4/16 Problem with recurring Cysts on tail

Pedro has a problem with cysts on his tail and he seems to be in a bad phase right now. It's been going on for a little over a year. He will be fine for months and then he starts licking at his tail and he has it irritated again. Currently has 3 little ones filled with pus. We've treated for Seborrhea several times but doesn’t seems to work. Everything is fine for a while and then he starts working on his tail again and gets a bald spot going. Chicken and egg thing. Does he work on the tail and get it irritated and cysts develop or tail is irritated so he works on it? He licks his tail bald in spots (no fleas) and the cysts maybe hairless, raised soft lumps usually the size of a dime or slightly smaller. Skin can look a bit pink but then he is also licking at it.

A little history - he did get bit in the tail almost two years ago (picked a fight with his buddy and lost). Developed an abscess that vet cleaned up...
He did not have the cyst problem prior to this abscess. There may be no connection between the two but I wonder. He has been on antibiotics for different things since then so I thought if there was some sort of low-grade infection that lingered it might have taken care of it. The cysts are not just in one area on the tail. They may be down in the area of the old abscess or up near the tip.
I will probably end up back at the vets but thought I would pass it by here as we have such a huge bank of experience folks to draw from. (He is also a terror at the vets)

He is 13 yo,currently well regulated on Levemir (.1u),has had pancreatitis, but doing very well.

 

Amy, is there any chance that they are not cysts but tumors? I had a cat that had a benign tail tumor. The vet said it's not uncommon but the only fix was to amputate. My kitty was too old to amputate, so I just kept the area shaved and clean, but it constantly oozed.

 

Could it be stud tail?

 

Aaahhhh. Venita stole my thunder! I was going to suggest stud tail too. My Calvin, (GA orange boy) had stud tail and had puss filled "cat zits" on his tail. The doc gave me some kind of cream to put in there when it popped. I can't remember what it was now because it's been a while. I got the suggestion to wash his tail with a degreasing type of wash - dish washing soap was one of the ideas. I hope it's this (a mere annoyance) instead of something more serious.

 

Wow, who came up with the name "stud tail"? Pretty funny. Looks like that is a good possibility though. Thanks for the quick reply.

I just made a vet appointment for him Thursday. I'll report back on results.
What's a month without a visit to the vet's office anyway?