Cat Injured Tail, Not Healing

[Dillard04]

Wondering if anyone has had experience with this or can offer any guidance. I apologize in advance for the length.

A little over 2 weeks ago I noticed my cat Dillard was suddenly acting strange - he was unable to lift his tail and had some slowness using his hind legs. My husband and I can't pinpoint this sudden pain to any incident. The only thing we remember is hearing a slight commotion at home the evening before, so maybe he fell? He had also been playing/wrestling with our other cat the day before and ended up pinned on his back.

Since he was in such obvious pain, I took him to the ER vet immediately that morning, where they did x-rays. They didn't find anything meaningful on the x-ray, so they sent him home with Onsior (an NSAID).

A few days later, he didn't seem to be doing any better, so I took him to our regular vet for a follow-up. They looked at the previous x-ray and examined him and thought he had injured his spine or sustained some nerve damage. The vet said his tail had a full range of motion when she moved it, so she didn't think it was super serious. They sent me home with Gabapentin, which we gave according to their instructions for about a week.

Suddenly, in the past couple of days, he seems worse than ever. The week prior, his tail had been rising higher each day, but as of Monday or so, it's back to drooping and he's walking slowly. Our vet referred us to a neurologist, but their first availability isn't until this coming Monday.

Then, yesterday, he became very constipated and spent last night going in and out of the litter box to pass stool. (Luckily, his urination has been normal.) He was also walking more slowly and would sit hunched on the ground as if in pain.

Because he seemed constipated, uncomfortable and wasn't eating, we took him to the same ER vet again today. They took another x-ray, which showed he had some hard stool in his abdomen, but still no insight into his tail issues. They gave him an enema and gave us another round of Onsior and gabapentin. (He's had issues before with buprenorphine/buprenex, so we try to avoid that.)

Now he's home and is still not eating like normal, although he did have a bowel movement. I gave him gabapentin an hour ago and he's laying down but doesn't seem to be truly relaxed. I'm worried and anxious since I've never seen him in such pain. I know nerve damage can take a long time to heal, but we're almost 3 weeks out and he's regressing.

I'm worried that waiting until Monday to see the neurologist will be too late. At the same time, I'd hate to stress him out more by taking him to a different ER vet. And since my vet referred me to a neurologist, I'm not sure they would see him in the meantime.

I'm also anxious because I don't know what caused this. I don't see any signs of a bite from our other cat, or signs of an infection, but I'm worried that I'm missing something and the injury is tied to some other cause.

Any ideas or support would be appreciated.

 

[Dillard04]

Not sure how to edit the post, but I can't believe I forgot to mention that the injury seems to be at the base of his tail where it meets his back.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello - my only thought is that I was wondering if there is a neurologist that you could see sooner?

 

[fionasmom]

I am sorry that you and your cat are facing this. In the past I have had to consult neurologists for my animals; it that was recommended it really is the next step and possibly getting an earlier appointment might be an option...tell them you feel it is an emergency? Depending on the type of nerve damage, if it is that ultimately, and where it has affected the spine, the constipation might be part of that problem. Neurology is quite complex and I don't know that another ER would add anything unless you got lucky and the vet on duty had some experience in that.

 

[Dillard04]

Thank you both. I know the neurologist is part of an emergency practice so I will call them and see if an emergency or faster appointment is possible. I agree that another general ER vet would probably not be helpful beyond focusing on the acute pain.

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm so hoping you'll be able to find something definitive

 

[Grayson’s Mummy Julia]

Just reading this and firstly I’m so sorry to hear that you’re puddy tat is suffering.
Grayson injured his tail last year (he really is the cat that has had 9 lives!)
I have attached a pic - is this similar to how Dillard’s looks?
My vet thinks he trapped it somewhere and had to pull it out causing the damage.
I was beside myself with worry and we thought they may have to amputate.
Anyway in the end he had steroids for a couple of months and managed to save it!
He has full use of it now although you can still see the bump at the base.
Please keep us posted and if I can help further don’t hesitate to ask.
Sending positive energy to you and your gorgeous Dillard

 

[Grayson’s Mummy Julia]

Just to add he could not lift it at all, it just drooped down at this v odd angle

 

[di and bob]

Cats can simply fall wrong and injure their tail. Thank goodness, this is relatively rare, your poor boy must be one of those. My cat injured his tail last year and it took almost a week to heal. Yours must be more injured, maybe he fell, etc. and did the initial damage, and then straining for constipation, which can damage nerves too, is causing the injury not to get better. He is also most likely not drinking as much if he is hurting. He may need 1/4 tsp. Miralax for a while to soften the stool, ask the vet. Maybe he strained again causing the relapse. Since he has had two x-rays and they don't really show anything, like a blood clot, it is most likely nerve damage. Pain medicine and getting him to relax would be top priority, I don't think there is much that can be done except to relieve his constipation and rest. I really think he will get better, it will just take time, cats are tough!

