Hi everyone - Hoping someone out there can help. One of my two cats has had black 'flecks' on her tail bone area...noticeable when you pet her and brush or scratch her fur downward in the area. I've noticed this for quite some time now...excusing it away as possibly dirt... She's an all-white cat. Both of my cats are indoor cats as well. Zoe has a tendency to roll around on the floor mat by the entry way - which is always dusty and dirty so I felt 'dirt' was plausible.
Zoe follows me into the bathroom every morning and hops up onto the sink. She likes to get a drink from the sink. Very often I will find the tiniest little blood drop - the size of a pin head. I try to find the source...trying to see her paws to verify if perhaps she's had a tiny little scratch on one of the foot pads that the scab keeps getting taken off. All paws look ok though...
Just recently - in the past few days - she's really been trying to reach back to her tail bone with her mouth....as if it's really irritating her or itching... (she is a little weight challenged so can't really reach it either...and kinda just does a little summersault on the floor trying to reach it). A few of the black flecks were in the sink this morning and when the water hit them they look like blood. Seeing this now I'm thinking the little blood drops noticed before have come from her tail bone area..not her paws afterall....
The uneducated opinion of my bf and I ...perhaps she's been scratched back there and the scabs are flaking off ?(she and Bosco tend to 'play' frequently and it can get rather rough)... The worry wart in me called the vet clinic... discussing it with the receptionist she seems to think it's fleas...especially where there appears to be blood when the flecks get wet. She suggested I just pick up flea treatment and try it.
My concern...if it IS fleas...and I've noticed these flecks for a long time now -- excusing them away - would our entire home not be INFESTED by now?? Wouldn't our other cat Bosco be affected? We pulled back the fur on her tailbone this morning and did see flecks...nothing moving around like fleas...We haven't noticed anything jumping around nor any weird bite marks on our person...
I've tried researching a bit online and I'm just making myself itch like crazy.
Has anyone else experienced something of the same nature? Is it fleas? Could it be something else? Should I have her seen by a vet? The receptionist at the clinic didn't seem to really feel an appointment was necessary...just told me to go get flea treatment. I'd hate to treat unnecessarily when it could be something different. Perhaps I should insist on an appointment first?
Zoe follows me into the bathroom every morning and hops up onto the sink. She likes to get a drink from the sink. Very often I will find the tiniest little blood drop - the size of a pin head. I try to find the source...trying to see her paws to verify if perhaps she's had a tiny little scratch on one of the foot pads that the scab keeps getting taken off. All paws look ok though...
Just recently - in the past few days - she's really been trying to reach back to her tail bone with her mouth....as if it's really irritating her or itching... (she is a little weight challenged so can't really reach it either...and kinda just does a little summersault on the floor trying to reach it). A few of the black flecks were in the sink this morning and when the water hit them they look like blood. Seeing this now I'm thinking the little blood drops noticed before have come from her tail bone area..not her paws afterall....
The uneducated opinion of my bf and I ...perhaps she's been scratched back there and the scabs are flaking off ?(she and Bosco tend to 'play' frequently and it can get rather rough)... The worry wart in me called the vet clinic... discussing it with the receptionist she seems to think it's fleas...especially where there appears to be blood when the flecks get wet. She suggested I just pick up flea treatment and try it.
My concern...if it IS fleas...and I've noticed these flecks for a long time now -- excusing them away - would our entire home not be INFESTED by now?? Wouldn't our other cat Bosco be affected? We pulled back the fur on her tailbone this morning and did see flecks...nothing moving around like fleas...We haven't noticed anything jumping around nor any weird bite marks on our person...
I've tried researching a bit online and I'm just making myself itch like crazy.
Has anyone else experienced something of the same nature? Is it fleas? Could it be something else? Should I have her seen by a vet? The receptionist at the clinic didn't seem to really feel an appointment was necessary...just told me to go get flea treatment. I'd hate to treat unnecessarily when it could be something different. Perhaps I should insist on an appointment first?