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Tail got caught in a door!

post #1 of 18
10/12/10 at 3:11pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys, i know i havent been posting on here for a long time but i have a really important question!

Today i came home and i was informed that my cat's tail had gotten caught in a bathroom door this morning and a huge chunk of his tail ripped off.
He was hiding all day until i found him hiding in the basement.
After looking at his tail, we discovered that it was all bloody and we think that the bone is exposed..

Here are some pictures!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7789546_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._4318382_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...7_497048_n.jpg

The last photo is of his tail right now, you cant really see it but its bloody and the whole tip is completely missing. Its all dried up now so we think it happened early this morning..

Please please please help us and tell us what you think we should do!!
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post #2 of 18
10/12/10 at 3:27pm
Ouch, that has made me cringe, please take your kitty to the vets, tails are a very important part of a cat.Your kitty must be in pain like if you had crushed your finger in a door.x
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post #3 of 18
10/12/10 at 3:50pm
A vet visit, and if you haven't went yet - an ER vet visit, is the only course of action. It will get infected and if bone is exposed the infection could get serious. This can kill your cat.

Please up date after he's had his vet visit.

They'll likely take the part that's just bone off, stitch it closed, and send him home on antibiotics and an e-collar. With luck he'll heal up quickly and not having any serious lasting nerve damage.

I hope whoever shut the door on him got a stern talking to. If you want to stop a cat (or dog) from getting through a door, use your leg. Never attempt to slam the door shut to stop them.
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post #4 of 18
10/13/10 at 5:30am
The EXACT same thing happened to me a few months back hun with my Azizi. His tail got caught in the bathroom door and the tip was ripped right off. The vet said what happened is that it was "degloved" and the tissue was exposed. I brought him right to the vet and he had to have the first inch, inch and a half of his tail amputated. He is NO worse for wear now, but yeah, your kitty needs to see the vet hun. Good luck!
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post #5 of 18
10/13/10 at 7:14am
Thread Starter 
Im getting my mom to call around local vets to check out the prices .. And yes, we dont have a regular vet

We are probably going to take him to the vet this evening - hopefully!
Im so nervous, i hope everything will be okay and he will be fine
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post #6 of 18
10/13/10 at 7:25am
Ouch! Wessie has never had anything like that, so I don't have any help, but will send some vibes your kitty's way!
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post #7 of 18
10/13/10 at 4:49pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys!
Here are photos from today.....

We are taking him to the vet tomorrow


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5014396_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3020253_n.jpg

Also, he hasnt been eating or moving around at all.. He just sits in corners or on my bed all day.. So does his mother. She hasnt eaten anything all day either! Its so depressing
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post #8 of 18
10/13/10 at 5:51pm
He needs to get to the vet as soon as possible. If the bone is exposed, there could be infection setting in. I'm sure there is also some pain in his tail. When the skin was stripped off, there is a lot of trauma to that tissue. He will require surgery to amputate the end of his tail.

He needs to stay hydrated, and if there is going to be surgery to do that repair he should not eat any food the night before since he will require anesthesia.
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post #9 of 18
10/13/10 at 6:33pm
OUCH that had to hurt. poor little guy
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post #10 of 18
10/13/10 at 9:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TashaaM View Post
Hey guys!
Here are photos from today.....

We are taking him to the vet tomorrow


http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5014396_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3020253_n.jpg

