Concerns on tail damage .

[Ginny]

Hi,

On Tuesday I got up in the morning and found my oldest cat (aged 15) had a droopy tail. I took her straight to the vets. There is evidence of injury to the base of her tail, she's had antibiotics, and painkillers .. but so far no improvement. I talked to a vet. nurse friend earlier who has mentioned tail amputation. I pinched the end of Cassies tail hard and there seems to be no feeling there yet. I've been told about the damage that could have been done to her nerves in that area, and that the feeling may not come back. I'm quite worried, mainly because of her age if she has to have an amputation. Anyone have any experience of similar??

[Chessmind]

Hi. Sorry about your cat's tail. With nerve damage it's best to wait at least six weeks to see if the nerves can repair themselves. If after that period of time, she has no sensation, you can opt to have her tail amputated. The reasons why that may be a good idea, is the tail can become a problem. Because she may not be able to feel her tail, it may get caught in doors, kept unclean, become infected if she bites it and so on. There is just all kinds of things that can go wrong.

However, if she seems to be doing fine with her tail, regardless if she still has no sensation, it may be best given her age to just let it be. She is getting up there in age, and with that there is more risk in surgery.

You can always get a second opinion. If she were my cat I would wait at least 6 weeks (and help her keep her tail clean). If the nerve damage has repaired itself, great! However, if by then it hasn't, just see how well she manages with her tail. If it seems to pose a problem you may want to consider having it amputated. I wish your kitty all the best.

[halaroo]

Years ago I woke up to Moe with a droopy tail. I rushed her in to the vet. It turned out that she developed an abscess on her tail (probably bitten by the other cat). We had her on antibiotics to clear it up. Her tail perked back up again in about a week, I think.

The good thing that came of that experience is I found these forums when I was searching for ways to give her pills without being killed!

Good luck and keep us posted!

[Ginny]

Hi, thankyou for your replies.

I did call the vet this morning, and they have suggested xraying the tail on Monday if there is still no improvement. The problem is, that sometimes the tip of the tail is just dragging along the floor, so I figure if that continues it might be wise in time to amputate.

What do you think about xray? They have said they can do that probably without anaesthetic if someone holds her seeing as it's the tail. At least I'll know if it's broken, and by then it'll be almost a week. It seems to be the bottom half of her tail that doesn't have feeling.

Thanks again

[vene]

I think getting an x-ray is a good idea. Even if it's broken, the nerve damage can still recover over time. Make sure you get a lead shield for yourself if you are going to hold her down even though the x-ray dosage will be very low.

[Chessmind]

Hi. If it was my cat I would also have an x-ray taken.

[Ginny]

Well, we got the xrays done yesterday. Totally perfect tail! So no breaks, but nerve damage to the last 5 vertabrae. I've been advised to leave it now - she's had steroids to try to kick start the nerves, but if there is no improvement and she's fine we'll leave the tail droopy! Obviously if she starts having problems with it getting caught etc then it'll have to be sorted.

Thanks,
Ginny

[halaroo]

Good to hear that there's no break. Hope she recovers from the nerve damage!

[sunset05]

Poor kitty. It is good though that there were no breaks. You did the right thing by consulting your Vet.

I've stepped on some of my kitties tails, they've gotten them caught in doors but fortunately they didn't have any permanent damage from them.

I hope your kitty's tail feels better soon.