…is driving me bonkers in the vet department. She’s racked up a substantial vet bill over the last several months – we’re talking over $1200 by now – for this one single issue: her tail biting.
Sleepin: I haz it.
She’s biting the top of her tail and just a little above that. We don’t know why. We’ve tried the gamut including various injections, flea stuff, and a change in diet (which she’s currently on). So far, the injections get her to stop the biting but they wear off after anywhere between 2 1/2 – 4 weeks total. Some of the injections are steroids which aren’t good for her to take over a period of time. So yeah, we’re hoping she’ll stop. If left untreated, she’d chew herself bare to the point of drawing blood. 
Yoga: I doez it.
We’re at the 3 week mark now with the last injection. If the food doesn’t hold, I think we’re moving onto some topical ointment that’s supposedly safe for lil’ kitties. We’ll see. I hope it doesn’t get to that but unfortunately, $1200+ and several months later, I’m not so hopeful.
My boy cat has a similar problem. He will lick his legs until they are scrubbed free of fur and skin and are open wounds. The doctor said it was nerves and gave him a prescription for 20mg of ovaban. I give Pip 1/4 of a pill each day and IT WORKS!!! Also fairly cheap – $19 a bottle. Don’t know if it helps for biting, but it sounds like a similar problem.
It’s driving me nuts because I’ve said since Day 1 that I thought she was obsessive-compulsive. The vet said that because she reacted positively to the steroids, it couldn’t be that. And I’ve seen that mentioned online a few times. But I know my cat. She will obsessively lick herself and if I put my hand near her face while she’s doing that, she’ll turn to me and lick ME obsessively for 5 minutes. How many cats do you know take pleasure in licking their owners hand non-stop for 5 minutes?
sound OCD to me! If you aren’t satisfied with this vets diagnosis… take kitty for a second opinion! Would do the same if it were your kid, right?
My cat gets seasonal allergies and will scratch his neck terribly, so we use steriods for just the time of year that bothers him… it totally zonks him out and who knows if he’s just to high to scratch, or if the itch is stopped by the drug.?@? I’d try the Ovaban if it works ~ great! if not, well… you tried it! good luck!
I should post some video I have of her doing her OCD things. I even mentioned all this to the vet too. This vet is very careful of prescribing meds and shots. She’s considered very conservative in that nature. THe next thing we’re going to try is topical. If that doesn’t do it, we’re moving on.
Coinicidentally, Howard Stern – no, I don’t listen to him but the husband does – has the same exact issue with his tabby cat. SAME. And from what I hear, he and his wife have gone to the ends of the universe to help their cat out and still haven’t figured it out. Doesn’t make me hopeful.