Advice on tail surgery vs amputation?

So Luna is an outdoor cat, and often gets into fights with other local cats.

Recently she got bitten on her tail, near the base. The vets checked her out and put her on antibiotics due to the inflamation, pus, risk of infection. She hadn't improved so her checkup today revealed she has a fragment of bone that they don't know how long has been there and if its even related to her bite wound. Luna hasn't had good luck with her vets as we took her in to be fixed, thinking she was a stray, but only after was she opened up did they discover she already had been fixed and had a microchip.

Our options are to leave it and wait; exploratory surgery to remove it; or amputate her entire tail.

They've quoted me $1100 for amputation, $1000 for surgery examination.

Has anyone had any experience with either? I am not happy with the idea of amputation due to the risks, disability, and effects on her very active outdoor life. My young dog is already suffering from arthritis, had surgery on her kneecaps to be replaced with metal plates, and now Luna is having her share of bad health issues.

I'd keep her in the house - permanently. It's going to cost you a lot more with all the cat fights she gets into. Sometimes when a cat is bitten, the skin heals faster than the wound, causing an abscess. More vet bills.

What kind of vet would open up a cat that's already been spayed? After they shaved her, they should have seen the previous scar. Basically, you need to get another opinion. That's a lot of money for minor surgery to remove the bone fragment.

The issue is that the next vets are a 2 hour drive away, so I can't afford a second opinion

She's come back from her next appointment, she osteomyletis. She's indoors until she gets jer surgery, and they will consider options from there.

Her prior family kept her outdoors with their dog(s), so whenever we lock her in at night, she goes -insane- - climbs curtains & blinds, caterwauls, etc. We've suspected she may have been abused, as whenever a door is shut and she is in that room, she has a nervous meltdown immediately, so she is very claustrophoboc and wary of rooms with doors. Outside during the say she either sleeps on the front porch or is playing with our dog, its at night when she roams and picks fights with the neighbours' cats.

Wolfrott said:

The issue is that the next vets are a 2 hour drive away, so I can't afford a second opinion

She's come back from her next appointment, she osteomyletis. She's indoors until she gets jer surgery, and they will consider options from there.

Her prior family kept her outdoors with their dog(s), so whenever we lock her in at night, she goes -insane- - climbs curtains & blinds, caterwauls, etc. We've suspected she may have been abused, as whenever a door is shut and she is in that room, she has a nervous meltdown immediately, so she is very claustrophoboc and wary of rooms with doors. Outside during the say she either sleeps on the front porch or is playing with our dog, its at night when she roams and picks fights with the neighbours' cats.

Click to expand...

Sprry for all the typos, I am on my ipad!

Luna is having her exploratory surgery tomorrow on Tuesday!

Luna is back from her appointment today!

So, apparently the loose bone fragment in her tail was reabsorbed, but it was there at her appointment last wednesday. She hasn't had any surgery since the vets think her tail can heal on its own over two months, however if she has lost movement in her tail (dragging) or other muscle issues she may have to get her tail amputated anyway

Thoughts? This is what her butt looks like now, haha, shaved! You can see some bite wounds from her fight.

I'm glad she didn't have to have surgery, and I hope her tail heals without permanent injury.

I hope she heals as well and doesn't have to have the tail amputated.

That doesn't look bad at all.  She will probably recover just fine with no further treatment.  I have had two with tail injuries, but both were mechanical, not from fights.  One had a spiral injury sutured and it almost healed but one stubborn area did not, and the vets said tails often don't heal well and amputation in her case was advisable at that point  The tail was amputated and she was left with a cute little stump.  She has been fine ever since, and it's been 8 or 9 years since then. 

The other cat had a broken tail and did lose all movement in it, it just hung down.  It had enough tone so that it didnt get dirty in the litter box so we just left it alone.   He was an old beaten up scarred stray boy and the tail just added to his character.

Update: Luna is frustrated that she is kept indoors so far, but hadn't shown any oher issues. Her tail seems to be fine at the moment, she hasn't been licking it or abusing it any other way as the abscess as almost gone.

Keeping optimistic