My 13 Y/o Cat's Tail Has Been Thinning Out?

[wacckky]

Okay so my cat is 13 years old, she has anal gland issues where they get filled up and need to be expressed (I take her into a vet for this). And lately for the past year the fur on her tail would get thin, and sometimes itll get better but now it's really thin. Doesnt seem like shes lost weight or losing lots of fur but itd look funny.

I'm taking her into the vet on Wednesday and kinda nervous about it. Shes not with me though, I had to rehome her (shes with my brother and his gf now) and so I'm not able to keep an eye on her anymore, but I did ask that they let me know if she seems to have an increased appetite, thirst, and urination. And also vomiting. I still take care of her vet expenses though because they're doing me a huge favor. Has anyone had this problem with their cat??

I'm just hoping it's not hyperthyroidism or something. But they do kinda have a flea problem at the moment as well, and I know they really bug her too but I also supply revolution every month but idk if this would cause her tail to thin out.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It isn't uncommon for cats with anal gland issues to have thinning tail hair, and fleas can definitely do it. The Revolution should take care of that, and you supply it, but are you also applying it yourself? If not, are you sure that your brother is doing it regularly and properly? And how long has she been with your brother? This may be from anxiety about a new place and new people, especially in an older cat.

Other than that, all I can say is wait and ask the vet about this. There are so many causes, I don't want to give you incorrect information.

 

[wacckky]

It isn't uncommon for cats with anal gland issues to have thinning tail hair, and fleas can definitely do it. The Revolution should take care of that, and you supply it, but are you also applying it yourself? If not, are you sure that your brother is doing it regularly and properly? And how long has she been with your brother? This may be from anxiety about a new place and new people, especially in an older cat.

Other than that, all I can say is wait and ask the vet about this. There are so many causes, I don't want to give you incorrect information.

Thank you, I just posted this just to see some opinions on what it could be. I get to go home once a week and whenever I have the revolution i apply it myself and do it as instructed on the box, it works really well but when it's almost time for another treatment to be done she seems to get pretty irritated.

But yeah I can definitely see the anal gland issue being a cause of it, she doesnt necessarily show the typical symptoms of it bothering her because shes had issues with it for a while now, but she will keep her tail up and seem to not wanna bring it down, and sometimes licks it too I think.

I dont doubt that shes stressed because of the moving and stuff, I tried to bring her to where I live now but my bf had 4 other younger cats and it was hard to introduce them all and it just didnt work out. So shes been with my brother and his gf for about 3 months now, but other than all that she seems to be happy with them. But I get that it's different because she was always by my side her whole life and now has different owners but she isnt unfamiliar with my brother as she kinda grew up with him too

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Be sure to let us know what the vet says. We'll fret about it, you know. I'm so sorry that the introductions with your bf's cats and yours didn't work out. IF yo ever decide you want to try again, we'll be happy to work with you on it. I've seen successful introductions that took MONTHS to go through, but worked out fine in the end.

 

[wacckky]

Be sure to let us know what the vet says. We'll fret about it, you know. I'm so sorry that the introductions with your bf's cats and yours didn't work out. IF yo ever decide you want to try again, we'll be happy to work with you on it. I've seen successful introductions that took MONTHS to go through, but worked out fine in the end.

Yess I'll definitely post in here about what the vet says! And well, I'd like to but I'm due to give birth in a month and a half, and the room I gave my cat is the babys room so we cant put her in there anymore.

When trying to introduce them, one of my bfs cats really didnt like her. We tried for months and it just wouldnt get better, I guess there was a personality conflict? But anyways that one cat, suddenly became aggressive towards one of my bfs other cats (that lived together peacefully for years). I'm not sure if it was a redirected aggression issue, a neurological issue we didnt know about, or just suddenly really stopped liking the cat but she would get really aggressive when she seen him and would legit try to kill him. So we tried to work on that issue and tried everything and working with the vet and all, but she got ahold of him like twice and to avoid a very expensive vet bill, my bf had to intervene and ended up getting brutally attacked twice in 2 weeks and at that point, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to put that cat to rest. So we just dont want anymore cat fights and stress, it was very hard and heartbreaking for us to deal with but thank you

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Congratulations, and BOY is your life getting ready to change! Parenthood...It's not just a job, it's an INDENTURE! LOL, I used to have that tee shirt, actually. Biggest, most intense on-the-job training program in the world. The pay sucks, the hours are horrendous, but OH THOSE PERKS! You can't get them anywhere else!

 

[wacckky]

Congratulations, and BOY is your life getting ready to change! Parenthood...It's not just a job, it's an INDENTURE! LOL, I used to have that tee shirt, actually. Biggest, most intense on-the-job training program in the world. The pay sucks, the hours are horrendous, but OH THOSE PERKS! You can't get them anywhere else!

Yess I'm absolutely excited!! Times going by really fast now and hes almost here lol. Already 5 lbs I think he will be a big boy haha

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Sounds like it! I had TWO of those...in rapid succession. They were less than a year apart, and for the first five years, I thought I was doing really well to get both legs shaved on the same day without running out of hot water! So much for changing the world (although I'd like to think now that I did, and for the better)!

 

[wacckky]

Sounds like it! I had TWO of those...in rapid succession. They were less than a year apart, and for the first five years, I thought I was doing really well to get both legs shaved on the same day without running out of hot water! So much for changing the world (although I'd like to think now that I did, and for the better)!

So I just came back from the vets, the tail thinning is due to the flea problem, she doesnt really have many fleas but shes allergic to them so it really bugs her. Her flea treatment is working and we're keeping on top of that so they should be gone in a few months. She also got an antibiotic shot for some scratches she has from the irritation.

Also got her anal glands expressed, so hopefully her tail starts going back to its fluffy state now. Other than that shes a healthy 13 year old lol.