Why does my cat chew her amputated leg stump until it bleeds?

Hello. The last time I saw a situation like this, we x-rayed the leg & saw a BB shot pellet ( & no, these little shot pellets of leave no or a very tiny wound ). Once removed, the chronic irritation & infection completely cleared up. So get this x-rayed to see if something is indeed there. If not, it could be some other foreign material that may respond well to antibiotics. Good luck & thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to see that T is having this problem. A few things are possible here. I am assuming that the original wound never healed, only got better. If that's the case then I would suspect either a foreign body has entered the leg or an insect/spider/other has bitten him that started the entire problem. Puncture wounds can look very different over time so it may have been only one small puncture wound from the inciting event. I would advise taking T back to your veterinarian so they can recheck the wound and possibly rethink what is going on. (Assuming they saw it initially) after it first happened. They may want to culture the wound and run a sensitivity of the bugs that grow out of the culture to determine what antibiotics would be best. They may also advise some x-rays to determine if a foreign body has entered the leg although this can be of questionable value depending what the foreign body could be. Exploring the wound might be another option. All of these can be discussed with your veterinarian and I have made some assumptions here and could be wrong. I wish you the best of luck with T and I hope you get to the bottom of this very soon.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Ketkat! The most common reason for chewing the back or the tail is fleas. Use a fine tooth comb and brush above her hips and down the tail. If you catch an adult flea in the comb you have an answer. If you don't, use a wet white tissue or paper towel to remove the fur and debris from the comb. If you see black squiggly flecks that when wet look like blood streaks that indicates flea poop. I would recommend a good flea preventative like the Serest collar, Bravecto for Comfortis. be sure that ALL animals in the house are treated. Other possibilities are skin allergies from the environment or food and cats can over groom from anxiety or behavioral reasons. If you do not find fleas I would take her to the Vet for a diagnosis so you can get her feeling better. I wish you all the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is unclear why he would have an open wound like that but likely due to some form of trauma. However, this does warrant an evaluation as soon as possible for further assessment and treatment. This will most likely need local treatment and possibly wound closure as well as antibiotics and pain control medications. Good luck and have a great day!

Hello. A properly done tail amputation should have healed in several weeks. This is probably a neurological response to the actual surgery, a type of phantom pain going on that is causing the cat to lick, groom & attack the area. The cat probably needs to be seen again, either to do a little more surgery & place her on a medication that will hopefully decrease the phantom pain sensation. Often a medication called Gabapentin is necessary. This should be completely healed by now. Please encourage your roommate to take his cat to the vet as soon as possible. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Stitch! I think you are doing the right thing. If her bone density isn't normal then she will have a hard time healing and it will take her longer, could be more painful and put her through more. Amputating the leg will be uncomfortable for her for 5-7 days then she will do great. Cats do well on 3 legs! I wish you the best!

This is likely how he copes and/or deals with stress. I would consider giving him a calming chew like vetriscience composure or composure pro (stronger but a prescription) to see if this helps. You can also put a cone collar on him for a couple of weeks to help break the habit. Also, if there is a specific spot that he commonly lays and does this, I would use feliway spray in that area. You can also plug in a feliway diffuser in that room. Feliway is a cat pheromone which can have a calming effect. Finally, if this doesn't work I would consider putting him on an anti-anxiety medicine like amitryptilline to see if this helps! I hope this works.