Paralysed tail?

Hey guys,

I'm at a babysitting job and there's a 16 year old cat here called Jemima. I think her tail is paralysed, but I'm not.. sure. She doesn't seem to be in pain or anything, and I couldn't find any blood or anything, but there does seem to be some swelling around the base of the tail. Is there a way that I can tell? I haven't seen her move it at all tonight.

I'll ask the parents when they get home, but that wont be for a few hours. I'm babysitting here again tomorrow and a few times next week.

She's such a sweet cat. Very friendly and affectionate.


Jalindal

Really a vet should check it out if it's just happened?.

My Rosie just recently damaged the ligaments in the base of her tail, we think through Jack accidently bending it over when they were play fighting, only Rosie was crying out in pain so i rushed her to the vet, but remember, cats are good at hiding pain?

He did say though when cats damage their tails that they can't lift them at all, sometimes it's best to amputate them because they can get soiled when they go to the litterbox

Hmm, I'm actually thinking she might be in pain guys.

I hope her owners decide to take her to the vet...hopefully she's ok

I have no idea if it's just happened, or what's happened or....anything at all, really. :-S

for the kitty

I hope there isnt anything very serious wrong

Originally Posted by Jalindal

Hmm, I'm actually thinking she might be in pain guys.

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If the owners don't know already, explain how their good at hiding pain. Does the cat not jump or make a sound when you touched the base of her tail?

Nope. She has no reaction at all when I touch the tail.. but she's not jumping up onto the couch at all so I lifted her up and she was obviously uncomfortable.

It's good you're going to tell the cat's owners. They may not even be aware of their cats problem. Hopefully they take the cat to the vet right away.

Oh poor kitty!

I hope her parents were receptive to your questions/information.

Hey guys,

She wasn't terribly receptive, unfortunately. She said she'd keep an eye on her, but basically, "She's 16, she's bound to get hurt."

Hopefully it's nothing, and if it isn't nothing I know she cares about the cat so I'm sure she'll get her to the vet.

I'll keep you guys posted, I babysit for them again on Friday.

That's a shame

What in thw world does the cats age have to do with anything?!?!

Whether she's 3 mths or 13 years old shouldn't matter, if she's hurt she needs to go to the vet.

I hope the cat is ok until you see her again.

Originally Posted by Jalindal

Hey guys,

She wasn't terribly receptive, unfortunately.

She said she'd keep an eye on her, but basically, "She's 16, she's bound to get hurt."

Hopefully it's nothing, and if it isn't nothing I know she cares about the cat so I'm sure she'll get her to the vet.

I'll keep you guys posted, I babysit for them again on Friday.

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Ugh, what a horrible attitude! I can't stand people like that. It's the biggest drawback of working in other people's homes. I work with special needs kids, and have been exposed to some horrific conditions for the cats in the homes.

I do what I can, risking my job, but I can't keep quiet when I see animals not being treated properly.

I'm glad you can watch out for the poor senior kitty.

Lol she's a really nice lady. I'm 100% sure that if she thinks that Jemima is hurt that she'll take her to the vet. She's just not as paranoid as I am - if Jemima was my baby she'd be off to the vet for every sniffle and cough and hint of injury... but that's not necessarily the best way either, given how stressed some cats get about car trips, etc.

Sorry, just not wanting anyone to get fired up about neglect that's not happening. XD Fingers crossed when I go over tomorrow Jemima's either fine or been to the vet.

I'm hoping that I was wrong about her injury.

That's a shame the owner had that attitude! Even so a nice lady and all, I would encourage her to take the cat to the vet. She will if Jemima (cute name ) can't use the litter box due to her injured tail Please let us know how the cat is tomorrow when you

Hey guys,

Ok, so, an update with Jemima. Yesterday I babysat for the family and couldn't find her anywhere, and my questions to the Mum were ignored. :-S

Today, I asked her again and we had a bit more time before she left so I got an answer. She agrees that there's something wrong with her- she says that when she touches the tail she gets a pained 'mew' but that it's alright because she doesn't scratch or bite like she normally does when Jemima is in pain.

She's not sure that taking Jemima to the vet is necessary. She said that in her thoughts it could be an infection, an injury or "old age", but she seems "fine" so she'll just keep an eye on her. -sigh-

I mentioned that cats hide pain really easily and that my vet nurse friend K says that taking her to the vet is a very good idea... she says that she can't afford to take Jemima to the vet. (Despite buying a new TV today, having subscription TV in three rooms of the house and just selling her car for several thousand dollars - she tells me a lot about their finances, unfortunately! She told me that she could only pay me $12 an hour after she'd booked a month of work with me, but when I said I couldn't work for less than $18 she somehow found the money...)

When she left Jemima came out and we had quite a long cuddle. She seems normal in terms of spirit and attitude, but had trouble getting up onto the couch, which she didn't have issues with on Thursday.

So, i don't know what to do. :-S I don't really like this woman, for many reasons, but we don't really have the kind of relationship where I feel like I could say much more, comfortably. What would you guys do?

EDIT: I don't mean that I'm not going to do anything because I don't feel comfortable about it, just that I need to make it convincing because there's no real chemistry between us or anything like that. And I may not get too many chances to talk to her about it, because I don't know whether she'll fire me for interfering. :-S

Any way to take her to the vet yourself when you're sitting for her? I know you can't take her to the vet that's three hours away... but is there a different local vet? I know money is an issue, but it should just be a routine visit, and maybe a steriod or pain injection? Obviously you couldn't ask her to pay for it.

Unfortunately there's no way for that to happen.

Money is a serious issue- I owe 2k for Mackerel's vet bills to my parents, until that's paid I don't have any spare funds.

Also, I can't leave the kids alone- they're three and five, so would be negligent for me to leave them by themselves.

She always books me in the evenings, too, and generally only for a few hours- she's in amateur theatre, so she just needs time for her rehearsals and performances. Because I don't drive, that means I would have to take the bus with Jemima.

Plus all sorts of considerations about, y'know... what happens if I take her to the vet one evening and her owner takes her the next morning and they give her the same meds? Overdose? And I don't know how well she travels or any of the history of the animal, no idea of medical history... nada. :-(

I wish I could, but really I need to concentrate on getting her owner to take her to the vet. I'm fairly sure that money's not THAT much of an issue for her, despite what she says... but it's very hard to counter that argument. :-(