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Just lately, Lucy has been doing something very strange! Her tail will start to switch, she will turn and look at it, swat at it, and hiss, very emphatically! Sometimes she chases it, hissing all the while. Is she nuts? An additional piece of information is that I have another cat who recently became quite ill and is taking quite a bit of my time and attention.

>>Just lately, Lucy has been doing something very strange! Her tail will start to switch, she will turn and look at it, swat at it, and hiss, very emphatically! Sometimes she chases it, hissing all the while. Is she nuts? An additional piece of information is that I have another cat who recently became quite ill and is taking quite a bit of my time and attention.

This is probably not too abnormal and not a big cause for concern. Maybe Lucy is even trying to compensate for a lack of attention by playing with/by herself. If she does damage to herself or seems otherwise unhappy then you should be concerned, but if she's just hissing and playing then she's more than likely OK.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

>>>>Just lately, Lucy has been doing something very strange! Her tail will start to switch, she will turn and look at it, swat at it, and hiss, very emphatically! Sometimes she chases it, hissing all the while. Is she nuts? An additional piece of information is that I have another cat who recently became quite ill and is taking quite a bit of my time and attention.
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Sounds like she needs to go to the vet to have her anal glands expressed. This is not normal. Take her to the vet to be checked out.
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Ruby and the Kitties
Simba, Samantha, Katrina & KatyKatt
Meow!! Meow!! Meow!! Meow!!

How wonderful to do nothing and then rest afterwards. Meow!

Hi there,

I'm sorry to hear about your cat, but I want you to know you're not alone.

Last Wednesday my cat began doing the exact same thing - she was biting her tail so hard that she left scabs.

I have been to two different vets, an animal chiropractor and have treated her for fleas, ticks, etc and anything else I could think of.

I am at my wits end and I am out of ideas, this afternoon I came across someone with the same problem on this website:

http://members.aol.com/paws2tails/private/columns/4_19_98.html

There were a few ideas from a vet and I will be bringing my cat to the vet again this week to rule them out.

I am also going to the pet store this afternoon to get the Comfort Zone plug-in for cats, it is supposed to help them when they are stressed and/or acting strangely and hope that will help.

Best of luck to you and your cat, please keep us updated on your cat condition, and I will re-post when I find out what is wrong with my cat.

don't feel alone. i have a 9 month old cat who started out ust chasing her tail. that was fine. but then after a month or so, he started to not only chase it but also growl and snarl like his tail was some evil enemy. i grew up with cats and have had cats nearly every 50 years i have been alive and never saw this type of behavior before. so i did a google search which brought me here. after being here, i am planning now on taking my cat to the vet with the info from the posted link and having him checked for impacted anal glands and xrayed for cauda equina syndrome. thanks for the info!

Hi there,

I hope both you and your cat will soon be feeling better - I know how stressful it can be, and I wouldn't wish this situation on anyone.

I just wanted to send an update - I went to see our regular vet, and one of Kit Kat's anal glands was blocked, and after having it unblocked she was still acting a little crazy.

So we had her tail amputated not knowing whether it would work or not. It was a very difficult month to go through, she had an Elizabethan collar on for 3-4 weeks and she kept pulling at the stitches.

It has been 1 1/2 months since her surgery - she is completely healed, and she has a very cute little stub now. We are both so much happier

I obviously hope your cat doesn't need to have its tail amputated, but if you have any questions, or just need someone to listen, please feel free to e-mail me or post on the forum

Good luck