Tip of cat's tail caught in window - not cut off, or bleeding, but she's so upset!

The tip of my cat's (Mia) tail got caught in the window while a friend was closing it. It was not closed hard but it definitely got caught. It is not broken off or bleeding and she is still wagging the whole thing. however, there is a slight bend at the end. But after this very stressful and tramatic experience, instead of running and hiding, she went into serious violent attack mode. She has me trapped on my recliner. If I even step off, she attacks me. Got my ankle really good, which I understand her being so upset, so not faulting her. I spoke with my emergency vet clinic, who advised that she is probably just very upset and in pain, and to just give her some time. She also advised that considering the tail is not cut off, or bleeding (and her current state of mind ~annoyed) she could probably wait til morning and see her regular vet. She just advised me to monitor through the night and see if she throws up, etc. Has this happened to anyone else? Is her reaction normal, and is time the best way to get her to calm down?

Yes, friendly cats that are in a large amount of pain can transform into monsters. Your cat is probably just hurt, traumatized and scared. My guess is that after being hurt she perceives big humans moving around as things that could potentially hurt her further, and her fight-or-flight decision is to fight.

If you have the resources, I would take her to the emergency vet to see what they can do for her poor tail. But since emergency vets are exceedingly expensive, and this injury isn't life-threatening, she probably can wait until tomorrow. But she will be in pain the entire time. Imagine if you broke your finger; would you go to the ER tonight or wait until the morning? I'm not trying to be facetious, it's a serious question; my friend's dad got a carpenter nail stuck in his foot one time and didn't go to the ER for three days. :lol3:

Anyway, vibes for your poor kitty and you, in the hopes that you'll be able to leave your chair tonight, and keep us updated

Thank you! I feel so awful for her. I did speak directly to the vet and they said it could wait til the morning, if she doesn't start to throw up, or get diarrhea. Which she hasn't. And my regular vet is great about getting her in first thing. So she will be seen in the next 9 hours. In the meantime, i will completely monitor her, and if any of the above occur, shes going to have to take a trip to the emergency vet. She seems to be settling down alittle, I realize how I would feel if it was an injury to me. thanks for the advice, and support, me and Mia are going to need it.

Poor thing!  I'm sure she was scared and in pain.  So glad you've already talked to the evet and have plans to get her to your regular vet in the morning.  Also glad to hear she's calming down some.  Sounds like you're pretty on top of things and have a handle on the situation.  If she forgives you before the vet appt, you might be able to examine the tail.  A warm compress or warm towel on her tail (if she can handle it) might help her tail feel a bit better.  Have you been able to leave the recliner?

Thank you, thank goodness i had my phone here, and there is an emergency vet clinic a few miles away. So that was first thing I did, b/c no matter how upset and in pain she is, if they said she had to go now, She'd be at the vet's. LOL. But she will definitely be there in the am, so I will keep everyone updated on her status. As for me, i have not left the recliner, i figure as much time as I can give her, is best. I will hold out alittle longer, til im about to pee my pants. LOL

Thanks for your concern and support. We need support and positive vibes.

You said your kitty has a slight kink in her tail? She might have dislocated a joint/popped something out of place. Worst case scenario is that she might have broken it, but as someone who had to sleep with an unmended broken arm over night, she'll survive, just make her as comfortable as you can.  If the break was too bad she might have a permanent kink like my Chacho-baby's tail. His tail is from unknown causes since it was like that when I adopted him. Of course since you haven't been able to get close to her, the kink could just be fur that got messed up.  My sister's cat, has his "fizz-o-meter" his tail will fuzz in strange segments and depending on where the little fuzz spot is located it sometimes looks as though his tail is kinked when its not.

It looked as though there was a slight bend toward the end, but she is able to move the entire thing. It could be fractured or broken, but the emergency vet said other than x-rays and pain meds, they don't do much for that. So that is why they said it would wait, unless any of the aforementioned symptoms occur. She is moving around the apt and laying down and relaxing alitttle but she gets up and runs at me the moment i move. 

How's she doing this morning?

Poor baby - and it is quite SCARY when a cat is in extreme pain from something so sudden and unexpected, they do lash out and become extremely aggressive at the nearest living person or animal. . I would keep a close watch on that tail and I would bring her into your regular vet just to have a look. There usually is not much they do for a tail broken near the end. If it were severe and it doesn't sound like that, they would amputate the injured section. But that is only for open, bleeding, infected broken tails. I am sure you kitty will recover

Hello everyone,

I really appreciate everyone's concern. It was a rough morning, and an EXTREMELY rough night. Mia did not allow me to move off the bed at all. And this morning was no different, I have to run out of the apt, and shut the door. Came back a lil bit later (after I made and knew the time for Mia's vet appt) with some manly help to get her into her carrier (she was NONE too thrilled). To the vet we went, she had to be sedated because she was so aggressive and angry just for them to look at her. Vet told me she would call me with any info. So within the hour, vet said she was sedated, and there was NO evidence of ANY damage to her tail,no breaks, fractures, dislocations, swelling, nothing. However, the base that connects to her body, was swollen and slighting dislocated. She speculated that it was only the very tip caught in the window, but Mia tried to jump off the window sill (while her tail was caught) and it pulled it out alittle. So, tons of pain meds, and steroid for the swelling, Mia is home, and is almost back to her normal self. Which is a SIGH of relief. I was so upset and worried about her behavior continuing after the vet visit. But perhaps it helped and she feels better, because she ate alittle of her cold cut turkey (her fav treat) and was rubbing all over my legs, which my heart was fluttering about. (esp considering last night and this mornings events) 

So all thank you for listening and the words of concern. Mia and I throughly appreciate it them. And for anyone wondering about the vet, it was expensive, but as i said to the vet when she said she would give me an estimate before doing anything, I said, "I do not need an estimate, just do whatever needs to be done to make her better, at whatever cost it is, I do not care" 

I am so glad to hear Mia is going to be fine. The pain meds are probably working well enough that she is relaxing and feels like she can be touched now.

So glad you took Mia to the vet and now she should soon be feeling better.

So glad she's been to the vet and on the mend.  Poor girl if she did dislocate it, she was probably in pain.  You're a good kitty momma for keeping an eye on her and making sure she got the vet attention she needed.  Keep us posted on her progress.