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Stud tail / tail skin issues

sciumi

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Greetings!

My 8 month-old naked boy (neutered 2 months ago) has very overactive oil glands in his tail--it's always dirty-looking and he gets comedones (blackheads) all the time.

We have been using medicated shampoo that we got from our veterinarian for the past several weeks--which has helped SO MUCH!--but we have to be super vigilant. Right now, we're washing with baby shampoo nightly and using the medicated shampoo 2-3 times per week.

He is also developing a(nother) sebaceous cyst. I'm trying a hot compress to see if that will help (tip I saw online).

None of this is a real health concern (fortunately), but it's just very frustrating!

Has anyone else had problems with any of this? What's your experience been?
 

ilovemysphynx

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Sorry to hear about this. The Tail should start to get better since he was neutered, but can take a bit. Giving him a bath every night may be to much, being that he most likely licks his tail alot there is not much you can put on it.
Our Chinese Crested has had some big pimples here ant there, I put human pimple cream on it but it is a rx for one of our kids. After I put it on I put a shirt on him so he can not lick it and it works great.
 

sciumi

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Sorry, I realize I didn't clarify this: we wash *only* his tail. And he's not a very talented groomer--though he has gotten a lot better as he gets older--sometimes I'll hold his tail for him, but even then he has a really hard time reaching the very base (where the blackheads are the worst).

It's good to know that it can take a while to see results after neutering, though! Maybe we'll continue to see improvements just from that.
 

Inflamed

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I don't have any experience with this issue but hope it clears up soon! Perhaps he still has some hormones in his system and time will work it out.
 

snarkitty

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Dorian's tail had been really rough and covered in black heads, but it's gotten a lot better recently. Unfortunately I don't know if it's because he's been neutered recently or if it's because I've started using coconut oil before bath times. Maybe a combination of both? I think the coconut oil probably fixed the roughness.. I'm giving him a bath today with the coconut oil rubdown before hand and I'll keep an eye on his black heads and see if there's any noticeable change and let you know :ThumbsUp:
 

NinaGato

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I use wipes with chlorhexiderm (sp?) In the days between baths. Danser has problems with blackheads on and off for years.
She has been the best since I started a fish oil supplement.

Sphynx on the go use Tapatalk for smartphones
 

Nofuratu

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the stud tail might not go away with the neutering. \i have a female with bad stud tail, just lots of black heads.
you are doing the right thing with scrubbing just the tail nightly. Try using an antibacterial soap like hibitaine/hibicleanse and rinse well.
we also pop the blackheads when they are ready and that helps as long as you keep the skin clean and dont let secondary infection develop.
Exfoliating helps, so scrub with something like a face cloth, something scratchy that will remove dead skin cells.
The coconut oil is also a good idea. you could use that to moisturise the tail after using antibacterial soap, so it wont dry out the skin.
good luck!
 

sciumi

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Astor's tail is looking good today! When I wrote my first post I was concerned because he had a cyst developing again, but it's actually starting to go away on its own!

I'd say he has three visible blackheads right now (only one of which is really near the surface) and then a light smattering of teeny tiny ones on top of the cyst, which is a little pinkish where you can see the sebaceous gunk beneath the skin. And the cyst has gotten soooo much better over the past few days---what a relief!

I'm going to start using the coconut oil more regularly--especially if it might help with the dry skin (like so many of you have suggested!).
 

Fluffy

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Hi, just from my experience the guys tails go throu this and look pretty black heady for a while but all of mine after that age become less porey and their tails are fine. Around 6- 10 months oils are at a high ( abit like spotty teenagers) after this time the oils seem to calm and less redness/ blotchy / blackheads to the tail fade, so do the dirtiness on where they sleep/rest. I would say don't worry it will pass, only if any blackheads/spots become angery then maybe treat the area but just use your common sense. :) x
 

Naked_Einstein

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I'm going through the same thing with my male, Einstein. He's about the same age and was neutered about 2 1/2 months ago. Before the procedure he had a pretty bad case of stud tail, lots of black heads and the occasional "lump" (sebaceous cyst). I thought that after the surgery it would all go away, but we're still battling the black heads. In fact it almost seemed worse until these past few weeks.

