Calling all veterinary mamas: I'm fairly certain that my poor kitty has a broken tail. He was out for over 24 hours after escaping during a robbery. His tail is dropping about 3" past his butt. When I touch his tail gently, he yelps. I'm obviously avoiding all contact with his tail and we're giving him lots of space to rest. I won't be able to get him to the vet for another day or two. Is there something I can do for him in the meantime to make him more comfortable? Also, what is the typical treatment for a broken tail?

TIA!

Tara

oh tara!! is this segundo? i have been thinking of you guys.....

we had 1 of our cats end up w/ an amputation of her tail & $600 later *gulp* she is fine. hers was pretty severe & was causing bladder probs though. hers was completely hanging down.

i'd set him up a warm box w/ food & water & litter box near him so he doesn't have to go far.

the vet will x-ray it for sure ~ not sure what the course of action would be though.

hoping for the best & that both your cats are home :) take care...

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_cats_with_broken_tails.html
try here

oh tara! I'm so glad you got segundo back!

A broken tail is a huge deal for a cat, I'm afraid. one of our cats broke their when she was hit by a car last year...she didn't make it, but she broke her tail right at the base of her spine. The fact that your's broke him much further away from the spine is god.

It will probably have to be amputated. If the kitty is still getting around and using the litterbox and all though, thats a really good sign- he'll probably end up just fine!

Good luck!

Tara, sorry about your kitty! I hope he heals...

now... a ROBBERY???? Are you guys ok????

oh I'm sorry his tail is broken but I'm glad hes home! I'd send this post to my best friend who is a vet but she's out of town for a week...

awwwwwwwww :( Poor kitty.

Our kitty got out 3 yrs ago. Was gone for several days then we heard her in the crawl space and it took another 2-3 days to get her out. She had a big sore at the base of her spine where her tail started. Her tail was also dropping. We kept her in a cage w water and litter and food and took her to the vet after the weekend. She had to have her tail amputated. Right at the base of the spine. She has no tail or even little tuff of a tail. The vet said she was very lucky w the break where it was most kitty lose control of there bladder and other and have to be put to sleep.
And you can still feel the break on her spine today if you are petting her.


I wish you the best for your dear kitty. Our total bill was about $150.

Thanks for all the info. He's getting around fine and otherwise seems perfectly healthy. We'll see what the vet says.

Heather, here's a link to the post about our break-in yesterday morning. It was a very scary and creepy experience, in addition to the scare of our very-indoor cat going missing in the process.
http://www.amitymama.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=177050

Thanks again for your help!

Tara, waiting for her world to return to normal

Awww hon.....)o:

It may not be the tail....I mean yes, it IS the tail, but may not be broken. I see a lot of tail abscesses result in a drooping tail if the muscle is affected or sore. So IF he will let you, take a look for any puncture wounds, blood, sores, etc. My own cat gets into fights with my other cat, and he runs, and ends up being bit on the tail.....always. :rolleyes: His tail has "drooped" and been really sore about 3 times out of 10 and it has been an abscess. I am hoping it is something like this, and not a true break. Fractures can cause this too, and sometimes they respond well to wrapping it. But it is true that breaks often result in amputations, and that if the break is closer to the body, it ups the risk of issues with the bladder and rectal area. They use their tail, as many have seen, to help them defecate. If he is defecating fine, as in not walking away with poop stuck to his bottom or dropping stool in odd places, he is likely fine in that area and the break likely did not affect his control. (o:

I'd recommend a low litter box for now. If his litter box is higher sided, it can hurt to get in and out if the tail is broken or fractured. Use a lower sided one for now, and if none, they are like $3 at the grocery store for the small ones.

((HUGS)) to you all....


(Do you have any pain meds for him? Anthing left from your other kitty? Metacam or something?)

Thanks, Denise. I am hoping it's not a true fracture. If I lightly touch the tip of his tail, he'll flick it a little without showing any discomfort, so he at least has control over the dropping part of his tail. And the part where is starts to droop is about 4" down from the base of the tail, so he can actually raise the non-drooping part quite a bit, and then the limp part just hangs down.

Our other cat, the one with the blockage - we have been giving him Clavamox (abx, I think) and he was on an anti-spasmodic med for his bladder, but he's finished with that. He was on pain meds while he was at the vet for 3 days, but none at home since then. So I don't have any pain meds here.

Segundo is just sleeping a lot today but has been using the litter box without any apparent problems...I'm going to keep watching him to see how he's doing.

Thanks again for all of your good thoughts and help.

Tara

:heart: I am glad he has good feeling in his tail!!! The fact that he controls his stool and such is great news. We get some in with literally ice cold tails from the injury part down....:( Or with pelvis injuries that also affect tail control. Sounds like his is more of slammed in a door type thing, or a car injury at the end/middle end.

It's hard to control pain in a cat, as you may know, without prescription meds. They can't take things dogs can take. It's only recently that cat pain relief has taken a small turn and we now have a few options for send home relief. Usually it's been a sedative, which sedates well but controls pain so-so, or an injection of a pain reliever. Sounds like he is managing though for now. (o:

Let us know what the vet says when he goes in! :)

I just read your reply, Denise, thanks. He actually seems totally and completely fine except for the tail. He's been purring and cuddling and hunting birds through the window. We did separate him from our other 2 cats just in case he came into contact with something contagious and also to give him a rest.

Our vet's office is open today (hooray!) and I'm taking him in to see them in a few minutes. I'll let you know what they say.

Thanks again.
Tara

:big hug: what did the vet say??? I'm SO happy you found Segundo!!!

Thanks Cheryl. :)

The vet said that she can't tell exactly what's wrong until they shave the tail. She thinks it might be a puncture wound, possibly a break, but again - can't tell with all that hair covering the bump on his tail. He's in too much pain for her to examine him. So we left him with her; she is going to sedate him with some pain meds so that he won't feel her shaving his tail and examining him there. She's supposed to call me back in a little while to let me know what she found.

Thanks again!
Tara

Hoping it was an easy, superficial abscess!!!! :heart: