Cats tail thinning

Question
Hi,
I have two female siberian cats. They both have beautiful bushy fur.Normally there tails are full and bushy also however I noticed that both cats tails have gotten thinner (alot) no bald spots, no sores, no fleas. Both the cats are indoor and vet checked every year, up to date on shots etc. I give them dry food and wet food twice a day. No health problems other than the thinner tail.. this seems to happen every year at this time. what is going on? thank you very much
                                     Linda

Answer
Hi Linda,

Thinning tails can be caused by a few things, most commonly from inadequate protein intake, hormone imbalances, or overgrooming by the cat of a certain area due to stress.  Let's start with the first.

What food are you currently feeding your cats, how much, and how often?  And while you may be thinking that your food has more than enough protein, the key is the quality of food they are getting.  Most commercial diets are formulated with low-quality or plant-based protein sources, which are not very digestible, and cats can result in not consuming enough digestible protein on a daily basis.  One of the many reasons why good, quality food is so vitally important.

Hormone imbalances can occur as well, but in my experience, this is the least likely cause, so I will leave that to you to rule out after you have addressed the other two primary causes.  This is something you would have to go to your vet to do a test to check for hormone levels, and unlike others, I recommend a trip to the vet last (unless an emergency), as vets commonly don't do a thorough history or look for the most obvious causes first--they're all too quick to prescribe you medication, a low-quality 'vet' food that's a waste of money, and send you on your way.

Now let's address the behavioral element.  This part can be hard to diagnose, as the problems probably start occurring several weeks before you notice the thinning of the hair.  Have there been any changes to the environment during these times?  Do you have family to visit with kids that perhaps stress them?  Have you noticed any behavioral concerns during feeding time?  Does one cat loom over the other while it's eating?  Does one cat leave its food for the other to finish?  How attached are they to you, how often are you home, and what do you do to spend quality time with them?  Please note any behavior you have observed that may be caused by or be causing stress.

I ask this because people commonly make the mistake of assuming that because they have two or more cats, it doesn't matter how much or how little they are at home because they have each other, but this is determined by the personality of the cat.  Cats are like people in that they are particular creatures, and are not fine with just any warm body for company.  I have six cats, each with a distinctly different personality, and all of which are severely attached to me because I raised them that way.  Four of the six get particularly stressed if I am away for too long.   Luna in particular gets so stressed she starts producing loose stools.  Evo overgrooms himself as well as scratches a certain stair even though he is trained to a scratch post, and they have six throughout the townhouse.  So it can be difficult to pinpoint the cause of stress, but as you know their individual personalities and I hope their needs, you can start to rule things out.  You should change one thing at a time so that you can rule out certain environmental variables that may be causing the stress.  

But first things first--please respond with what food you are currently feeding, if they have been on this diet their whole lives or if you have changed recently, how much and how often, etc, and we can go from there.  

Best regards,