Soft spot in tail

[Doublecrisp]

Tonight I found a soft spot in my cat's tail.. She doesn't really like having her tail touched so I don't usually run my hand down her tail. I probed the spot and she definitely didn't like it, but didn't make any pain noises. I also noticed her tail has a noticable pivot point in that spot.. I'm going to call the vet but was hoping someone might be able to give me some insight. I'm very concerned about this, I can't sleep thinking she might be in pain or have something wrong with her. If anyone has encountered something like this I would really appreciate some input. Thank you.

[aligator79]

Cats are kinda cute when they lose their tail.  They do get used to it and will get the balance back after a while.  My neices kitty lost his.  They live in the country and he came in missing the last half of his tail- they freaked and took him to the vet, they thought he'd been attacked by an animal.  The owls out there are known to pick up little kitties and take off with them.  :(  Anyway later that day when they got home with him and his newly fixed tail, they discovered what had happened.  They leave the back door of the garage unlatched for them to go in and out at.  They walked out back to get something and there was the poor guys tail.  It had been windy and the wind caught the door as he was coming in and took it off.  

At least it was only his tail. (not that it was good either), but can you imagine what would happen if he'd been hit anywhere else.  Ouch

[Doublecrisp]

My little Nugget is much better since her surgery. She was pretty wigged out the night she came home, and obviously in a bit of discomfort, but now she's doing much better. She's even starting to act like herself, which hasn't been the case for the past three weeks. Unfortunately for her, she lost most of her tail... But now she's a beautiful Dilute Tortoiseshell Calico Manx... :P And I'm sure once the fur grows back her little tail will be quite cute. Thanks for the support and being my sounding board these past few weeks!

[Jade59]

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear this.  Let me tell you though, my neighbor who I mentioned that never took her cat to the vet and the tail fell off...it really did heal up nicely on its own and the tail looks just fine.  Grew back the fur and you really wouldn't even notice it other than the fact the tail looks a little short and if you didn't know better, would think the cat was born that way.  I think the only difference will be YOUR cat won't be in pain like my neighbors cat was.  Your a good mom and please try to give yourself a break.  You got kitty to the vet and even though she'll lose her tail, the antibiotics and pain meds? these last few weeks have kept the pain to a minimum, I'm sure.  

Please let me know how your baby girl is doing after her surgery.  She'll likely be good as new in a few weeks.

[Doublecrisp]

Well, unfortunately things took a turn for the worse.. After two weeks of antbiotics things weren't getting any better. I took her in today (3rd visit) and it was fairly obvious that her tail is severely damaged and the tissues are starting to die.. So tomorrow my poor baby has to have her tail amputated. I just want to tell anyone who 2nd guesses themselves on whether or not to go see the vet, always err on the side of caution. And if you feel the vet is overlooking something, speak up! You're the only one who can speak for your furry kids.

[Jade59]

You're very welcome.  Thanks so much for the update.  

With the antibiotics and your loving care, kitty will be back to her old self in no time :)

[Doublecrisp]

Just to update, the vet visit went well. They discovered that it is an abscess, probably caused by playing hard with our other cat... Once they drained it the vet checked it under the scope and they found no cancer cells and no serious bacteria, just a lot of red & some white blood cells. It's a relief to know it's not serious, just have to do antibiotics and make sure it's draining properly. Thanks for your advice and everything, it definitely helped!

[Jade59]

I'm happy to see you have an appt.  Try hard not to worry until you see your vet tomorrow.  I completely understand being upset just thinking about our kitties being in pain.  I can't stand the thought either.  

I too, hope it's just a mild trauma and easily treated.  Your a great mom to be on top of this.  Please let us know what the vet says, okay? :)

[Doublecrisp]

Well we've got an appt tomorrow with the vet. She's indoor, the only outdoor stimulation she gets is sitting on our 2nd story balcony. She does play pretty hard with our male cat so hopefully it's just a mild trauma from playing too hard. We'll know tomorrow!

[Jade59]

Hi, sounds like kitty got her tail caught somewhere and the cartilage has been damaged.   Especially if she's indoor/outdoor, you just never know what could have happened.  Possibly an abscess has formed.  Naturally, only a guess.  

My neighbors cat had something similar happen.  Even though their cat is almost always indoors (she escapes sometimes) they don't know how she received a terrible wound at the end of her tail.  My neighbor never took her cat to the vet (much to my dismay, but you can only encourage someone so much) and the tail ended up rotting and falling off!

I hope you were able to make an appt with your vet.  Since you don't touch her tail much, no telling how long this has been going on.  I know you love your kitty very much and this is why it's important to check kitty all over occasionally to see if there are any problems.  Whether kitty likes it or not :)

Good luck.  Come back and give an update.  We all care.