My cat's tail degloved with bone showing. Is it an emergency?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Bushita. Oh no, this is bad. This will be painful to her, and there are no OTC pain medications you can give her. Many human ones are toxic to cats, and are fatal if given. You absolutely have to take her into a vet now, this cannot wait until the morning. Please have her seen by a vet immediately. Best of luck.

Poor Toby! I am sure you feel awful and are concerned about Toby. I cannot tell from this photo the depth of the wound. Sometimes in cats we can get what is called "degloving" wounds where the bone actually becomes exposed. Either way, it looks like Toby needs veterinary care. The wound needs to be cleaned up and may need a bandage to be applied by the vet, and he may need some antibiotics and pain medication. If you wish to discuss this with one of our veterinarians here at Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach you can use our consultation service.

Hi. Poor thing! Yes, they can die from infection or blood loss or shock. I'm not sure if you mean she had it surgically removed today, or trauma removed it? Either way, I'd get her to the ER Right away.

Unfortunately, only an x-ray or a bone sticking out of the skin will tell you if it is broken. Tail injuries can be very serious, even if there is not a broken bone. Since they are very far away from the body, there is less blood flow that creates a condition for poor healing. I would strongly recommend seeing a vet. Depending on the amount of skin that is damaged, the vet may recommend amputation of the damaged part of the tail to help with healing. If you choose to treat at home, you need to try to clip the hair away from the wound so it can stay clean. You will need to prevent all licking, since this will delay healing and spread bacteria. You should clean it 2-3 times per day with water and a mild chlorhixidine wound soap. You can apply neosporin after cleaning the wound. Do not use alcohol or peroxide.

Oh my. Your poor kitty needs to visit your vet soon to get this taken care of as this cannot be treated at home. This is a degloving injury and will need to be handled by a medical professional. Just leave it be until you can get Amelia seen by your vet. I hope that Amelia's tail injury gets resolved soon! Best wishes and take care.

Your cat may have had an injury to the tail that cut off the blood supply and that piece died. Your cat should be checked by your vet to see if there is any repair or further damage that should be addressed.

Hi there and thanks for posting! The wound you posted a picture of is a little hard to see, but it does look red, swollen, and draining a bit which isnt good. Although not necessarily an emergency, Molly should be seen as soon as possible for this. If your vet isn't open this weekend or available to get you in today or tomorrow, then going to an emergency vet would be my recommendation. I wouldn't wait until Monday on this one. Hope this helps and best of luck!