Can my cat have a broken tail...............?

Question

My cat has a large bump on his tail. Right where the begins. Can a cat brake his tail.And what should i do?

Answer 1

Did you just notice this bump? How old is the cat?

Considering where it is, I would bet that it is a type of cyst that can sometimes form in this area ---- it can appear to be hard and then over time begin to soften.

yes, a tail can be broken, but you generally see a break a little higher up --- towards the tip.

If the cat is a kitten, maybe this is a break that occurred during birth by an inexperienced mama kitty --- if it was the first one out.

Best way is to check with your vet. Good luck and give him a scratch behind the ears for me. That's the cat --- not the vet!

Answer 2

Yes, but the tail isn't solid bone. It's like the spine; it has a series of bones connected together. The tendons holding one of those bones to another may have snapped, resulting in one bone at an odd angle and the other bones to drag along. If the bones aren't connected, the cat can't move it's tail much at all. If it broke a bone and not tendons, the same would have happened, but if it is a fracture, it will take longer to heal and might hurt more. The only thing I can think of to help is to take the cat to a vet. It'll either need a splint or cast. Without one, your cat's tail will heal wrong, cause it much pain for the rest of it's life, and it will look deformed. The only thing you can do on your own is look for any cuts or scrapes near the tail before you go to the vet, and give your cat some catnip to take it's mind off the pain in the car ride and make it happier.

Answer 3

"Cats get their tails pulled or broken through an assortment of traumas: A child might pull a tail or a tail might get caught in a closing door. A tail can get bitten during a cat fight and, of course, automobile accidents can easily lead to dislocated or broken tails. One might think a tail break would involve an obvious external wound but usually this is not the case; instead, nerve damage (from stretching of the cauda equina nerves) is the usual tip-off.

What Might be Noticeable at Home
Cats with broken tails might show any of these symptoms:

A tail that drags or never held high.

Involuntary dribbling of urine.

A dilated, flaccid anal sphincter with or without diarrhea or fecal incontinence.

Incoordination of the rear legs.

**Any of these symptoms might lead the cat into the vet’s office for an evaluation. Some additional findings the veterinarian might notice include:

A distended bladder that is relatively easy to express manually (in other words, the bladder is very full but can be emptied with careful squeezing.)

Bloody urine (if the tail trauma is recent).

Painful tail head.

Loss of sensation in the tail. "

GET YOUR CAT TO A VET

Answer 4

She could indeed have a broken tail. But it sounds more like an abscess because of the location. Does she let you touch it? Is it tender? Are there other cats around for her to scrap with? How is she behaving? Does she seem sick (lethargic, off her feed, hiding?) Hiding is a classic sign that something is wrong with a cat. They do not like going to the doctor so they try to hide and pretend nothing is wrong. Watch her closely and try to get her to the vet as soon as possible. If it is broken she may need antibiotics also. Bacteria tend to migrate to areas of stress in the body so if its broken she could get an infection in the bone or spine. Both sound dreadful to me so call that vet and good luck with kitty.

Answer 5

A "bump" sounds more like an abscess. A break would result in a very painful, and probably limp tail with a fairly large area of swelling.. You need to go to the vet so the wound can be treated. If it is an abscess, it should be drained and your cat needs antibiotics and maybe pain meds.

Answer 6

Yes, a cat can break his tail. May be a good idea to check with the vet as the tail will affect the cats balance.

Answer 7

take it to the vet. if you touch its tail and it howls then its probably broken or fractured. has it had a fall recently? has it gotten its tail stuck somewhere? are there any young children in the house that could have broken it, or possibly pulled it out of its socket? and also if your cat seems to be having trouble balancing, then thats another sign that there is someting wrong with the tail

Answer 8

Yes a cat can have a broken tail mine has had hers broke in 2 places before we got her. If it is not hurting him then it would just leave it alone because it might just hurt him more to have a vet try to fix it.

Answer 9

One of my cats had something like that several years ago. It was dislocated from being slammed in the door (she had opened the screen door and snuck through and it slammed behind her). We took her to the vet because she seemed to be in some pain. It healed just fine after a few weeks.

I would suggest taking your kitty to the vet just to make sure it isn't anything more serious, but I bet your cat will be fine.

Answer 10

Well I guess the most important part of the answer is yes.. his tail consists of many bones.. so they can fracture... my first question would be is he painful... and if so I would probably recommend seeing your vet. Tail fractures are a tricky thing they can cause weird things such as problems with paralysis of the anus... not to freak you out... but you should be better safe then sorry.