Well, I thought I'd update everyone on Eddie and his "issues" with his tail/stump.

For those of you who don't know... a couple of years ago, Eddie started having "issues" with his tail. He would stare at it, look at it as if he was annoyed by it, and he'd flick it, swat it, and even bite the tip. Sometimes he bit it so hard, he'd yelp. :(

It got to the point where his back would twitch, and I mean really TWITCH! and he'd chase his tail around, angry at it for some unknown reason. Eventually, my cousin and I came home one night to find blood all over our house (on both floors) and we found Eddie on my bed, with the bone exposed on his tail. He'd chewed right down to the bone, and was bleeding EVERYWHERE. :( We were in Toronto, so it's a lucky thing we came home that night, or I cringe to think what could've happened to him.

So we had emergency surgery to remove his tail... and even AFTER the surgery, with his e-collar (cone) on... he'd STILL repeatedly try and attack the stump. It was pitiful. All you'd hear would be the plastic banging banging banging against the floor as he tried to nab it. And at one point, he actually DID get to it! He'd yelp and we knew, darnit, he touched it. He could bite the stump. NOT good. :thumbsdown:

So for a time we really thought we'd have to put him down, because even after doing research, our vet couldn't come up with a solid CURE for his condition. She said that it was no way for a cat to live; wearing a cone (we had to upgrade to a dog cone, so that he couldn't reach the stump!) and still going after himself obsessively.

Eventually, we had him on Amitriptyline, 3 pills a day, along WITH the cone... for a couple of months. And the pills definitely helped. They made him a bit logey, and we hated that, but at least he wasn't going after his stump!

Finally, in March (5 months after surgery) we did a trial run without his cone and it was a success! :jump: A few months after that, we lessened the dosage of his pills, and eventually, he didn't need those anymore either! :jump:

And things have been great since then. (March 2006)

Well, we have witnessed stuff recently that has us realizing that we may never be out of the woods with Eddie and his "issues". :(

Whenever he gets hungry/upset that he's hungry, he will do the EXACT same thing with his stump. His back will twitch a bit (not as badly as it used to) and he'll flip his stump madly while staring at it. Only very recently did I notice him actually LUNGING for it again! :( He didn't yelp or anything, and he's easily distracted these days (back then, you could NOT distract him from it) but it's still not good. We notice him doing it when he's hungry, and so we are quick to feed him when that point comes. Other than that, he's okay. :wha:

We think he's got mental problems... because we've sort of always had "issues" with Eddie since we got him. He's such a GREAT cat, a real sweetheart... but he just requires a bit more time/attention. We may have to put him on a MILD sedative one day or something.

I just wanted to update on my boy! :luv1:

Awwww, you know how I absolutely adore that boy Jess. :luv2: :luv2: How strange his issues seem to be however... It seems mental for sure though. At least you know to feed him when he starts! Maybe he is just super smart and figured out a way to be fed quick. :rotfl: Give him one BIG :smooch: for me!

awwww sending hugs and prayers! Love hearing about Eddie, paws crossed you can keep it under control

Hang in there Eddie :kittyluv:

Thanks everyone. :)

Just to clarify... this was the email from our vet about him.

We need a couple of pics in this thread.

See Ed with his cone on! He got used to it! :luv1:

Aw, I remember all that! :comfort: I hope it doesn't start back up again like it was. Poor Eddie! He's so handsome, though.

My mom's cat Phoebe has started attacking her tail. :shock:

Oh man, what an ordeal. :( I hope he gets through this so he can continue to live a happy life.

Eddie is such a little sweetie. I'm glad you're able to distract him.

Our Sam was diagnosed with Feline Hyperesthasia syndrome last year as well. His back twitches and then he takes off at a sprint, suddenly stops, sits and starts grooming. He doesn't go for his tail (which is common with FHS) but he starts to gnaw on his hind claws. One day a few weeks ago we came home and found blood on the floor ... he had bitten his nail that hard/much that I thinkn he hit the quick :shock: It wasn't too severe though, thank God. So far, we can usually distract him fairly easily but we do keep a close eye on him and try to make sure nothing startles him because that seems to send him into a bit of a fit.

Big hus and kisses for little Eddie :smooch:

Awww I'm sorry to hear that, Rita. Best thing you can do for sure, is keep your eyes on him. :hug: It's good to know (well, not "good" but you know what I mean) that someone on here is also going through something similar, so I don't feel so isolated with this condition. :(

He's fine other than when he gets hungry, it seems. Or upset, usually because he's hungry. Thankfully he hasn't gone after it when we're not home or sleeping (that we know of). It's such a bizarre and unpredictable condition.

IF he did attack his stump, we'd have to put him down. There is nothing else to amputate... and if he bit into it, and got infected, it would go into his spine. So keep your fingers and paws crossed that it's something we can monitor and MAYBE one day, if it persists... we can try a mild sedative - or even the Amitriptyline again.

Good grief! Poor Eddie! Fingers crossed he's going to be ok! :(

How is Eddie doing now, Jess?

He's doing great, Lisa. Thanks for asking! :) He's got issues, but we believe he always will. It's nothing that needs to be controlled right now, and hopefully it never will be! But when he's over-stimulated or hungry (upset), he'll lick it frantically but he's easily distracted. Before - that NEVER happened. He was too focused on it to care about distractions.