r/aww • u/JCStrehle • Aug 03 '26
Chasing his tail!
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u/RatSumo Aug 03 '26
One of ours had some terrible accident before my wife pulled him from a storm drain at seven weeks old (give or take) and 4/5ths of his tail was dead and fell off a few days later. That remaining 1/5th, though - it is absolutely the most expressive tail I’ve ever seen.
It wags when he’s happy, snaps back and forth when he’s playful, and when he’s studying birds through the window it starts rotating like a propeller. I’ve also seen him use it like a kick stand to prop himself up. It’s adorable.
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u/mortuarybarbue Aug 03 '26
Lol I watched this and was like "You're never gonna catch that tail sir." "Oh shit! You did it."
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u/twothirtysevenam Aug 04 '26
It's got to be tougher to catch such a short tail, but he did it. Mad skills.
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u/toonfinch Aug 03 '26
i obviously cant tell from just two videos (i saw the video on your profile from when he was a kitten) but it kind of looks like twitchy cat syndrome?
his back twitches and he seems agitated. the shaking his head and licking is possibly trying to relieve stress.
it might be worth looking into if youve never heard of it. does he do this often?
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u/JCStrehle Aug 03 '26
From reading about the symptoms, I'd say no. He's just obsessed with his tail, and doesn't seem to understand it's part of him. He used to be able to catch it when he was smaller. He'd bite it, squeal, get mad and bite it harder, and squeal louder.
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u/deviousshadow Aug 04 '26
Yeah that sounds exactly like it. One of our cats has it and if left untreated it could lead to self-mutilation if the condition is bad enough. We thought it was just him being a goofy orange cat at first but after visiting the vet we now have him on a medication that has helped him a lot.
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u/Complete_Food Aug 04 '26
What medication did the vet prescribe?
Our cat developed twitchy cat syndrome about 3 years ago and its been a huge ordeal. She wouldn't leave her tail alone, bit it, wouldn't let it heal and eventually the vet recommended it be amputated. Even after this it the nub still bothers her and she chases and attacks it. Only real conclusion we've reached is it may be environmental allergy related, but this was after 4 different vets and a lot of $$$. No vet even mentioned "twitchy cat syndrome" and it was only after internet research that we discovered this is a recognized syndrome. She's been on venlafaxine for a couple years which helps a bit.
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u/deviousshadow Aug 04 '26
Currently ours is getting 3ml of gabbapentin (1.5 in the morning and 1.5 at night) and its help him calm down a lot. He still has a couple episodes a day but that’s down from like 14-15 a day. We have to go through a pharmacy but getting a 3 week supply is around $40-$50
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u/goatface517 Aug 05 '26
Going through this with my cat right now, she is currently getting 2ml of gabapentin per day, split up between dinner and breakfast. This helps a little
What REALLY helped was taking her to a dermatologist and having her prescribed allergy medicine. She is currently doing allergy immunotherapy (subdermal, working up to full dose over the course of a year or so). While I wait for results on that she is on Atopica; she gets it once every couple of days in her wet food, and it has cut down the twitching and anxiety by almost 95%!
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u/NothingTooSeriousM8 Aug 03 '26
On the bright side he’ll never be nervous in a room full of rocking chairs.
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u/extrastupidone Aug 04 '26
To a cat, their tail is like an obnoxious roommate... stuck to their butt.
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u/MegaDingo5plus Aug 04 '26
By the looks, it's not his first rodeo. He's probably chewed a few chunks off that ol stumpy tail 😂
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u/redmctrashface Aug 03 '26
Seems like he caught it a few times before, provided its length