Missing tail

Hi guys. Yesterday I noticed what I thought was my neighbor's cat walking through another neighbors yard. I always identify him by his tail because of the stripes and tip. He's a light orange guy with some white patches and the stripes on his tail. There are lots of ferrals and outdoor cats around here so I always look for his tail. (Usually I talk to the cats around here, including him.)

Well first I thought he had his tail curled funny, then when he turned to sniff at a bush I noticed this guy is missing about 1/3 of his tail! The very end looked just red. He wasn't holding it funny or anything.

My very first cat got caught in the door to our apartment twice and lost bits of her tail and was fine, but she had vet attention. (I was 2 at the time) I have no idea how this poor boy lost part of his tail and i don't know what care has been given to him. (The people he belongs to are very nice, but have a few issues I guess you could say. Not what would meet this board's deffinition of responsible pet owners I don't think.)

So I figured I should just see if anyone here could offer some advice on what to look for with him? I've never gotten close to the kitty, but my husband chats with the neighbor once in a while, so he may be able to kind of gently ask questions or make suggestions.

It looked by the way he was holding it that it wasn't broken above the end. It also didn't appear swolen, but from the distance I was, it was hard to tell. Also, like I said, it was just at the very very end that I saw the red, probably a scab. It didn't look 'fresh' to me.

Does anyone have advice for me with this poor boy? I wish I could help him!

many moons ago i had a kitty that lost about a third of her tail,
i reached down to pet her and there was a some blood on my hand.

I have to admit it scared me, but she did not seem in any pain(its hard to tell sometimes) in fact she jumped in my lap and started to go to sleep. I took her into the vet. He just put a small bandage on it.. and said to watch it make sure it did not get a infection.

I have no idea what she did or where the rest of her tail is. we never found it. She was a indoor cat only. i guess if my mother and father every sale the house we will find it then.

I haven't seen him since so I'm praying he's ok. It's not like I saw him daily before, but at least a few times a week.

Ouch!! I found Stumpy shortly after he lost half of his tail. He was very young (about 5 weeks old), his tail was bleeding and I took him to the vet. The vet simply told me to keep a close eye on it, watch for swelling and redness and get him back in if that occurred. He healed without any harm, but then again, I was watching him like a hawk the entire time.

My advice is to try to keep watch for him and trap him if you have to get him to a vet.