Also, he hasnt been eating or moving around at all.. He just sits in corners or on my bed all day.. So does his mother. She hasnt eaten anything all day either! Its so depressing
I am trying really REALLY hard to be nice about this, but it is almost beyond my capacity.
Seriously? This happened yesterday morning, this cat was for 2 days with his tail open, and you are waiting until tomorrow? WHY?
I know you were checking about prices, so I imagine money is an issue, but any vet would hold a payment for a couple days - any vet would hold a check for a couple of days. This is an emergency!
Of course he is not eating or moving around much! He is in awful pain, and luckily this will not be infected by tomorrow.
I am sorry I am being blunt, but all I could think was "Seriously"???
Look, if you have a pet, you MUST have a vet - period. When an emergency arises like this, you MUST be able to deal with it. If you can't pay for it today, you CAN talk to the vet, arrange payments, hold a check for the next day, etc... Believe me, been there, done that. What you can NOT do is leave your cat suffering and risking an infection that can be life threatening. That is not right... I hope he is fine tomorrow
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post #11 of 18
10/13/10 at 9:34pm
Since this injury is now well over 24 hours.. Please it at all possible get to the ER vet tonight... I understand you are going to the vet on thursday but if at ALL POSSIBLE get to a Er vet tonight
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post #12 of 18
10/14/10 at 10:49am
Thread Starter 
We took him to the vet last night, spent almost 4 hours there!

The vet gave us two options, either put him under and do a surgery to remove the tip of his tail which would be $1500 or get antibiotics and pain killers, bring him home, put him in a small room and hope for the best within the next week.

We chose to bring him home, mostly because of the price and because the injury did not seem too bad...

The vet gave him some pain killers, fluids to hydrate him and some anti infection shots, and now we have to give him liquid pain killers and antibiotics for a week. We were told that if he doesnt start healing in a couple days to bring him back. Then i guess we will have to do the surgery.

He is also eating again (wet food) but sure is making such a mess in the bathroom! LOL
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post #13 of 18
10/14/10 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TashaaM View Post
The vet gave us two options, either put him under and do a surgery to remove the tip of his tail which would be $1500 or get antibiotics and pain killers, bring him home, put him in a small room and hope for the best within the next week.
$1500?!?!?!?! That's insane! As I said in an earlier post, the same thing happened to my Azizi and the operation for him came to a little over $130, which included putting him under and the amputation. $1500 is a crazy amount!
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post #14 of 18
10/14/10 at 11:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TashaaM View Post
We took him to the vet last night, spent almost 4 hours there!

The vet gave us two options, either put him under and do a surgery to remove the tip of his tail which would be $1500 or get antibiotics and pain killers, bring him home, put him in a small room and hope for the best within the next week.

We chose to bring him home, mostly because of the price and because the injury did not seem too bad...
I'm having trouble understanding this thought -- the skin has been stripped and there is exposed bone. This IS BAD.

The vet gave him some pain killers, fluids to hydrate him and some anti infection shots, and now we have to give him liquid pain killers and antibiotics for a week. We were told that if he doesnt start healing in a couple days to bring him back. Then i guess we will have to do the surgery.
Just what exactly is he expecting to happen and start to heal? The skin will not regenerate.

He is also eating again (wet food) but sure is making such a mess in the bathroom! LOL
What kind of mess? Is his tail still bleeding?
Please have this kitty checked by another vet. This is painful and exposed bone is bad.
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post #15 of 18
10/14/10 at 11:38am
Call other vets - not your mother, you. IMO, this shouldn't cost much more than a spaying does in your area.
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post #16 of 18
10/14/10 at 12:59pm
I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it, but it IS possible for this type of injuring to turn gangrenous and kill the cat.
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post #17 of 18
10/15/10 at 7:26am
Thread Starter 
I dont think if bringing him home wasn't a safe option then the vet wouldn't have given it to us.

And most vets that we called said the surgery would probably be around $1000 .. Putting him to sleep alone would cost a couple hundred dollars



Also - does anyone know any tips for orally giving cats medicine through a dipper type thing? This is our first time handling the cats with medicine
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post #18 of 18
10/15/10 at 8:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TashaaM View Post
I dont think if bringing him home wasn't a safe option then the vet wouldn't have given it to us.
I honestly don't know. I'd like to think my vet wouldn't do that, but at the end of the day it's still a business. Most doctors will let a very sick person go without treatment, too, if they lack funds to pay in full or insurance.

For liquid meds, go get a towel. Tightly wrap him in the towel, make sure his front legs are wrapped down securely so that he can't get a paw up. Open mouth with one hand and try to squirt the med as far back passed the tongue as possible. Give no more than a cc (ml) at a time like this or else you risk making him choke.
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