Anyone Experienced A Temporarily Bent Tail?

[ManekiNekko]

Hi, everyone. Long time reader, first time poster. I hope to contribute more to the forum from here on.

For today, I am curious if anyone has seen a situation like my Sam. He is an overweight but otherwise generally healthy 6 year old domestic shorthair with two brothers. They all go outside, but only in a large dog kennel in our backyard, so no access to neighborhood cats, cars, etc.

Sam started having diarrhea at the beginning of November. When I finally pinpointed it was him (everyone was acting normal and only pooping overnight), I decided to take him in to get him checked out before we left on a 4-day vacation. After the vet checked him out on November 9, he couldn't find anything serious and recommended FortiFlora and a mild antibiotic to help his gut. Because of the difficulty of having our daily cat-checkers administer the antibiotic, we decided to just have them give him the FortiFlora and we'd reassess after we returned. I still don't know if the diarrhea was directly related to what came next.

While we were gone, November 10-13, we noticed via camera and also in conjunction with speaking to the cat sitters that Sam was limping on his right hind leg (I had thought he might be on Nov 9, but it was so mild I wasn't sure and thought it could just be that his anus was sore or raw from the diarrhea and he was walking funny because of that). We returned home early from our trip to take care of Sam, who had a pronounced limp by that point and was spending most of his time sleeping. However, he continued to eat/drink/pee/poop normally (the diarrhea resolved with FortiFlora treatment) so rather than an emergency vet, we took the soonest appointment and took him in yesterday morning, Nov. 15.

The vet checked him out and said he was only a 2/5 on the lameness scale and that nothing appeared to be broken. He couldn't even tell from palpitating where exactly on the leg he was hurting (Sam is very mild cat and very stoic, even for a cat) but thought it could be his knee. He prescribed 3 days of robenacoxib and told us if there's no real improvement, then we should call back and arrange for x-rays. So far, so good. Sam was actually more normal yesterday even before the pills, and definitely after. He has been more interested in initiating play (necessitating me coming up with good non-chasing games to rest his knee).

But now here's the new development I'm wondering about. Last night, I noticed that Sam has started to hold his tail funny/bent, with the first couple of inches straight out and then the rest almost straight down, dragging. He's never done this before. There were no lumps that I could find and as far as I can tell, he can feel the whole thing (again, he's so mild that he never tries to pull away even when you touch his tail). He has certainly not been injured by any tail pulling, door slams, being stepped on, etc. I'm not panicked about this yet since it hasn't even been 24 hours. I watched him successfully defecate today and I expect he'll pee after he has his afternoon feeding so I can make sure that goes okay.

I'm *hoping* that he's just got some exhausted muscles from the limping on one side and how that means he's had to use his other leg more. Does anyone know what other signs I should be aware of as far as the possibility of this being nerve damage? Has anyone had a cat with a temporarily bent tail like this and have a guess at what this could be?

*Note for the photo - the archy back is the photo is not a concern. He was just stretching as I took the photo.

 

[neely]

First and foremost, I'd like to welcome you to TCS! I'm glad that you have been a reader of the forum for a long time and decided to join us. However, I'm sorry to hear about Sam's health problems.

You sound like a very observant and diligent cat parent who is well in tuned with Sam's mannerisms and traits. The first thing that came to mind was possibly some arthritis but after looking at the two pictures you provided I'm unsure now. Just out of curiosity, how long has Sam lived with you, i.e. from a kitten or full grown? When in doubt I always check with my vet about anything out of the ordinary. Since you mentioned your vet was going to take x-rays if Sam did not improve I would suggest you tell him about the update with his tail and make an appointment. Best of luck and please keep us posted.

 

[ManekiNekko]

Hi, Neely.

Thanks for the advice. When the vet office called today to follow-up about Sam, I explained about the tail and asked to have the vet call me when he's in tomorrow.

I found Sam in a bush, apparently left behind when his human and cat families moved away quickly. I took him to a local rescue who placed him with a foster family until he was fully weaned. Then when I called a few of months later and he was not yet adopted, he became part of our feline family. So long story short, he's been with us since he was a kitten, just around 3 months old.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Well, neely has taken the words right off of my fingertips! I was thinking arthritis or nerve damage of some sort, myself. And DO let us know how Sam is doing!

 

[neely]

Thanks for the explanation about how long Sam has been with you. I thought perhaps if you adopted him full grown you may not have known about his former home life. I'm glad to learn you rescued him from the age of 3 mos. old and he found his forever home. I will be anxious to hear what the vet says tomorrow so please come back to update us.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Any news on Sam?

