Broken tail??

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lynda and scruffy (GA)

lynda and scruffy (GA)

Member Since 2009
Haven't been here for while, but this is always the first place I want to go when there is
something wrong with one of my cats.....

My little Punkin Duncan, around 4 years old, a stray who showed up demanding to be let inside when he was around 4 months old. He's turned out to be quite the agitator - he aggravates the other cats pretty much non-stop, until they get tired of it and turn on him. (This is all no fun, let me assure you.) He's a sprayer, unfortunately, too, and has been on prozac for a year, without any noticeable improvement.

Anyway, I just saw him for the first time in a couple of hours, and I am thinking he has somehow broken his tail. You know how you sort of stroke them, from their ears and down their backs, and to the end of their tails? Well, when I did that, he hissed and shrieked at me. His tail appears kind of swollen about an inch from his butt, and he isn't lifting it up, generally. When he walks, it's kind of dragging along behind him.

While I dread the prospect of figuring out how to get him into a carrier without excruciating pain (for both of us!), I have an appointment for tomorrow afternoon for him. I can't imagine that they can splint/cast a tail, can they? I recall reading that, if a cat loses its tail, even to surgery, it can cause problems with elimination afterwards. (We already HAVE problems with elimination!)

Years ago, before he came inside, my Black Kitty got caught in a trap. His tail was broken about six inches from the end. It was always crooked, but didn't seem to cause him any problems. Duncan's appears to be much closer to his body. I'm worried. I also am thinking that he is in pain. I have buprenex, that I think I will give him.

Any other broken tail tales?
 
I had a cat who was hit by a car.... her tail dragged behind her for the rest of her life.


and my current one just had a lump last year.... turned out to be a mast cell growth which would have been cancer had it not gotten removed.
She still doesn't want me to touch.... but I try to quickly to make sure the lump doesn't grow back.

Check for lumps.... as delicately as you can...
 
I have had two kitties with broken tails. One got about 3 inches of his tail stuck in a closing door. It was permanently kinked, but didn't seem to bother him.
The other was an outdoor cat who came "home" one day and looked like what you described. The vet's opinion was that he'd dislocated it at the base trying to get away from whatever caught his tail. All he could do was give him pain meds, (he got a shot at the vet but years ago and no idea what it was). He decided not to remove the tail. But it never really worked after that. He didn't lose all sensation in it, he could still "twitch" the end of it. But he couldn't lift it or wag it. It didn't seem to bother him, except when he ran. He couldn't control it and it sort of just flopped around. Actually it was pretty comical to watch, because he'd stop running like he couldn't keep his balance right, and look back at his tail like "what is WRONG with you? Try to keep up with me!"

Both of these cats were obviously in pain right after it happened. Any attempt to touch their tails was met with hisses and claws bared.

Bob had about an inch of tail. Born that way so I'm guessing it was genetics. Some of his litter mates had tails, others didn't. He never had elimination problems. But we had a "true Manx" kitty years back, and he had issues keeping his butt clean. We used to have to help him "wipe" occasionally.
 
He won't let me touch it. I can't figure out what could have happened, since there was NO commotion all day. (For a change!) I'm the only one who was home, so I know he didn't get it caught in a door or something. This is really inconvenient, because he spends a whole lot of his time on top of the refrigerator. (Hiding out from all the other cats he's aggravated earlier.) I don't think he's going to be able to jump up there, and it's too high for me to reach.

My vet did say that sometimes their tails can get "sprained". I don't know how that would have happened either, but..... I have no idea how I'm going to get him into a carrier without hurting it, or how they're going to be able to xray it or something. I really wouldn't want them to remove his poor little tail, unless it's unavoidable. New vet tomorrow that we've never met, either. Duncan will be an experience for her. After she gets a load of him, I'll have to take Burble - she'll decide to work someplace else!

Thanks!
 
Since the new vet probably would not prescribe a sedative before seeing him, do you have any Rescue Remedy that you could give him before taking him to the vet. That may help calm him down. I know you can also give Benadryl to cats, but not sure of the dosage. That may make him a little drowsy and easier to handle.
 