 

[fionasmom]

I have amputated tails on adult ferals who got into huge fights and ended up with enough injuries to the tail that gangrene set in. I don't think that Dillard or Grayson sound(ed) like candidate for that procedure with what appears to me more of an internal injury.

 

[Dillard04]

Just reading this and firstly I’m so sorry to hear that you’re puddy tat is suffering.
Grayson injured his tail last year (he really is the cat that has had 9 lives!)
I have attached a pic - is this similar to how Dillard’s looks?
My vet thinks he trapped it somewhere and had to pull it out causing the damage.
I was beside myself with worry and we thought they may have to amputate.
Anyway in the end he had steroids for a couple of months and managed to save it!
He has full use of it now although you can still see the bump at the base.
Please keep us posted and if I can help further don’t hesitate to ask.
Sending positive energy to you and your gorgeous Dillard

Thank you for the good vibes There's no pronounced bump in his tail, but I do think it's hurting around the same area, if not a little more towards the base of his tail.

It's so reassuring to hear that your kitty healed well. I went to the vet today and they prescribed him some additional pain meds and said they think he has a slipped disk. He has a follow up on Monday with a neurologist so we'll see what they say. He's already doing so much better and using the restroom again. He's not happy because he's confined to our bedroom, but he's 10x better than he was yesterday.

 

[Dillard04]

I want to thank everyone for responding. I've been so distraught over the past 24 hours, but all of your advice and kind words have really helped me.

Last night, Dillard wouldn't eat and was still having trouble with his bowel movements. Despite pain meds, I could tell he was feeling awful. He wouldn't even eat tuna or his other favorite treats. Early this morning, my husband and I were fearing the worst.

We decided to go back to an emergency vet, but chose to see someone at the same practice as the neurology specialist. They are about a 40 minute drive from us; we were hesitant to go there instead of a closer vet, but I'm so glad we made that decision. They were so thorough and helpful and spent many hours examining him.

They were able to get a consult from the neurologist, who believes he has a slipped disc. They did bloodwork and a urinalysis and didn't find anything extraordinary that would point to an infection, so they're opting to treat it conservatively with additional/stronger pain meds and crate rest. We still have a follow-up appointment with the neurologist on Monday, which will be a good check-in to see how he's doing after this weekend.

 

[Dillard04]

Cats can simply fall wrong and injure their tail. Thank goodness, this is relatively rare, your poor boy must be one of those. My cat injured his tail last year and it took almost a week to heal. Yours must be more injured, maybe he fell, etc. and did the initial damage, and then straining for constipation, which can damage nerves too, is causing the injury not to get better. He is also most likely not drinking as much if he is hurting. He may need 1/4 tsp. Miralax for a while to soften the stool, ask the vet. Maybe he strained again causing the relapse. Since he has had two x-rays and they don't really show anything, like a blood clot, it is most likely nerve damage. Pain medicine and getting him to relax would be top priority, I don't think there is much that can be done except to relieve his constipation and rest. I really think he will get better, it will just take time, cats are tough!

Thank you for sharing your experience, it makes me feel better. We went back to the vet today and they believe it's a slipped disc. They suggested crate rest, which will be good for him. He's too adventurous and I do think between moving around and straining, he probably exacerbated the injury. I will try the Miralax; our vet had suggested it previously but he wasn't eating so it was hard to get him to take it. His appetite has returned so I'll try mixing it in to his wet food or in water.

 

[di and bob]

Get some Hartz Delectable Lickables in the treat section at Wal-Mart or at Dollar general store. I mix all my meds in it, no cat I have has ever refused it. Get the stew not the bisque.

 

[Furballsmom]

What an amazing story, good on you, and I'm SO glad he's doing better!!

 

[Grayson’s Mummy Julia]

Aww baby Dillard, I am so sorry you’re going through this! Our vet said it was damage to this vertebrae from the tail pull injury. I was so upset and took leave from work to nurse him back to health. We didn’t think his tail would ever rise again let alone do his ‘electric tail’ trick he used to do when he was excited to see us or at feeding time.
But he is able to do this now although like I said the bump at the base of the tail will remain his whole life we think.
Keep us posted and Dillard is in our prayers. Grayson sends a big meow and says ‘you got this D!’

 

[Dillard04]

Again, I want to thank everyone for responding. We took Dillard to the neurologist today and they did an MRI. It turns out he has a bulging/herniated disc. The vet is hopeful it will heal with bed rest and that he won't need surgery. However, it sounds like even if the 4 weeks of rest are successful, we'll still need to make modifications so he doesn't jump and climb too much. It seems to be a rare occurrence in cats, but I may post a separate thread asking if anyone has dealt with this.

Thanks again for all the support and well wishes. They truly helped calm me until our specialist visit today

 

[Grayson’s Mummy Julia]

Aww bless little Dillard. So glad he has such good humans to take care of him
Keep us posted - this sounds like you could be in it for the long run.
Thank you for taking care of him so well

 

[fionasmom]

I am so glad that you have an answer even if it does mean that Dillard will need to be monitored carefully for a while. I hope that everything goes back to normal.