What is the black dirt on the tail of my cat?

Question

my cat has what appears to be dirt on the top of his tale, he does not have fleas, but bites and licks it frequently. What could this be?

Answer 1

Do you have any more details?

It's almost impossible to diagnose something like that, especially over the internet and without pictures.

Answer 2

flea eggs

Answer 3

Get some and put it on a damp tissue, if it runs red it's flea dirt. It happened with mine and I didn't believe it was fleas either as in her (then) 10 years she'd never had even one. The biting and l*****g add creedance to this.

If it's not flea dirt, could it be regular dirt? Does it smell?

Answer 4

It is probable that that is in fact flea dirt, even if you can't find the fleas.  They are hard to find sometimes and you should treat him just in case.  I have this problem constantly because I volunteer with cats and bring home flea eggs (pretty much invisible) and sometimes you can track them in, or they crawl in under your door.  Fleas are hard to avoid, but they are easy easy to treat, so just do it.

Oh, and I almost forgot.  If it is flea dirt, you'll want to treat him for tapeworms too.  Most tapeworms are from ingesting flea eggs so if he's l*****g his tail, he's probably eaten some.

Answer 5

one of my cats had it under his chin. i have a friend who is a vet and when i asked her what it was she told me it was the same as acne, told me to clean it with soap and water and it will soon heal

Answer 6

it might be blackheads but if its loose and not in the skin then its not blackhead...even though you don't see fleas there still may be some...look under his chin and on his tummy if you see the dirt there also he has fleas (which is not difficult to deal with usually) use flea medication/powder/dip/drops...and it will probably eliminate the fleas...fleas is likely since hes scratching it (the l*****g and biting)...hope this helps!