Please help, My Sphynx won’t stop licking his tail

[AnnabellaWood]

Hi everyone,

New to this site & have a an issue...
I have a beautiful Sphynx boy & I let him play out side in the summer times for a few hours a day when I’m in.
However the other month when it was still warm we where sat out in the garden late at night & we let him out but unfortunately he got attacked by a Fox!! He was pretty bad & had to have a tiny bit of his tail at the end taken off as there was no skin left on it just the bone hanging out. Plus he had some bad deep scratches a long his tail that needed stitches! The vet said on one of the cuts he thought there could be a bit of nerve damage. But he seems to have full used of his tail back.
He made a very good recovery however he started licking his tail to the point where it had turned into a graze & he seemed fixated with doing it!! I’ve taken him to the vet & he said keep a cone on him to stop it plus try wrapping his tail up with some bandage to try & stop or brake the cycle..
I have tried both, he can now bend round & licks the end of his tail even with a big cone round his head!!! I have had the cone on for several weeks now & as he’s figured out how to get his tail I don’t feel like it’s doing much. The bandage helped for a day or 2 but fell off & he gets so annoyed with me trying to wrap another one round. I’ve tried squeezing his tail to see if he’s in pain but seems fine.
He has always tended to have slight anxiety as he darts round the house sometimes & moans at times for no apparent reason, plus he has licked his tail before but never to the point where he’s causing cuts!
Please help I don’t know what to do anymore & the vet said if he keeps doing it he’s have to cut his tail off!! That’s makes me so sad!
I’ve just brought some natural home diffusers so will see how that goes. Plus thinking of getting some natural herbal drops I’ve read about that help anxiety to give him.
Do you think I should pop some lemon on the end of his tail to stop him licking it?
Thanks

 

[spottedsphynx]

I'm glad he is okay and made a good recovery. In future, I wouldn't let him outside unattended.

If he can reach around and get his tail, the cone isn't long enough. You should maybe ask your vet for a bigger one. I wouldn't put anything on his tail though because if it's opened, it would likely irritate it or cause infection depending the substance put on.​

 

[Toa and Ross]

@AnnabellaWood welcome to sphynxlair. Yikes! Attacked by a fox, what a scare for your boy and you.

It canbe anxiety as you say. I know @Catzzzmeow and @Xandria have cats with anxiety. Maybe they can share their experience and whay meds they use?

Are you sure he's not licking because he's still in pain. You write the vet said their could be nerve damage. A damaged nerve can be hurting pretty bad and maybe that makes him lick his tail. So maybe you can ask tge vet for painkillers or another treatment specially for nerve pain

 

[AnnabellaWood]

I'm glad he is okay and made a good recovery. In future, I wouldn't let him outside unattended.

If he can reach around and get his tail, the cone isn't long enough. You should maybe ask your vet for a bigger one. I wouldn't put anything on his tail though because if it's opened, it would likely irritate it or cause infection depending the substance put on.​

We are so glad he’s ok!! We just won’t let him out late at night again.
We already have the biggest cone he can take round his little head!
Possibly thinking of the lemon or orange to pop on his tail as I read that the don’t like that smell. Plus it’s totally natural.

 

[AnnabellaWood]

@AnnabellaWood welcome to sphynxlair. Yikes! Attacked by a fox, what a scare for your boy and you.

It canbe anxiety as you say. I know @Catzzzmeow and @Xandria have cats with anxiety. Maybe they can share their experience and whay meds they use?

Are you sure he's not licking because he's still in pain. You write the vet said their could be nerve damage. A damaged nerve can be hurting pretty bad and maybe that makes him lick his tail. So maybe you can ask tge vet for painkillers or another treatment specially for nerve pain

Thanks for your reply. It’s hard to say if it could be nerve damage.. but I feel like the vet is a bit extrem at only having an option of cutting his tail off!
Yep could find out about relief for nerve pain... not sure pain killers long term are good for him though as I know how bad they are for us! Will try everything possible to be natural before resorting to other things.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

I am so sorry your baby was attacked. Your reminder is priceless that even being out with your baby doesn’t mean they are safe from other animals, even birds of prey. Our one girl is on a form of Prozac and it definitely has helped take the edge off and she is more relaxed and far from lethargic. We have seen other cats with obsessive compulsive behaviors have luck as well on meds. We have seen when it comes to being obsessive about the tail, it can mean amputation if nothing else works. Please keep us updated.