Conference misery::feline

    Hi Mark,
    
    The stray I just rescued that was hit by a car also has a problem
    with his tail.  The vets said it is not broken...but it sure looks
    broken to me!   It just kind of hangs down...and because he is a
    Not-so-friendly kitty yet, I can't get near his tail to see if he
    still has feelings.
    
    It has been about three weeks since he was home with us...and I have
    seen alot of improvement with the way he moves and jumps...but his
    big old tail is still hanging.   I'm waiting for a bit longer to see
    if there is improvement...and then we'll go back to the vets!
    
    I do remember one of my other strays coming to eat off my porch with
    his tail dragging...and it took about 2 months for him to recuperate
    and show movement in his tail.
         
    Sandy

    It's not really dragging.  It is hanging low but not to the point that
    it drags.  It seems to be injured about 3-4 inches off the base.  I
    just don't want to be calling her Stubby if at all possible.  I
    understand there isn't much they can do for a broken tail anyway.  They
    don't want to tape it because it will restrict blood flow and that will
    cause them to amputate anyway so I guess they just let it heal how ever
    it ends up setting.
    
    M
    

    My dog sprained his tail once, no idea how it happened.  It was not
    broken.  Two weeks of anti-inflammatories to keep the swelling down and
    guard against blood-flow restriction, and about 1 more week of carrying
    his tail low and he was back to normal...which for a dog is
    considerably different than for a cat : )  However, I would imagine a
    cat could injure the muscles that help hold up the tail, or those that
    help them flick the tail end.  I always tell kids that my cats and dogs
    tails are extensions of their backbones and should NEVER be touched. 
    Hope both kitties are OK soon.
    Sarah

    We had a cat that had been used for target practice by the brat next
    door--he got the cat with a BB pellet at the base of the tail.  The nerve
    endings at that point were damaged and the cat never raised his tail
    again.  My guess is in your case, the tail may be sprained and it hurts 
    the cat to hold the tail upright.  Just about the only thing to do is wait
    it out I guess.  Hope both you and kitty feel better by Christmas.

    I am an ole pro at this. Twice this had happened to Chief and what
    it is, is that someone had slammed the tail or bit it. One time
    the vet shaved around the injured area and he looked like a poodle.
    
    What is looks like is that his tail goes up and then droops down.
    AFter a few days of antibiotics the tail usually comes back up.
    remember that the tail is a muscle, not a bone.  The vet should
    hopefully be able to search for any puncture wounds.
    
    SAndy

    I'm just curious...what happens if the tail is really dead and
    is not getting blood supply!   Would it turn black...rot...no
    feeling????
    
    I'm worried Capone's tail because I have seen no improvement for
    3 weeks, but I also have seen very little improvement with him
    being able to control his urine and poop and they did say this
    will take time!!  I have a feeling his tail will need to be
    amputated...and we'll have to rename him to Stubby Capone!!
    
    Sandy 

    Hi Mark!
    
    Well, for those of us Mom's who have beautiful little girls who
    were born "tail-less", I can tell you that *not* having a tail can
    be beautiful! ;-)  The only thing I've noticed (and this took me 
    a while) is that when Andie climbs stairs, she does so/looks like a
    rabbit.  I suspect this is because of her *lack of* balance that
    a tail offers when one runs, jumps, climbs, etc.  
    
    From Andie (1/2 Manx) and her Mom
    
    Take care, Mark!!

    Hi Judie!
    
    Now I didn't say it would look bad for there to be no tail!
    
    There is definately a bump where she is hurting.  That is why I thought
    it was broken. 
    
    Someone a couple notes back discribed it perfectly.  It kinda goes out
    normally and then drops down.  
    
    I would want to give the dogs hell for this but she is just as bad as
    they are.  She has no problem with pouncing on them and I figure they
    can just all work it out for themselves.
    
    
    Mark
    

    SHOW KEY/FULL *TAIL* brings up the following notes which are related
    to broken tails:
    	
    	382.0 and 776.0
    
    Just thought I'd let you know in case you want to read notes from 
    some of the other folks that have gone through this with their 
    kitties.
    
    Jan

A tail that heads outs out "okay" and then suddenly droops sounds a lot like a
break to me. One could get an X-ray to see the bones should you choose to spend
the $$. Amputations are pretty simple operations, BTW. One of our adoptees came
with an "Aggggh-you-shut-the-tip-of-my-tail-in-the-door!!" kink, but it's at the
very tip of his tail and long since healed up anyway. 

