My cat is afraid of her own tail

reigningcatsndogs · Aug 30, 2007

and I don't know what to do about it. She stalks it, catches it, get's her claws caught in it and ends up thrashing around on the floor. Even keeping her claws trimmed, she still spazzes all the time about it. WHen she realizes it is behind her, if she doesn't try to kill it, she tries to run away from it, power running through the house. She always stops at a corner, sits to peek around it to see if it's coming towards her, but then she twitches the end of it in her peripheral vision, spazzes again and tries to run away from it. She is not playing a game, and I don't know what to do to stop her, or if I need to, or if some time she will just get the hint that it's attached to her ass. Any suggestions? I've actually toyed with the idea of getting her tail docked, but its really beautiful.

melaniehoo · Aug 30, 2007

What's the abbreviation for rolling on the ground laughing? ROGL? I can't actually give any advice but that's the funniest thing I've heard since the president's latest speech!

sunna · Aug 30, 2007

pictures. my suggestion would be pictures.

My cat (RIP

) used to do this too, pretty often. She also would run in circles after it until she fell over panting and cross-eyed. She never shredded it, or hurt herself. Personaly I think they just get bored with the other offerings of entertainment we humans give them and decide to employ a little wilful suspension of disbelief when it comes to body parts becoming potential enemies. She'll move on to attacking your ankles any day now.

moonslice · Aug 30, 2007

I would suggest distracting your cat as much as possible with games and toys. My cat likes to try to catch things that are attached to a string and barely showing from underneath a blanket.

reigningcatsndogs · Aug 31, 2007

I should probably have pointed out that my cat has another cat, three weiner dogs, two kids and three giant baskets of toys (that are usually scattered all over the house to play with. Even with all that, she doesn't get that she can't escape from her own butt (I know, I've tried and it just doesn't work, but will she listen to me?)

ajkjd01 · Aug 31, 2007

Is she doing any damage to her tail?

If she's hurting herself and still won't stop, you might go to the vet. She might have picked up fleas somewhere and be allergic (like mine is). She might also be acting due to some stress in the house. Your vet can tell you whether it's behavioral or physical. If it's behavioral, the vet may prescribe an anti-anxiety for a while, or recommend you use Feliway, a soothing pheremone spray or plug in for cats. It sounds like you have a high activity household, and that might be stressing her out. You might have to set her up in her own room for a while to allow her to calm down before gradually reintroducing her to the rest of the household.

If she's not hurting herself, and there's nothing wrong with her, then she's getting exercise in her own way, which can be a problem for a house cat. Enjoy the hilarity and be thankful she's keeping herself healthy!

reigningcatsndogs · Aug 31, 2007

No, she doesn't cause any damage -- she's just so damned surprised that when she bites it or pounces on it, that it hurts. I really believe she's just too stupid to realize it belongs to her. I think shen she attacks it, she believes it's attacking her because obviously she's going to feel it.
She's sitting here cleaning it, and when the tip of it moves, she looks absolutely shocked that it moved, and then starts to spaz again! It's so much like a bad Sylvester cartoon!! I don't know if I should laugh or cry -- okay, so I laugh most of the time about it, but really, can an animal be this stupid? A friend stopped by to visit for a couple of days, and literally would get her morning coffee and sit and watch the cat trying to kill her own tail. She thought it was the craziest thing in the world. Oh, boy....

JoNightshade · Aug 31, 2007

Eh, this is normal cat behavior. My kitty did that all the time when he was little. Don't worry about it, enjoy the show.

MidnightMuse · Aug 31, 2007

Is she Siamese, by chance?

reigningcatsndogs · Aug 31, 2007

She's five years old, and she's not siamese at all -- just nuts!!!!

MidnightMuse · Aug 31, 2007

Well, neurosis isn't totally reserved for siamese and abysinians -

Try distraction whenever you see it happen. Spend some quality time when she's relaxing and pet her tail, play with it a little, see if she can spend time with it without freaking out. Is she being harrassed by the other pets?

darthbizzel · Aug 31, 2007

my cat is named twicth for very much the same reasons, she acts like shes on speed most of the time its hilauorus outa all the cats ive owned most do this its just there way of playing with them selves liek we did with imagnariy friends.

davids · Aug 31, 2007

Do not bob the tail-I repeat do not bob the tail. It is an extention of her personality-bobbing will cause great stres-there is no stress in a cat chasing its tail or apparently being frightened by it. Our Burty chases wabbits with the intent of rape-if I tried to stop him he would piss on my feet even more-it is better to leave certain things well done and alone-luv Dave-oh I will be right over chocolate queen of nekkid passion!!!!

reigningcatsndogs · Aug 31, 2007

davids said:
Do not bob the tail-I repeat do not bob the tail. It is an extention of her personality-bobbing will cause great stres-there is no stress in a cat chasing its tail or apparently being frightened by it. Our Burty chases wabbits with the intent of rape-if I tried to stop him he would piss on my feet even more-it is better to leave certain things well done and alone-luv Dave-oh I will be right over chocolate queen of nekkid passion!!!!