He started to get this cyst that became quite large and red. It was also tender to the touch, so trying to look at it (let alone treat it) became a huge ordeal. The first thing I did was stop popping his other black heads, that way he'd be more likely to let me near his tail. Then I started to apply hot compresses 2-3 times a day.

The swelling went down and the tenderness decreased, not to mention he actually started to enjoy getting his compress. I kept the baths to once a week because I didn't want to dry him out and thus cause him to produce more oil. I also didn't use the coconut oil on the tail because I've found that he tends to get dirtier/oilier much quicker if I use too much. I also bought a pair of exfoliating gloves to use at bath time to help me clear away the dead skin. I had to be very gentle in the beginning but he likes it a little rougher now.

That seemed to really help a lot, however if I don't keep up with his routine the cysts flair up. So i just have to battle it out until he gets through his teen years.

Sorry for the super long post, but I hope this helps.
 

sciumi

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The long post is AWESOME ;) thank you! Great to know that the compress paid off.

Last week we decided that we had reached diminishing returns with the nightly washing (blackheads almost entirely gone, but general oil buildup increasing), and are now just doing the medicated shampoo every few days. His tail looks so good! I had no idea it could get so much better :)


Hooray!
 

lechatdedanse

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I'm going through the same exact situation. My vegas is a one year old naked neutered male. I use coconut oil between baths but I'm going to start washing his tail nightly.thanks for the info.
 

Graddydani

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I've given up on the tail drama, I just use what I can but I realize now that for them, it won't ever be blackhead free. hope you and Astor have better luck
 

DarkWing

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Lunar had the same, he get a cleaning watr but not realy helped. my vet told me now to put a teaspoon of canola oil into his food and it seems to get better
 

Embracing-Joyx4

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Sometimes the more you wash oily skin the more oil it makes and with human skin it is this way. Even oily skin needs moisture and when treating oily skin there are (gel) moisturizers that combat the body producing extra oil because of washing. Sounds crazy I know but I combated oily skin and fixed it by moisturizing with clinic moisturizing hydrating gel after washing with special soap maybe it will work on kitty tail....
 

GoldHazel

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The long post is AWESOME ;) thank you! Great to know that the compress paid off.

Last week we decided that we had reached diminishing returns with the nightly washing (blackheads almost entirely gone, but general oil buildup increasing), and are now just doing the medicated shampoo every few days. His tail looks so good! I had no idea it could get so much better :)


Hooray!

That's great that there is an improvement.
 

RyuusMom

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Stud tail often doesn't go away with neutering. Ryuu had it his whole life (he was diagnosed at at about a year. And our spayed femail cornish rex also had it.) We used baby wipes on it and my roommate would scrub it with antibacterial soap and a soft toothbrush to get rid of the dead skin. We had to pop the blackheads. But because the oil had nowhere to go but down his tail since his tail was super naked. He got really bad cysts down his tail. One was so bad that it popped on its own (we didn't realize it was so bad and tried the moist heat method.) it was gross and painful. But because it had gotten so bad, he kept getting cysts in other places on his body. He got one on his foot. They tested swabs from both sites and it was the same bacteria present. He ended up having to have both lanced and drained. And he got a 10 day antibiotic shot. All his cystic acne went away and only the blackheads remained.

He was pretty smart. Didn't need to cone him when we'd pop the blackheads and apply the antibiotic ointment right after. I think he just didn't want to wear the cone. So he didn't lick it after we tended to it.

Over cleaning made it worse. So we tried every other day. That helped. Cleaning every day just irritated his skin worse. But he had sensitive skin so that was part of the problem.

Coconut oil has this amazing property. It can moisturized the skin an also dry out things that aren't suppose to be there. Like over active oil glands and even diaper rash. That seemed to help big time.

Every cat is different though so what worked for me may not work for you. And if what you are doing is helping, then awesome! :)
 

SarahLovee82

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I use shampoo called D'Grease by Pure Pet. I found it on Amazon- It says on the jar that its good for stud tail. Check it out.
 
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