Conference misery::feline_v1

    my benjamin elmo sucks/licks/chews his, but with him, it's clearly
    an expression of his happiness - i'm not so sure in your case, though!

    can you think of anything that may have changed in her life that may
    cause her to be feeling nervous or unsettled?  you might try bringing
    her to the vet to make sure there are no microscopic parasites, or
    anything like that - if physical causes are ruled out by your vet,
    you might want to put serious work into understanding what might have
    changed starting when she started this behavior - also, does she do
    this at certain times only?  something else to think about is whether
    or not she could have developed an allergy - do you have anything new
    in the house that could be causing this?

    just some stabs in the dark ... karen

    How old is your kitty???  Is it possible that she is just reaching
    Womanhood and may be beginning to go into heat???  Many females
    spend lots of time grooming and biting their tails and hind quarters
    when they have their first few heats.  
    
    Just a thought...
    cin
    

    I had one that use to pull her fur out, and bite herself too.  After
    much study by the vet, he decided she had a hormone imbalance from
    her spaying.  She started receiving cortisone shots every 4-8 weeks,
    as she needed them.  It would clear up, and her hair would grow
    back just as pretty as before.  The vet said the imbalance caused
    her skin to be itchy.

    Believe it or not, it could also be pychological, too.  I knew a
    cat who did this every time his owner left home for long periods
    of time.  It turned out that he was lonely;  he was also afraid
    that he would be left or given to someone else.  We only know that
    because Simon had a history of abuse and being shunted around to
    different people.  Until this last owner took him, he's developed
    a lot of confidence, and is much happier.  He RARELY does the
    tail-biting routine now--I think mainly for attention.  
    
    I know the knowledge of this may not do you any good;  don't know
    if we have any "kitty pyschologists" out there to help.  But your
    kitty just may be lonely or nervous about something, as one of the
    previous noters mentioned.
    
    When all else fails, when you feed her or brush her, or are just
    petting her, keep telling her you love her and would never give
    her away--it may help!
    
    Good luck,
    
    Jane
    
    

    What about fleas?
    
    

If there's no physical reason for tail biting, e.g. fleas, ezcema, then it
just might be psychological.  A stray, unaltered cat came into our
neighborhood one summer, and wreaked havoc with the pecking order of all
the cats! Munchkin responded by pulling out his fur.  Being Siamese, the
vet said that this was his way of biting his nails.  Anyway, he got checked
out to make sure it wasn't anything physical, was on cortisone pills for
a couple of months, etc.  Nothing really stopped this -- even when the
stray disappeared.  The vet finally suggested buying a spray, like Bitter
Apple, which tasted terrible -- similar to how parents get their kids to
stop biting their nails.  Well it worked; however, the female (Mutu) washed
Munch ("Boy you stink, let me help clean you up!"), so we had to spray
some on her.  The spray we used is Obtundia Ointment, smells vile, comes
in a blue can.  Now whenever Munch gets angry at me, he stares and pulls
out a tuff of fur!  I just hold up the blue can and he winces...success!

Check out your cat's health first, then try the less expensive method --
get a can of Bitter Apple or Obtundia.

Regards,
J.

  Ref. .7 -

  I know that there are some Thai vets, BUT Munchkin and Mutu are Siamese -
  not the vet!!!