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Cat Tail issues...

post #1 of 9
1/24/11 at 9:29am
Thread Starter 
My cat Sandy is a very odd cat. I love her to death, but I think something is off..

I have owned other cats and I know what their tails are suppose to do. Her tail apparently doesn't agree. Sandy is almost 2 years old and has had this issue for roughly a year.



That is the only position her tail will be in. It won't go straight.. at all.
Does this mean anything? Medical or otherwise?

Advice?
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post #2 of 9
1/24/11 at 6:59pm
I have no idea. It's interesting, though. What does Sandy's vet say?


Robin
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post #3 of 9
1/24/11 at 7:10pm
I have one left with a curled tail - Tippy's tail curls tighter and tighter the happier he is, eventually lying flat on his back. With Tippy (and his now gone brother) their tails started curling around 1 year old, and there are no medical issues related to the gene that modifies the tail shape. These tails CAN uncurl, either when the cat is running from something or just plain running and has normal mobility. If you go poking around the base of the tail, you will find the musculature is different than on a normal tail - this is due to the gene for the curl. They NEVER hold the tail straight up however, if that is what is bothering you - the tight curl is the indicator. These cats are also somewhat different in behaviour than many - they bond tightly to their humans, moreso than others.
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post #4 of 9
1/25/11 at 7:19pm
I haven't seen a cats tail look like that, so I don't know what that is. You should probably take Sandy to the vet, just incase.
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post #5 of 9
1/25/11 at 9:49pm
Here is a pic of my now gone Streak that shows his tail lying flat on his back. Never have managed to get a pic of Tippy's tail, he likes to shove his face at the camera for some odd reason.




ETA: the vet I used to use before he retired said there was nothing wrong with the tails on these two cats but he had never seen anything like it before. As I said previously, it is a genetic anomaly, nothing more or less.
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post #6 of 9
1/27/11 at 6:33am
I have no help, but find this incredibly fascinating!
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post #7 of 9
1/27/11 at 7:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stephanietx View Post
I have no help, but find this incredibly fascinating!
There was/is a registry for American Ringtail Cats, not sure of status now, but did some checking a couple of years ago when Streak and Tippy's tails curled up. I do know the home page for the group still exists and it has some genetic information. I was kinda appalled at the curled up tails too but did some looking before running to the vet and we concluded the tails were normal physically and it had to be a genetic anomaly. I also have a female with an arial tail - slight curl poiting to her head. FWIW, my cats have a fair amount of Siamese in them, enough for colour points to turn up, so I am surmising it comes from the oriental blood.
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post #8 of 9
1/27/11 at 7:45am
I have never seen that before. Unusual. I was wondering about a breed of cat too. I wonder if there is such a breed of cat with curly tails. Would be interesting to some research on it.
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post #9 of 9
1/27/11 at 7:55am
Here is the website for American Ringtail Cats but there has been no activity for ages. http://www.americanringtail.com/
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