The shot she got was most
likely penicillin to fight the possible abscess/infection. The swelling can be
soft tissue damage, or more usually puss in the case of an abscess. For
abscesses we typically poke a little hole (if there isn't one already) so that
the fluid can drain out and give 'em a shot of antibiotics. We can always tell
when the warn nights of spring have arrived 'cause we start seeing lots of
patients with abscesses resulting from cat fights.

re .6:
If the skin gets no blood, it'll die (turn necrotic). Typically hardens up and
gets tough (like a scab) and the hair falls out. For small holes you can just
cut away the dead tissue and let it heal over by itself. We sometimes dispense
a liquid called Granule-X to aid in the new-skin creation process. For larger
areas you stitch the live skin together so the healing's quicker but you have
to worry about the skin being real tight for a while. It's amazing what the
body can heal - we've had patients come in with huge wounds heal up just fine
with no surgery. Most common are dogs in minor hit-by-car accidents where, say,
a 3 or 4 inch section of their foot/paw has had all the skin scraped away and
things like tendons and bones are clearly visible. It takes a while, but they
tend to heal up just fine.

						Trace

    Trace...thanks for your response.  I got to touch Capones tip
    of his tail last night and he didn't appear to have any feeling
    in it what-so-ever.  If he knew I was touching his tail he would
    have growled at me because even though I can pat his head/chin,
    he doesn't like me to touch any other part of the body yet!
    
    The tip of the tail felt very hard....and I do believe some of it
    will have to be amputated.  Now I need to work faster with him, so
    I can get to the point I can pick him up to get him to the vets.
    I don't want to have to use a noose again...and have them use gas
    on him even before they can touch him. (sigh)  He really is a
    sweetheart if you follow his rules and you've fed him for 2 years..
    other then that you don't have a chance of getting close to him!
    
    Sigh....
    
    Sandy

And preferably one of the plastic carriers where you can take the top off (or a
cardboard one that opens at the top) - nothing like having to dig an
uncooperative cat from a carrier that doesn't come apart ("Say, are you
interested in seeing my scars?" ;-).  When we have to knock out a cat that just
plain won't let people get near it, we pop 'em in an aquarium (without water!),
cover it, and feed the gasseous anesthesia in through a hole in the top. We look
in, cat stares out, we keep looking in, cat gets sleepy, bingo. The people at
the vets will most likely be able to at least touch her (again, by wrapping her
in a towel) to see what's going on, especially in your case. It's easy to wrap
up the head/feet and leave the tail hanging out. She's up on her rabies shots by
now, yes? If not, it would be a good time to do it. Speaking as a tech, I don't
mind getting scratched and bit by vaccinated animals, but dealing with
unvaccinated ones isn't tops on my fun list. 

						Trace

    My vet said that he really didn't think an Xray was necessary.  He
    basically said why spend the money on it when there really isn't
    anything you can do.  He wouldn't put it in a cast or wrap it with tape
    etc.  He said if you did that you have more of a chance of shutting off
    the blood flow to the end of the tail.  
    
    He was more concerned that it was an absess.  
    
    The shot he gave her was a "slow release?" anti inflamitory drug to
    reduce the swelling and to allow more blood flow. 
    
    She seems much better now.  She is starting to pull her tail up, although 
    I think she will have a funny little kink in her tail for the rest of her 
    life.  
    
    Mark
    
    

    Ruby once got her tail caught by running in as the door was slamming
    shut by the wind.  Her tail got caught and was very swollen and
    sore.  Of course of we rushed....
    
    I was told it wasn't broken, but if it was:
    Brian could operate and reconnect the vertabrae and stabilize it
    with wires.  I don't push showing my cats to that type of limit. Plus,
    Roo wasn't being shown anymore at that point.  But they can (or certain
    vets can) repair these things if caught (oops!) in time.
    
    In regards to one of the earlier responses.  The tail may have muscle
    but it is primarily made up of bones, ie. the continuation of the 
    spinal column.
    
    Cheers!
    Karen

    Trace...yup Capone is up to date on the shots!!!  I believe I am
    reaching a point where I can most likely get Capone in a carrier
    without getting killed because I have been working with him for
    the last three weeks.   When he first got hurt..we tried the towel
    trick and failed miserably, but of course Capone was freaked out
    because 1. he had never been confined before and 2. he was hurting
    pretty bad and 3. he just didn't like humans!!!  He's getting better...
    
    Sandy