cat's been acting strange, tail is limp. heard of anything like it?

[Race4Peace]

she's already got a cold, but the strange thing is the tail. usualy when you pet her near the base of her tail, her tail goes straight up. she walks with her tail slightly tucked between her legs. when she sits, she doesn't move her tail out from under her.i've picked the tail up and dropped it, it just falls like a brick, she's not slowing it down.

does this sound like a dislocated or broken tail, or something else?

[SOteric]

1. Yes, that could be a traction injury,

to the tail or tail base. (Like maybe the tail got caught in a door or got stepped on and the cat tried to pull it out by moving forward.) Better take kitty in to the vet.

[Race4Peace]

2. do you no if she's gonna need it removed?

whether it's an injury requiring excruciatingly expensive surgury, or amputation, or if it can be fixed easier than that?

btw, this cat has been fixed, so she's obese. that complicate matters?

[Kathleen04]

3. Sometimes it's just another sign

that they're sick, I've noticed. Sometimes when my cat is sick, she looks and acts kind of sad with the tail between the legs, etc. If you haven't taken her in for the cold already, definately take her in.

[Race4Peace]

4. she's got a lot of snot coming from nose.

Kitty w/ a cold. haven't taken her in yet, but can she take alka-seltzer?:7

[Fredda Weinberg]

7. Don't try home remedies, please

Keep her hydrated, even if you need a dropper - make some thin gruel from her food to make sure her liver has enough to work on.

A humidifer would be nice ... mouth breathing is painful.

If the condition doesn't improve in a day or so or you see ulcers on her tongue or eyes, get her to vet immediately - it could be feline herpes.

Home remedies can be dangerous because even if the ingredients are tolerated, you can't get the dosages right.

[Fredda Weinberg]

5. I noticed that too

Natasha was a shelter cat and came to me with a bad cold. She didn't enjoy taking her meds - but it pulled her through. She got over the second bout without antibiotics, but I had to make sure she got enough to eat.

[no name no slogan]

6. My cat's tail froze stiff once

I was a kid, and we accidentally left her out in the garage one cold Minnesota winter night. She came in the next morning, and her tail was literally stiff as a board. We thought it would die and fall off, but she was absolutely fine when we came home that afternoon.

[Dangerously Amused]

8. Please take her to a vet at your earliest opportunity.

It is a cat's natural instinct to hide any illness or injury so as not to appear "weak" to a larger cat or any other predator. When a cat allows something unusual indicating possible injury or illness to show, it is clearly a red flag for immediate medical attention.

Please let us know what the vet says. It does sound like a traction injury or a very bad infection.

Good luck.

[Flaxbee]

9. One of our kitties broke her tail (she rolled off the 2nd story deck in

the middle of a dream - she used to have violent, body-convulsing dreams). The vet x-rayed it, and her spine was broken far enough back to affect only the tail, not her bladder control, legs, etc. We just let it heal - took a while, and never went back to where she could lift it straight up, but no biggie. We babied her quite a bit while she was convalescing, but no other changes were required.

But, if your girl has a bad cold, and is keeping her tail tucked - definitely take her to be checked asap, Monday if possible.

Let us know what you find out!

[alphafemale]

10. Update and PIC from Race4Peace's mom of him and IsIs

She seems to be feeling much better today, though her tail is still limp.
She really started to get interested in food again today. I fed her a little bit a time so she wouldn't gorge.

If she hasn't showed any tail movement by tomorrow (well Monday, later today technically) we'll contact the vet.


This was them a couple weeks ago.

<a href="" target="_blank"><img src="" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>

[jobycom]

11. Obese cats can develop major liver problems if they don't eat.

My cat starved herself into Fatty Liver Syndrome, where her liver basically started trying to flush all the fat from her body. It alomst killed her, and took a lot of money and energy to recover. If she's obese, don't let her go more than a couple of days without food. I just went through this with my cat, and it was rough, but she did pull through.

As for the tale issue, it could be any number of things, as others have related. Two things I'm thinking, from my own experience--One, basic urinary tract infection. My cats who have gone through this have kept their tails low, especially if I petted them on their lower back. I guess the pain made them try to cover themselves. Also, if I lifted their tale, they would lower it again as quickly as possible. That might look like it was just falling.

The second possibility is a kidney problem, which would also cause dehydration problems (or be caused by dehydration). Again, she would be in pain, and keep her tail lowered.

My parents had a small dog with a dislocated tail, and he howled every time he tried to go the bathroom. That's a painful problem, and your cat would likely show some sign of that type of pain. Although, cats are very good at hiding pain.

Just some ideas. Don't let her go long fasting or undereating. It can quickly become a major problem, since you say she is obese.

[alphafemale]

12. She started eating pretty good today.

And her general spirits seemed better.

[Dangerously Amused]

13. Thanks for the update. Please post another if/when you go to the vet.

Good luck!

[alphafemale]

14. UPDATE - Back from vet.

She did still have a respiratory infection and has an anti-biotic for that.

The vet did say her tail is dislocated and it would probably be better to amputate, since she could injure it easily as she can't feel it.

No surgery can be done until she is done with the anti-biotic though.

She is also on some cat-lax since it seems she has some serious hair in her system.

The main ingredient in this is cod liver oil.

She's maybe the one cat in the world that doesn't much care for most fish products.

She fought taking it straight.
And she just sniffed, and harrumphed at food with it mixed in...