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Why is my cat's tail missing fur? Is it an injury or infection?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Birman | Male | unneutered | 15 lbs

My cat showed up home one day about a week ago & his whole tail was missing its fur! Idont know what could have caused this? & also is it contagious or can it get infected??

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 5th, 2016

Fir does not just fall out like this. If the tail was indeed naked, then somebody must have removed the hair. Did Whiskas still have skin on his tail? Did you see red flesh without skin? That would be called a degloving injury and it usually happens when a car runs over the tail and the cat tries to get away thereby the skin coming off the tail If that is what happened, you will need to take Whiskas to a veterinarian for an exam. If there is a degloving injury, the tail will have to be amputated in order to avoid serious infection and also to take the pain involved. If just the hair is gone and you can see uninjured, intact skin (light pink or whitish) then You can just wait for the hair to grow back.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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