loss of hair on tail?

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I noticed last night our 10 month old tortoise shell cat has fur missing at the base of her tail, she has a very fluffy tail but the bottom is down to not much fur.

she doesn't go outside.

What could it be? Obviously I will take her to the vets to be sure but any ideas.

She is holding her tail up also. Otherwise fine in herself playing/feeding normally.

When was her last flea control?

That's typical of fleas.

Can she get fleas if she doesn't go outside? .

She can. Houses aren't a closed environment so eg you might be bringing in fleas/flea eggs/worm eggs etc from outside. Probably less chance of catching them - but it's not zero.

PS - Seniorboy has had a flea even though he's a housecat. I treat him for fleas and worms - although probably not as frequently as I treat cats who go outside.

I will get her a treatment thanks I didn't know she could catch them. Worms was another thought as it is the base of her tail. I was thinking maybe she has a itchy bum.

Hi, my cat has the same and is getting bold patches on her hind legs too. Is your cat itchy and cleaning excessively?I took mine to the vet and he said it was the time of year and she basically has an allergy to pollen and there isn't much we can do. He gave her a shot of something which eased the itching and her fur grew back but now it has come back :(

Male TitCat was taken to the vet with this last week. He is flead/wormed regularly so knew it wasn't that. In his case it was due to excessive licking as his anal glands weren't emptying properly. Vet manually sorted it out and said he was surprised as not a common cat problem. We came to the conclusion that a recent change in diet (dried to tins) may have caused it (not enough fibre) but don't know if that is true or not.

Yes she has been cleaning herself a lot more of late.

It's just the base of her tail not on her hind legs. I have watched to see if she has been rubbing it but have not caught her so far. Does look as though it has been rubbed away though.

I flea treated her today and she is due a worm too.

I guess the vet is the next step.

Interesting about the change of food, brand has been changed recently but still wet food.

I seem to recall that dog fleas can't live above a certain altitude so that, for instance, if you live in Denver, Colorado (which is high up) your dogs don't get fleas. I've always wondered whether this applies to cat fleas as well so if any American posters are lurking, I'd be interested to know.

(I don't think I've imagined this - about the dog fleas, I mean.)

Doesn't help you of course, hashtag - just some idle musing with the first cup of coffee. Interesting about the food but maybe try the parasite treatments first and see how she gets on. (And start ultra-hoovering in the house, yourself.) What kind of flea control did you use?

Does she have crazy moments where she grooms her back end furiously then runs like mad and does her body seem to ripple?

I personally wouldn't use flea treatment unless you are sure it's fleas, id go to vet

There is that of course and the OP is planning to do it - but the cat does need a decent flea and worm treatment anyway if she's never had one. If it's a flea allergy, that will do the trick.

I used frontline and I have gone over her with a comb. Nothing there?

Today she has been grooming her tail end alot.

Today she has been wormed too.

See how she is (grooming wise) tomorrow - there are other possibilities which may need a vet's visit. (But you were quire right to flea and worm her anyway. Just keep a note of the products and the date and let the vet know if you need to go.)

Frontline isn't as effective now - if you Google it, you'll see why. Best to get her to the Vets ASAP and get a flea treatment from them if that's causing the issue.

I think it rather depends where you are although there certainly seems to be flea immunity to it in some places. It's not the one I use myself I'll admit.

I dont think flea treatment should be used unless op is sure it's fleas. No wonder the treatments are becoming ineffective they are used far too frequently. I never use them on my cats and neither of my two have had fleas. Hope you get to the bottom of it op, would be interested to hear what your vet says

I'd have to disagree on that one, Beansprout. Keeping on top of fleas and worms is important for a pet's health in my view. When you see animals with parasite loads, it's pretty grim.

It might be that the area is causing pain (various reasons) and your cat is licking the area. A vet trip is best, they should be able to do some tests and a routine checkup for you.

There are so many reasons for loss of hair in cats :)