That icky greasy looking section of the tail that removes from the beauty of your cat or client’s luscious tail. It can be just oily, black, or scaly, I have an easy home remedy that works for my grooming clients that is reachable (and in your pantry). Ok, I literally stole mine from my pantry and haven’t put it back!

See before and after photos below

What is stud tail?

“A cat has a gland that secretes oils on its tail and this is commonly called ‘stud tail’ (Supracaudal gland) as mostly seen in entire (un de-sexed) male cats to secrete scents. It may show baldness, flaky skin, oils, blackheads or thinning hair.

The Stud tail will need extra shampoos but you will never be able to remove completely. When drying the cat, you will notice that this patch still looks ‘wet’, this is the coat oils.

Help! How do I remove stud tail? That icky tail grease!

You may use a few ways to reduce stud tail. It is impossible to remove completely, and being a natural part of a cat, I wouldn’t recommend scrubbing away.

Degreasing method: You may try using strong degreasing agents such as ‘Groomers Goop’ (petroleum based) or Dolly Chinny Oil, but do not do more than two applications, as you can do harm when washing possibly open skin.

Conditioning method: Oil removes oil, right? So using a concentrated conditioner may help remove the oils, then shampoo and condition again.

Soaking up the oils: I have found using corn starch (corn flour) prior to, or instead or a bath, to work very well. Here is my technique below:

Step one: Separate hairs and add the corn starch, using lots! Work it in with your fingers.

Step two: Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Step three: Using a pin brush, brush excess out, carefully and fluffing up the coat to remove all remnants.

Step four: If possible, hold the tip and shake the tail lightly, so there is no corn starch left. You may then proceed to wash the cat as normal. I found this can keep stud tail from the coat from 1-4 weeks depending on how quickly the body secretes oils. This is a gentler approach for the skin, remembering, what we put in the skin, absorbs into the body, so I prefer to avoid harsh chemicals.

This easy approach can be done at home by anyone, and it’s cheap! 🙂

Before

During

After

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