I think Evie broke her tail

[kedrys]

:( She's walking around with it tucked alongside her legs...I'll take her to see the vet first thing tomorrow morning, but it's freaking me out. Last year, she pranged the wall (we think) and almost broke her face - she's had serious gravity problems all her life, using up and down interchangeably, and I've been wondering when it would catch up with her. She just turned 5 on April 6. :(

[In_The_Wind]

1. Good luck with Evie.

[kedrys]

2. Thanks, Joani!

She's out in the atrium snoozing in the shade, which is her usual "how I spend my afternoons on sunny days", but she's not twitching her tail. :( She can still move the far half of it, but there seems to be a swell or knot close to her rump. I hope it's only sprained, but I'm not holding my breath. Fortunately, her vet is a genius.

[barb162]

3. is this a cat?

Is she acting like she is in pain? Is it swelling?

[kedrys]

4. Little black kitty

Well, not so little (12 lbs), small compared to her brothers.

She's not acting like she's in pain at all, but there's a bit of a knot near her rump, and she apparently can't lift her tail. She sings and purrs and does barrel rolls as usual when I pet her, and her tail is in line with the rest of her spine when she's on her back, so I can't tell how much it hurts. Needless to say, I'm freaked out more than somewhat.

[barb162]

6. bit of a KNOT near her rump: meaning a knot on her spinal area

or her upper hind legs or the tail itself or right where the tail meets the body?

[kedrys]

8. On the tail, just before the insertion point into the rump

She can move her legs just fine, she just can't lift her tail (at least not without pain). She can wiggle the end part of her tail too - that keeps it off the floor when she walks.

[barb162]

10. check this and does this sound like the same thing

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


I'd call the vet of course the first thing in the morning or leave a message at their office even today to see if you can get in first thing

[kedrys]

11. It sort of does

It's a small bit further away from her rump, but yeah, that might be it. Thanks for the info!

[jukes]

5. sounds more like an abcess, kedrys

cat's are VERY prone to abcess-type infection. i believe it's because, in cats, the skin surface heals more rapidly than the deeper portion of a wound, & infection sets in. def get her to the vet; that type of injury is very painful and can get very serious if it's not treated. usu treatment is draining and a clavamox antibiotic series. usu that "bubble-gum" flavored pediatric mixture.

if you have another cat, then the abcessed tail issue can happen very easily. a squabble or play session can leave wounds to the tail, as cats frequently fight (or "mock-battle") in the classic "69" position. they'll bite/clutch the tail & rake the chest area w/back claws.

even w/o another cat, if she's very athletic, she cd have scratched her tail & left a small wound that's infected.


if she seems very uncomfortable or agitated, a warm, damp compress may give her some relief.



hope all turns out well!

[kedrys]

7. Thanks for the advice, jukes!

I'll keep an eye on her overnight and take her to the ver first thing tomorrow morning. She likes to roughhouse with her brothers, each of whom is half again her size - and she never backs down.

She's been snoozing in the atrium all day, like she usually does, and she did a barrel roll or three for me when I checked on her an hour ago. What bugs me is that cats are really really good at hiding the fact that they're in pain. I do hope it's nothing more serious than an abcess (i.e. nothing mechanical/structural)...

As far as we can tell, it happened during the night of Friday to Saturday, or very early Saturday morning - she was jumping on the bed happy on Friday night, with tail in full rudder mode.

[jukes]

9. i've

been through the worry-about-broken-tail/abcess tail thing several Xs. actually, to a feral, the abcess is more perilous than the broken tail. since you're taking her in, she'll be fine! at her age, the antibi's will fix her right up!

[kedrys]

12. Evie is back from the vet, and she's fine

:woohoo:

Turns out one of the other cats bit her tail near her tush, and the doc had to shave part of her tail to see the puncture marks. It looks like an abcess that may have been there ruptured before we made it to the vet. Evie's going to be taking antibiotics for a couple of weeks and sporting a really weird haircut, but she's going to be right as rain in no time. She wasn't even running a fever.

Thanks for the good thoughts, everybody! :hi:

I'll now go collapse in a heap. :)

P.S. Props to the s.o., who came home from work early to help with the driving, because I feel like crap today. :loveya:

[xchrom]

13. a little of this for evie!

:woohoo:

[kedrys]

14. Evie says meow

and thanks! :loveya:

[jukes]

15. good job!

y good for Evie being such a strong, healthy girl!

:bounce:

[kedrys]

18. Thanks jukes!

You called it dead on the money, my friend - thanks for holding our paws during this episode. :loveya:

[jukes]

19. n/p

glad to help!!!

[Sanity Claws]

16. Photo

We need a photo to see the shave job done by the vet.

[kedrys]

17. Oy, I knew somebody was going to ask...

:P

She wasn't too thrilled about it - she only did 4-5 barrel rolls instead of her usual 9-10 when I stepped out into the atrium to take a few shots...