stud Tail, after all, Tubby is a real Stud!

That's what I thought when I read that too.

Thanks everyone, I knew I could count on some good suggestions from you fellow PT'ers. I've got a call into the vet. Evidently they're just not good about returning calls too quickly - same experience I had with Peanut the other day.

Anyway, it does sound like the description of Stud Tail, so I'm going to go on that assumption until I hear from the vet. I didn't see anything creepy or crawly, even really tiny creepy crawlies, but I know sometimes you can't see them. I'll attempt to clean it up a little tonight, but his tolerance level might have been reached last night....guess we'll see.

He has gotten clumped hair back there before, just not on his tail, and this spot on his tail felt sort of "gunky" like the clumps back there did, only more so.

So for now I'm going to try to clean it up and get some of the chlorhexidine that KAK mentioned. If it looks worse or my hands and arms are suddenly swabbed in major bandages - off to the vet he goes.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

I just got off the phone with the vet and she said that since it's not red and sore or looking irritated, just put some triple antibiotic creme (like neosporin) on it for a week and see if the hair starts growing back. She said as long as it's not sore and irritated and doesn't seem to be bothering him, it's not too much to worry about.

She said this is is probably what she would tell me even if I brought Tubby in, so I should do that and just keep an eye on it. If more hair starts falling out or it starts looking sore and irritated, she said then I should make an appointment and bring him in.

Thank goodness I've got some neosporin already on hand at home. The only thing she said was to be sure and rub it in good otherwise I'm sure he'd lick it all off.

Oh, and she said it's probably not from him not cleaning himself, it's just some skin condition that occurs now and then and the neosporin should take care of it.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I'm off to administer some neosporin - and of course some treats once the neosporin is applied and all hands and arms are still intact.