Cat scared of tail after partial amputation

[gwiggles]

Hi. My kitty is about 6 years old and had a partial tail amputation about 2.5 weeks ago. He got his tail slammed in the door while trying to escape.

when we first brought him to the emergency vet they stitched his tail in hopes of avoiding amputation. That didn’t work and he had his tail amputated the next morning. Fast forward 2-3 days later and he fully ripped his stitches out (he could still reach the stitches even with a plastic cone on). So we had to bring him back to the emergency vet to get it stitched again.

he just got his stitches removed yesterday. The vet said it’s healing great (we had to attach the cone to a harness and cover the end of his tail with a sock to get it to heal). He wasn’t really bothering it while the sock was on it, ignored it basically and was acting his normal self, just with a cone on. Now that his stitches are out and his cone is off he’s acting totally weird. Every time he gets a glimpse of his tail he freaks out and tries to run away from it. The only way he’ll sit is loafed with his tail tucked. His tail is twitching. He’ll start licking his tail like crazy sometimes. I haven’t been able to see if he’s biting it, so far it just seems like frantic licking. Although I worry it will progress to biting. He keeps frantically running around trying to escape it or find comfort. He will play a little bit but very briefly and not at full energy. Sometimes he’s too focused or upset to even play.

I’m just worried sick and don’t know what to do. I’m going to call the vet first thing in the morning and let them know and get advice.

I’m just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar. How long it lasted? Can anything be done to help? Thank you

 

[silent meowlook]

Hello. I am sorry for all that you and your kitty are going through. Tail amputations are rough. The tail if full of nerve endings and tail injuries are very painful for cats. Your cat has a lot of anxiety and probably pain relating to his tail. This will take some time to get over and you are right to be concerned about him self mutilating his own tail. If you haven’t seen a specialist about this, you may have to if this doesn’t resolve. Obviously, call your vet as planned in the morning and seek guidance on what to do now.

I am not a veterinarian. I can only tell you what I would do if he was my cat and displaying this behavior. I would ask my veterinarian about getting a prescription of Gabapentin to give for the next couple of weeks to see if that will help alleviate some of the pain he is experiencing. Gabapentin is a drug used for seizures in people that has found to be beneficial in treating neuropathic pain in people and animals. The pain experienced from a tail amputation would probably be helped from this medication. Cats do build a tolerance with continued use and sometimes you have to increase the dose, with veterinary guidance of course.

Cats can get the same phantom pain syndrome that people can get from having a limb amputated. This is from what I have learned and may be speculation, but it makes sense to me.

So, talk to your veterinarian. Ask about Gabapentin. Ask about additional pain medication to use with the Gabapentin if it isn’t enough. Discuss referral to a specialist if this doesn’t resolve with the medication.

I wish you the best of luck for you and your kitty.

For what it is worth. I have seen many successful tail amputation surgeries on cats that had no long-term problems.

 

[di and bob]

Vet-provided antianxiety and pain meds are much better, but you could also get some 'calming' meds on internet sites such as Amazon or Walmart. He has had a very traumatic experience and like said above the tail is full of nerves. Tingling indicates healing, but may make him very aware of his problem. I would definitely get him some calming meds. He will eventually get used to the disappearance of his tail, but it will take a while. It feels/looks different and is sore and tingling. you might try some distractions, like new toys or treats. I'm so sorry you and he have to go through all this, but accidents happen. These things just take time.......

 

[gwiggles]

Thank you for your replies. I called the vet and she prescribed him gabapentin for 3-4 days and suggested we put his cone on him again.

One down side of cats being so limber is that he can still reach his tail with the cone. I’m thinking about putting the sock back on over his tail, but am not for now because I want him to get used to how his new tail looks. If he starts mutilating his tail at all, sock is coming back!

i am hoping he only needs a few days of gabapentin. I asked the vet if she ever sees the need for cats to remain on gabapentin for long periods of time for this neuropathic pain. All she said is that tail injuries are hard. I really don’t want to have to keep him drugged up for long periods of time. Hopefully only a few more days.

I’ll update here in a few days if anyone who is in my situation is also frantically searching the internet for any peace of mind (which it almost never offers, but sometimes it’s nice to see other people in your situation and see solutions).

 

[gwiggles]

Hi cone/gauze harness and sock tail for anyone interested.

cone harness: just attached the cone to some gauze cloth and wrapped it under his arms and tied on his back. He can still reach tail with the cone, but without the harness he can fully take the cone off by himself. So the harness keeps it in place to prevent full access to tail.

sock tail: I wishI had a better picture of it and a picture from when we got really good at doing it. Basically I used a white sock, skin/gauze tape, and a hair tie/rubber band. Put sock over tail, tape sock to shaved skin (wrap around a few times making contact with sock and skin, and then more tape around where the edge of tape meets skin to make more secure). Then I fold the extra sock fabric over and tie with a hair tie. Not too tight as it can cut off circulation. I’ve found that the hair tie was helpful as it kept the sock in place for longer as the tape isn’t that secure. Again make sure not to do too tight, folding the fabric over before tying helps with that as there’s more cushion under the tie. And make sure to use a cotton sock So it can breathe. And remember to look at the tail at least once a day for signs of infection.

just thought some might find this helpful as it was hard for me to find solutions.

 

[Alldara]

Is his tail still naked? I think maybe putting the sock back on until hair grows in more may make it less sensitive.

Well. If it's more permanent you can get him cute tail cosies made as "prosthetics".

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi.
If he were my cat, I would get an inflatable donut for him and have as little stuff on him as possible. Try to get him back to being a normal cat as soon as possible.

 

[gwiggles]

hi. yes makes sense. He only has the cone on now, no sock, so he can see what his tail looks like. I’ll look into the donut, although last time I looked on Amazon I saw pics of a few cats still able to get to their tails with it on.

