Cochise has a dislocated tail

[AvaJoy]

Has anyone had an experience with their cat having a dislocated tail?

Cochise got his tail caught in a door that I was closing. He yelped and moved quickly away, and I didn't think anything was wrong. I apologized profusely to him, and he seemed fine until the next day. Then I noticed him limping and having difficulty walking, favoring one of his hind legs. I thought he maybe hurt his paw and made a vet appointment.

After x-rays were taken, all was well with his leg and hip joints/bones, but the vet said his tail was dislocated at the base. This was causing him to be off-balance. She said it is very common and she sees about a case (dog or cat) a week.

It was too inflamed and painful for her to manually re-position it then, so he is on meds to reduce the inflamation and alleviate pain. I take him back in about a week. He can ambulate normally sometimes, but other times it looks as if he takes a few steps then his hip locks, and he is hesitant to put one rear leg in front of the other so he sits down.

Poor boy . . . he loves to run and play, but it is just too painful for him right now.

Just wondered if anyone else has had a kitty with this problem.

[cassiesmom]

My sister's RB Meezer, Poco, fractured his tail running away from a dog. It didn't heal well at all, so he ended up having it amputated about halfway up. After that was done it healed very well, and he didn't seem to miss the part that was gone. (Although I did - I missed his beautiful raccoon-striped tail.) I hope Cochise does well with the meds and makes a full recovery.

[Laura's Babies]

Poor baby! It must really hurt for him to show it, I hope the meds help until it can be fixed... A baby in pain is heartbreaking because there is nothing we can do but love them more!

Opps forgot to add that long ago, my Mom had a cat and she called and told me there was something wrong with her tail. She called a few days later almost crying and said it looked like the tail was dead, could I come see... I went and saw Patches and it did look like the whole tail was dead so I took her home with me and took her to my vet and he amputated the whole tail. Poor Mama cried so hard when she saw her Patches without a tail...

[Lof]

My Polly has no feeling in her tail at all and it hangs limpalthough she is weak in the back end she manages just fine! Occasionally something will get stuck in it that i will have to take out myself but she's my baby i dont mind!!! Any way i think after rest and a bit of medication Cochise will b fine! Good Luck

[AvaJoy]

Update on Cochise is that he is doing just fine now, and his tail relocated itself with no manual manipulation required. My Vet says sometimes this happens after the inflamation goes down. The tail goes back into re-alignment on it's own accord. Seems that the meds did their work, and he is back to his portly, playing old self again! So if anyone else's kitty is going through this, just be patient and chances are good that all will be well.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear that he's doing well.

[Freedom]

Cochise: tell mom to put a bell on the DOORS so you can hear when they are coming at you and move outta the way in plenty of time!

Glad to read all is well again. Whew!