Thanks for the input, Lobster-Man (although I would expect no other answer from a critter who is constantly in fear of his own tail being cut off and dipped in hot butter!!)

ETA: Actually, maybe you live in hope of your tail being dipped in hot butter??

ResearchGuy · Aug 31, 2007

My indoor cat is so skittish that we (wife and I) named her Boo. We once saw Boo jump at the sound of her own . . . uh . . . passing gas. I kid you not. Any unexpected noise, even the crinkling of the newspaper or some random little house noise makes her twitch. Once she gets completely used to a repeating noise (such as my computer printer) she is ok with that. But not all. She still jumps at the sound of the phone ringing near my computer, even though it is the muted tone from the printer, as I turned the phone ringer itself off. She is four now. For her first couple of years, she would stalk and terrorize her toy ferrets, biting their tails and throwing them into the air. She still sometimes carries her fuzzy play balls around, or one of her stuffed mice or ferrets, and leaves them here or there. Several times a day she needs serious lap time, face rubbing time, head bumping time, and curling up next to me and catnapping time.

--Ken

Rich · Aug 31, 2007

Cats tend to take on the characteristics of their owners.

MidnightMuse · Aug 31, 2007

ResearchGuy said:
My indoor cat is so skittish that we (wife and I) named her Boo. We once saw Boo jump at the sound of her own . . . uh . . . passing gas.

Remember, we're not laughing AT them, we're laughing WI-- No, we're laughing at them.

Yes.

Yes we are

ResearchGuy · Aug 31, 2007

Rich said:
Cats tend to take on the characteristics of their owners.

If Boo has done that, it is by becoming more and more mellow over the years. She came to us as an abandoned and probably abused--and very hungry--stray, shying away from any contact until I sat on the back patio for hours, sneaking the food bowl closer and closer to me. Finally, I could reach out and touch her and pick her up when she came to the bowl. She climbed up my chest, putting her little arms around my neck, and purring and purring. It took another go-round of that a day or two later to start to get her trust. We knew she was a keeper when for her first night in the house she curled up at the foot of the bed and slept all night long. (She would have been a keeper in any event, but that is another story.)

--Ken

Rich · Aug 31, 2007

I just had to put down one of my two cats--lilly. Had her for 14 years. I'm getting so old that I try to explain to my other three pets how I want to be put down. I'm getting to an age when I can't take on any newbies.

Rich · Sep 1, 2007

Odd cave here.

moonslice · Sep 1, 2007

Rich, you are never too old for a kitty!

AllyWoof · Sep 12, 2007

Missy used to do that, too. All she does is sleep now, though.

HeronW · Dec 23, 2007

My big tabby Pasha, may he play forever in kitty heaven, used to do the same thing when he was 2-4 years old. Once he caught his tail and hopped around on 3 legs and I nearly peed myelf laughing. He cured himself of that trick.

My current younger cat who ia 2 yrs old will still chase her tail, bounce sideways with tht tail fluffed to bottle brush then go tear-assing down the hall.

I honestly don't think your cat is afraid of her tail. If she's an only cat, she's playing and may get hyper with herself. Keeping the claws trimmed is good for preventing scratches in her tail. Lots of non-swallowable toys like ruber balls, ping-pong balls, aluminum foil crumpled up, toy mice are all good distractions though the best toy is the one with you attached. Spend 15-20 min playing with her. That may help diffuse some of her extra energy.

Bubastes · Dec 27, 2007

I'm laughing so hard I'm crying!

If your kitty isn't hurting herself, then I wouldn't worry about the spaztastic behavior. My friend's cat likes to stick her tail underneath the door to the basement (there's a big gap). She curls it until the tip peeks back out under the door, and then she pounces on it.

I know that cats are supposed to be intelligent, but sometimes I wonder.

My cat is afraid of her own tail

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