That's a good idea. I have Rescue Remedy. I was just hunting for him, and he did manage to make it to the top of the fridge. Hopefully that means he's feeling a little better......
 
hi lynda!
it may well be a broken tail, but just for the heck of it, check to see if it could be an anal sac issue (full or burst). your description matches the one i gave my vet when one of my civvies had anal sac problems...
 
I don't know, Jill. The place where there's a new bulge in his tail is about an inch and a half from his body, and he seems to be able to lift that inch a little bit; it's the rest of his tail that is drooping. Plus, don't they "scoot" when they've got anal gland stuff going on? I only ever had one cat with that problem, and she scooted all over the place as soon as it started.

I'm sorry to see that you've lost Alex. All these old sweet guys must be up there together, reminiscing about the old days on FDMB.....
 
That's why I thought Darius had broken his tail. The bulge was about an inch from his body. Over the years I've had a couple with anal sac issues who have scooted. Darius didn't. I was pretty convinced he had broken his tail. His anal sac actually burst when they were taking him out of the carrier. Duncan probably has a broken tail, but just thought I'd mention my experience with Darius.

Thank you. I lost Alex this past September. Cancer. She was one special kitty...
 
I will ask. Any and all possibilities. Honestly, this is so weird - this is the first day in weeks that he hasn't had all the other cats all stirred up, so something goes wrong with his tail! Although, I think I'd prefer anal sacs to broken tail, come to think of it. Geez.
 
Before we ended up with BeboKitty when renter moved and left him, she made him stay outside most of the time. He came home with a big wound on his tail and it broken. She refused to take him to vet. I gave her a/b eye drops to drop on it as he wouldn't let her touch it. It healed but the tail has a kink in it. It works fine but he didn't like us to rub it all the way to the tip for over a year.
 
Well, the tail isn't broken!! He has a terribly infected BITE in the top of his tail. Hugely swollen and oozing this awful smelly yellow stuff. I keep telling him to leave the other cats alone....... Now I have to figure out how to get liquid clavamox into him every 12 hours - I prefer pills! And, of course, my vet won't carry Buprenex, which has been irritating me for years. They offered me metacam - I have big notices on all the cats' records that they are NOT to get metacam or convenia. Rats.

I have half a dozen syringes of bupe from when Scruffy was having chemotherapy - do you think they would still be good? (They're from January, 2012.) I'm sure Dunk is in pain, but no way I could give him metacam.

Thanks for the help!
 
I would use them. As long as they've been kept at a decent temperature.... most of our houses are just right.

and for future.... will your vet fax a prescription for you to diamondbackdrugs.com - I'm paying $39.95 ( inc shipping) for 1 ml.

edited to correct ..... 10 ml not 1 ml..
 
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I gave him the first dose of clavamox, and .1 of the elderly Bupe. He's napping on top of the fridge, which I'm guessing means the buprenex still has some stuff going for it. I'm supposed to be using warm compresses on the swelling on his tail, too, which is probably not going to happen right now. I did try, and he shrieked and headed for the hills.

I don't know about Diamondback Drugs. I have been asking this vet for years to get buprenex. I even said, if he'd order a vial, I'd pay for it, and he could keep it in his office until I needed it. He just looked at me like my head had fallen off and rolled across the floor........ I'm not good with the measurements - how much is 1ml? The technician told me that a vial - unknown quantity - was around $300.
 
oops... I meant 10 ml.... that would be 100 .1 doses..... but there is a bit of loss loading each time.... I'm not getting 100 doses....

I was paying $110 for 30 preloaded syringes.... each .1 ml dose from my vet. I was only able to give her a nighttime dose.... I couldn't afford twice a day....
my vet wouldn't even sell me a vial.... but she was willing to give me the prescription....
I searched everywhere in NM for a pharmacy and no one would fill it. ( new mexico has a drug problem)
Someone here told me about diamondback drugs and I've been saving money ever since.
 
I'm gonna try that! My vet's a dope, but he's always been willing to give me prescriptions. The only other time he gave me a buprenex prescription, his technician called the practice where she used to work and convinced someone there to fill it for me. Honest to God.
 
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