My 8-year-old white cat's tail is brown and yellow. What's wrong?

If just fur is ripped out and you can now see white skin then this is not a problem. Gently check her whole tail to see whether there is a painful spot or a wound. If so, then take her to a vet for an exam and pain medicine as well as possible antibiotics.

I am quite concerned that the dark blue skin may be well on its way to a black color. Black colored skin is generally an indication that the skin has died. It is possible that some of the surrounding areas can die off as well, so I would make sure that the affected area is examined and trimmed away. An oral or injectable antibiotic would probably be very beneficial in this case to prevent further harm. Something else like an e-collar plus a steroid/antihistamine would help address some of the itchiness that Sunny is experiencing. If she continues to aggravate the lesion, the healing process can be slowed considerably or stopped entirely. Hope this helps.

I would recommend seeking another opinion in person. I would make sure the Ninja is on a good flea and tick prevention (even if indoors). I would have a veterinarian evaluate his skin underneath his hair to make sure there are no lesions. I would also recommend having a veterinarian check his anal glands. After this they can always biopsy the area. I would have them do a biopsy in that spot and then a normal spot on Ninja's skin. I have previously done this before on patients when people would want answers to why the hair is turning color and most of the time it comes back as normal, but without that biopsy I can't say that for sure in Ninja's case. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

We can sometimes see color changes in haircoat in animals as they age, or as a result of inflammation or trauma to the skin. If there are no lesions (redness, crusts or scabs, raised bumps, etc.) and your kitty is not bothering at the area by licking/scratching at it, I would just continue to observe the site. I would check it weekly for changes. If he begins to lose hair, starts licking/scratching, the skin looks red or irritated or other spots appear, then a vet exam is recommended.

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.

Could Bowser be any cuter??!! I'm serious, he is beautiful. This hair loss could be from an injury, allergies, a skin infection, or even fleas. Since the fur loss is going down, I'd have this checked out by a vet. The vet can diagnose the cause, and can treat him for it. I hope this helps.

You can try applying Neosporin and giving it time. Unfortunately, tip of the tail injuries like this can be very difficult to heal since there is not much tissue or a very good blood supply to the very tip of a cat's tail. Sometimes they are licking it to clean even when you don't see, which will significantly slow healing. If it doesn't appear to be healing in a few days, then your kitty should get checked out by a vet. Sometimes we need to amputate the tip of the tail so that we can close healthy tissue over the bone to aid with healing.