Carrie12345 Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Has anyone else had to have their cat's tail partially amputated? I don't pick him up for discharge until 3, but I'm trying to get an idea of what to expect from recovery. My cats are rather dumb at hiding from the kids, which is my biggest worry. Also, they can open all of the doors in the house except a tiny bathroom and dds' room, but I don't want to put him in the bedroom b/c he'll be trying to climb up to dd's bed, which is his favorite spot. So, yeah, I shut my cat's tail in the hinge of a door and the tip popped off, exposing the bone. We have now determined the minimum amount we're willing to spend on a cat, and it's no small fee! We love that stupid cat. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 When I was younger, my cat had her tail slammed in a door a day or so after I went to sleepaway camp. They had her whole tail amputated, so she just had a little stub. NO ONE TOLD ME. So, I get home, and her hair has all grown back. It was bizarre. Anyway, she was totally fine and lived to be 26. :D The stub was very cute. Your cat might be a bit weird at first, but it is not a big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grace'smom Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 We had a cat whose tail was run over by a car when I was a kid and had to be amputated. This cat was an outdoor cat that kind of "came with our house," so it wouldn't stay inside and I guess his prowling got the best of him. The issue that came along with his amputation is that his brain had a message that his tail was "down" all the time, so he could never pee. He dribbled everywhere he went because apparently cats have to think their tail is "up" in order to pee. So our other cat started spraying in response and that house was smelling pretty awful in a short amount of time. When we moved a couple miles away the cat refused to come along, and kept going back to the old neighborhood, so the people in the old neighborhood started to feed him, but the cat we already had never stopped spraying. Now remember, this is when I was a little kid- over 20 years ago. Maybe things have changed medically since then and maybe the manner in which this cat's tail was run over had something to do with the way things turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 We had a cat whose tail was run over by a car when I was a kid and had to be amputated. This cat was an outdoor cat that kind of "came with our house' date='" so it wouldn't stay inside and I guess his prowling got the best of him. The issue that came along with his amputation is that his brain had a message that his tail was "down" all the time, so he could never pee. He dribbled everywhere he went because apparently cats have to think their tail is "up" in order to pee. So our other cat started spraying in response and that house was smelling pretty awful in a short amount of time. When we moved a couple miles away the cat refused to come along, and kept going back to the old neighborhood, so the people in the old neighborhood started to feed him, but the cat we already had never stopped spraying. Now remember, this is when I was a little kid- over 20 years ago. Maybe things have changed medically since then and maybe the manner in which this cat's tail was run over had something to do with the way things turned out.[/quote'] :svengo: Money is one thing. Pee is a whole other! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grace'smom Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Yeah, but our cat's tail was amputated at the base. He looked like he didn't come with a tail at all. It sounds like your cat will have some tail left to figure out if it's up or down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 My cat also had a nub. She used it quite a bit. No problems in the pee department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 My cat had that done earlier this year because my puppy got hold of him :glare: Recovery wasn't bad. We just left the bandage on until it fell off. The tail will be shaved, and the tip of it will be a bit red, but it looks normal (albeit shorter) once the fur grows back. I think we also had to give him an antibiotic and maybe some pain medication that first week. It hasn't drastically changed his life or anything, but I do miss the rest of his tail. He had the prettiest tail. Oh, and yeah -- NOT a cheap surgery!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 My mom had her cat's amputated more than a year ago and the cat is doing much, much better, and doesn't seem to miss it. My mom honestly thought she was going to lose the cat, and is pretty surprised the cat is still alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 (edited) We used to have a cat that needed its whole tail amputated. The recovery was very easy. Hope it goes well for yours too! Edited July 16, 2012 by Paintedlady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 We've been through this twice.:tongue_smilie: The first time, the cat disappeared for over a week, and when he finally returned his poor tail was damaged - we don't know if it was caught in a door, or he got hit by a car or what, but he had to have a couple of inches of tail removed. He recovered fine, and never had a problem. Then about 15 months ago, our other cat was peacefully eating in the kitchen, when ds tried moving an easel out of the way, and it slipped and fell and landed on poor kitty's tail. He lost the skin and fur off the tip, so it had to be amputated. They put some stitches in and gave him an Elizabethan collar (which lasted all of about 2 minutes). I had to watch him because he wanted to chew the stitches, and he did manage to get most of them out, but thankfully not until the wound was pretty much healed. He's done fine also, no residual problems. He had the shaved rat tail for a while so he looked funny, but now you'd never really know it happened. We got lucky, the vet didn't charge us much at all. I was prepared for a much bigger bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kebo Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 We had a cat whose tail was run over by a car when I was a kid and had to be amputated. This cat was an outdoor cat that kind of "came with our house' date='" so it wouldn't stay inside and I guess his prowling got the best of him. The issue that came along with his amputation is that his brain had a message that his tail was "down" all the time, so he could never pee. He dribbled everywhere he went because apparently cats have to think their tail is "up" in order to pee. So our other cat started spraying in response and that house was smelling pretty awful in a short amount of time. When we moved a couple miles away the cat refused to come along, and kept going back to the old neighborhood, so the people in the old neighborhood started to feed him, but the cat we already had never stopped spraying. Now remember, this is when I was a little kid- over 20 years ago. Maybe things have changed medically since then and maybe the manner in which this cat's tail was run over had something to do with the way things turned out.[/quote'] Urination problems are not typical with a tail amputation. The problem with your kitty is more likely because the nerves were "pulled" and damaged when the car accident occurred. I just didn't want anyone to be put off of a needed amputation because they thought their kitty would become incontinent. Cat urination problems are incredibly frustrating! But, it shouldn't be an issue with a more routine amputation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 We have a cat that had to have a leg amputated. He seems unaware of his lack of legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vettechmomof2 Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Urination problems are not typical with a tail amputation. The problem with your kitty is more likely because the nerves were "pulled" and damaged when the car accident occurred. I just didn't want anyone to be put off of a needed amputation because they thought their kitty would become incontinent. Cat urination problems are incredibly frustrating! But, it shouldn't be an issue with a more routine amputation. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbeym Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 About a year and half ago my kitty Rory had an unfortunately run in with a steel-tubing step ladder that was missing one of the rubber feet. I'm not sure who was more traumatized though, my son on the ladder or my kitty. He ended up having about 1.5" of his tail amputated. He had about a week of pain killers and we had to keep a hard e-collar on him or he'd chew off his bandage. Do be prepared for your kitty's balance to be off for quite a while, and he might suffer from phantom pains if there was nerve damage. Sometimes Rory's tail will start twitching and he'll attack it, but he's still his sweet self. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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