Kitten Sucking And Maybe Chewing On Her Tail

[RavenMistwolf]

Hi everyone. I have a 6 month old kitten who I have had since birth. For the past couple months at least, she has been sucking on her tail. I’m not worried about the behavior in and of itself, but I recently noticed that the fur on the last inch or so of her tail is really short like she is chewing it off. (It looks like a little kid got some scissors and tried to give her a haircut). I’m including a photo, but it’s hard to get a good one since her tail is black.

I know she was not taken from her mom too early since her mom is still around and has actually been living inside for the last couple months!! (View some of my previous posts if you’re curious about that story). Unfortunately I’m not sure if she started this before or after her mom gave birth to her latest litter about 7 ½ weeks ago.

Due to the fact that it looks like she has been chewing her fur off, is this something I should worry about? Do y’all think I need to take her to a vet? Thanks in advance for all feedback!

 

[susanm9006]

I would most definitely check her and other housecats closely for fleas. But if they seem to be clean then it is either itchy skin or just a self soothing habit. Definitely a visit to the vet for their opinion would be good. If there are no health issues you can try to redirect her to a fuzzy toy or cloth.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Is she close with her 'mom'? Does she have interaction with 'mom' and the kittens now, or is she separated from them? Either way, it could be anxiety related, or even insecurity perhaps over the loss of her mom to the new kittens.

I doubt if she is really chewing on her tail, as I would think you would find small wounds from the biting. The licking is wearing off the hair, IMO. If there are any sort of wounds, then that certainly warrants a vet visit, due to possible infection - not to mention the extremeness of the behavior.

I would try redirecting her attention to a small wool blanket or soft towel, when you catch her licking her tail. You can also try chew toys, old socks (you could even fill with cat nip) - anything that is safe to lick/chew on until you find one that suits her. Hopefully, she will find something you try as a good substitute for her tail.

Also, additional play time with her might help in distracting her from her tail as well.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Definitely redirect! My previous cat, Berry (OH BERRY, I MISS YOU!) became obsessed with her own tail to the point that she chewed holes in it, which hurt, and then she'd attack the source of the pain...her tail. It took quite some time, and constant vigilance to break her of the habit, but we finally did.

 

[RavenMistwolf]

First, thanks everyone for your input!
Now to address questions.

She does not have fleas. I checked but I also live in a place where fleas, ticks, lice, etc. don’t really exist, so I have never had a problem with them.

She does not seem to have any wounds on the tail. Just missing fur. And she doesn’t act like it hurts at all.

She is close with her mom and constantly plays with the kittens as well as one of my adult cats. Though she’s not as close with her mom as she used to be. She would nurse on her mom right up until the birth of the first kitten from this litter and she hasn’t nursed at all since. That’s why I mentioned that I’m not sure if it started before or after the birth of the newer litter. If it started right after, I would just figure it was because of that.

I have only actually seen her chewing on her tail a couple times. I usually become aware of it after the fact when she comes up to me to play and get pets and the end of her tail is all wet. My cats have TONS of toys and blankets and stuff, so I would think that she’d be suckling on one of them if she enjoyed it. It’s hard to redirect when I almost never actually see her doing it.

Given that she doesn’t seem to have any injuries or sores, I have decided not to worry too much. I’ll just be sure to keep an eye on her. I think all my cats are a bit stressed, so once the mom can go back outside (since she’s a feral cat and I’m mainly keeping her inside until I get her fixed this Friday) and the kittens go to their new homes it should settle down.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I think you're right. I'll keep this thread on my "watched" list, just in case something does come up later. Until then relax, and ENJOY! They grow up SO FAST!