My cat injured her tail, now the tip is numb. Will it be permanent?

Hi, sorry to hear that your cat got hurt! Sometimes neurologic injuries (injuries to the spine) take months to heal. You may have to feed him a soft diet and give him enemas to help him defecate for some time. Also, your vet can show your how to feel your cat's bladder and express it when necessary, usually three times daily. If he is regaining movement in his tail that is a good sign. You must be patient if you wish to save him. I have known cases that have taken 4 months to heal and regain function. It is a big job and you must be come his nurse for a while, but if he is regaining movement already that is a good sign. I cannot promise he will regain function but would not say all is lost until a few months have gone by. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Unfortunately it seems as her tail is limp, which means there is likely to be a fracture of the tail. this is not something that can be repaired, the only medical solution for this condition is tail amputation which will need to be done at some point.

Yes that could be a side effect from the sedation. If so, the movement will come back as soon as she is no longer groggy and feeling the effects of the sedation. It is also possible that she sprained her tail. Often times when this happens the tail will just "hang" down. Again, it will resolve with time (about 5-7 days). Have you felt the whole tail to see if there is any swelling or pain? If not, I suggest you do that to see if there is pain. If there is pain then it is more likley . an injury and not from the sedation. If you are really worried about the tail I suggest you call your vet and ask them since they have access to her medical history (like what drugs they used for sedation, etc). Hope this helps.

Ouch! Without seeing the x-rays, it's difficult to provide a terribly accurate opinion regarding Luna's tail. In general, if there is a small fracture near the tip of the tail, these can heal quite well without any lasting problems. However, if there is a fracture closer to the tail base, these can cause more problems when healing (i.e. holding the tail up while using the litter box) and be more painful. Tail amputations do not cause any significant stress beyond the stress caused by any surgical procedure. Most cats recover uneventfully after 10-14 days with the help of some pain medication. To my knowledge, there is not emotional distress caused by tail amputations because cats do not experience the social pressures that people will feel. In most cases of tail fractures, I lean towards amputation. I hope this helps you to confirm your decision!

You can try applying Neosporin and giving it time. Unfortunately, tip of the tail injuries like this can be very difficult to heal since there is not much tissue or a very good blood supply to the very tip of a cat's tail. Sometimes they are licking it to clean even when you don't see, which will significantly slow healing. If it doesn't appear to be healing in a few days, then your kitty should get checked out by a vet. Sometimes we need to amputate the tip of the tail so that we can close healthy tissue over the bone to aid with healing.

Keep an eye on it and give it some time. If the pain gradually recedes and your cat acts fine, then good. If it remains painful, if it is set at an odd angle or if your cat is reluctant to move it, it the tail tip gets dry, hard or gets infected, then get him seen by your vet right away.

This usually happens when they have lower spine pain and/or had a tail-pull injury. Cats can get their tails caught in things (i.e. under tires, fences) and tend to struggle a lot, which can cause further injury to the muscles, ligaments and nerves. These types of injuries tend to heal well over a few weeks. You can apply ice to the area fro 15 minutes twice a day to help take down the inflammation. It's best to take Oberin to a veterinarian in order to get pain medication and an accurate diagnosis of the problem,. I hope that helps and Oberin gets better soon.