 

[danteshuman]

Nick needed pain meds for an extra week after the stitches were removed or he would bite his tail. I think it was nerve damage. Ask the vet for extra pain meds for a week.



Here is picture of Nick with his healed up tail. Your kitty will be fine!

 

[deej]

Hi. My kitty is about 6 years old and had a partial tail amputation about 2.5 weeks ago. He got his tail slammed in the door while trying to escape.

when we first brought him to the emergency vet they stitched his tail in hopes of avoiding amputation. That didn’t work and he had his tail amputated the next morning. Fast forward 2-3 days later and he fully ripped his stitches out (he could still reach the stitches even with a plastic cone on). So we had to bring him back to the emergency vet to get it stitched again.

he just got his stitches removed yesterday. The vet said it’s healing great (we had to attach the cone to a harness and cover the end of his tail with a sock to get it to heal). He wasn’t really bothering it while the sock was on it, ignored it basically and was acting his normal self, just with a cone on. Now that his stitches are out and his cone is off he’s acting totally weird. Every time he gets a glimpse of his tail he freaks out and tries to run away from it. The only way he’ll sit is loafed with his tail tucked. His tail is twitching. He’ll start licking his tail like crazy sometimes. I haven’t been able to see if he’s biting it, so far it just seems like frantic licking. Although I worry it will progress to biting. He keeps frantically running around trying to escape it or find comfort. He will play a little bit but very briefly and not at full energy. Sometimes he’s too focused or upset to even play.

I’m just worried sick and don’t know what to do. I’m going to call the vet first thing in the morning and let them know and get advice.

I’m just wondering if anyone has experienced anything similar. How long it lasted? Can anything be done to help? Thank you

I'm new here after finding this thread. I'm going through the same with my cat after he injured his tail and had partial amputation. It's been 10 days since op and today he's been really frantic and jumpy when he see his tail and gave it a bite after it appeared to be healing well. He was fine yesterday so not sure what has happened to react this way. Painkillers the perhaps worn off...we have another check up at vets tomorrow so will see what they say.

 

[gwiggles]

I'm new here after finding this thread. I'm going through the same with my cat after he injured his tail and had partial amputation. It's been 10 days since op and today he's been really frantic and jumpy when he see his tail and gave it a bite after it appeared to be healing well. He was fine yesterday so not sure what has happened to react this way. Painkillers the perhaps worn off...we have another check up at vets tomorrow so will see what they say.

Hi. Sorry about your kitty. 10 days after op he may need more meds….but I’m no vet. My kitty needed meds even a few days after stitches were taken out. I’ll give and update on mine now.

To start I will say that my kitty is almost back to normal in regards to his tail. It’s about a month after amputation so it’s taken some time. After his stitches were taken out We found out that he was actually scared at the SIGHT of his tail. Because he was completely normal when he had the cone on (would even purr when we put the cone on him) because he couldn’t see his tail. When we would take the cone off, he would hyper focus on his tail and try to run away from it. I told the vet this and they said they had never heard of that and that he’s probably in pain. Which ok, but the fact that he was completely normal while wearing his cone made me think maybe not. And he never seemed to be in pain when I would touch the tip of his tail. He wouldn’t even flinch. The vet did prescribe him and anti anxiety medication, but I never ended up giving it to him because reading about the specific medication kinda freaked me out…

so to wrap up: I stopped putting his cone on him so he could get used to his new tail. There was a while where he definitely had anxiety and did not want to do anything. I tried to incorporate lots of play and cuddle time, but over all just tried to be normal. I would touch his tail while he was eating (he almost never noticed) to try to have some positive association. If I noticed him hyper focusing on his tail I would try to distract with play and scratches. But honestly if he wanted to lick his tail, I let him. As long as he wasn’t trying to rip his own skin open. So he can get used to what his tail is like. He did bite it once or twice, but never enough to cause harm to himself. If I did notice him biting it, I would put the cone on for a few hours and then take it off just to be cautious. He is pretty much totally fine now. He barely notices his tail and is close to being back to normal. Another week or so and it will hopefully seem like this amputation never happened.

I hope this is helpful. I hope your kitty does not escalate to harming himself too much more. 10 days after operation he may need more pain medication. My kitty needed more medication a few times, even needed meds after stitches were taken out. But is med free at the moment. Let us know how it goes!

 

[KaylaT6889]

Nick needed pain meds for an extra week after the stitches were removed or he would bite his tail. I think it was nerve damage. Ask the vet for extra pain meds for a week.

View attachment 452291

Here is picture of Nick with his healed up tail. Your kitty will be fine!
View attachment 452290

Seeing this makes me feel a lot better. Monet just had a partial tail amputation on Friday I have been full of anxiety and worry cause she’s my baby. How long did it take for the tail to fully heal? My vet told me not to cover the incisions which makes me even more nervous. Do you have any tips you could please share.

 

[danteshuman]

I would say Nick was back to normal by under a month. 3 weeks? It did take forever for his fur to grow back & look notmal. Nick however was permeantlly injured a bit by the dog trying to pull him out of the tree by his tail. We have to not put any pressure on the base of his tail when we pick him up or it hurts him a bitt. So we scoop him up mid back or right under his mid level on his back and hold him like a baby, being sure not to use the base to support his weight.
Here was when I knew Nick was going to be fine:

Here is a good picture so he is remembered as the tough survivor amazingly kitty he is. Your kitty will be fine, I swear,

 

[KaylaT6889]

Thank you so much for sharing that with me. The anxiety I have I’ve just been crying. I love my little one so much. Nick looks to be like such a handsome boy and looks so happy and healthy. Your story with Nick makes me feel so hopeful. I will return to your post with an update in a few days.