 

[ManekiNekko]

I just talked to the vet an hour or so ago about Sam's tail (I had sent him the same pictures to view before our call). Since I could not determine how much feeling he has in his tail (he let me pinch pretty dang hard with no response, but he has always been SO placid it's hard to tell what that means) and after hearing Sam was experiencing more discomfort last night, arching his back and even letting out one sad whine, vet agreed we'd better try to figure out now if it's a nerve or spinal issue (or possibly a thrombosis or who knows?). He set me up with an AM apt tomorrow with the other vet at the office (we've used him before and he actually performed an emergency surgery on Sam two years ago for a urinary blockage). I expect they'll start by poking his tail really hard and seeing if he reacts, but I am not going to feed Sam in the morning so he will be prepared in case he needs to be sedated for tests. I'll let everyone know tomorrow what comes next. Wish us luck!

 

[weemomma]

My cat, Hariette, has a limp tail. it looks very similar to your Sam's tail! It still has feeling in it and she can still flick it, but she never holds it like a normal cat. If I sit here and gently pinch it, she has no reaction to anything from the tip to the middle of the tail. Once I pinch the middle, she yells at me. I suspect that she has some slight nerve damage in it, but it has never caused her pain. She's a perfectly normal 10 year old cat with a wonky, limp tail!

I do know that some cats display issues like this when they have kidney or urinary problems. Hopefully they can give you some answers to why he is having pain!

 

[ManekiNekko]

My cat, Hariette, has a limp tail.

weemomma, has Hariette had a limp tail as long as you've known her?

 

[weemomma]

IVe had HEr since she was a kitten. As far as I can remember, she’s had it.

Here’s a picture of the tail in action!

 

[neely]

He set me up with an AM apt tomorrow with the other vet at the office (we've used him before and he actually performed an emergency surgery on Sam two years ago for a urinary blockage). Wish us luck!

Wishing you lots and lots of luck tomorrow, fingers crossed you get some answers for sweet Sam.

 

[ManekiNekko]

Here’s a picture of the tail in action!

Nice! I hope Sam won't have to have his amputated. Time will tell, I guess.

 

[ManekiNekko]

Hey, again, everyone. I will probably also be asking for more specific advice in new threads, but I wanted to reply on this thread for interested parties and for any who may search in years to come and find this helpful.

Looks like Sam probably has a ruptured disk in his lower back (based on x-ray this morning). It is probably genetic in the sense that vet says it usually only happens with serious accidents like getting hit by a car, which Sam has not had. So he was probably prone to it and a regular cat jump ruptured the disc. He was a bit surprised that it caused both the tail droop and the leg, but I guess it must be in just the wrong spot to be affecting a nerve that's controls both tail and leg?

The recommended course of treatment from the vet is

1., a take-home Buprenorphine liquid dose for pain (0.8mL every 8 hours as needed. Since he is very stoic, I am going to try to walk the line between over medicating and giving enough to make sure he's as comfortable as possible).

2., Oral (pill) prednisone starting on Monday (the earliest he can start since he just finished robenacoxib yesterday).

3., Laser treatments (first one was today) at the vet three times next week and twice the week after. As many of you probably know, this type of treatment is not necessarily proven effective, but they regularly use it on dogs after surgeries on their backs at our vet and, aside from the stress Sam feels being carted to the vet that often, shouldn't hurt him. Worth a shot.

4., "Cage rest." The vet started with the cage suggestion, but agreed if we can modify our whole guest room, that would make Sam happier. After we brought him home and saw how stressed being locked in the room made him, we have decided we are going to attempt a modified version. He now has a whole room with litter boxes, water, resting blankets, scratching post, and only low-lying (12" or lower) furniture. He will be in there whenever we are not right with him. When we can observe him directly, though, we will let him out in the house, as long as we can keep him from running, stairs, roughhousing with his brothers, high jumps (obviously if it turns out we can't prevent this, we will have to confine him to the safe room). I hope this helps maintain his sanity and the household's group scent so we don't have to worry about a long reintroduction period. Right now, he's hiding under our bed while I sit nearby typing on my laptop. I work from home and can follow him around the house so I'm hoping he can have long periods of the day when he is resting where he chooses, but doesn't feel cooped up. *fingers crossed*

The vet is hopeful that this course of treatment will help resolve the issue. If it doesn't, then we will look at MRI (for a more solid diagnosis of disc/soft tissue damage) and possibly surgery, which of course we really don't want to do. Barring emergency situations, basically if Sam is no longer able to urinate/defecate on his own or loses the ability to walk at all, this is the plan for the next two weeks.

In a strange twist of fate, I had a lower back herniated disk three years ago that I had to have surgery on. It left what appears to be permanent nerve damage to my left leg. I hope, hope, hope that Sam's is not permanent.

 

[weemomma]

Miss Hariette’s tail had recently been shaved there. She had gotten it in a pot of wax and we could not get it off!! The fur is all back now.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Dang! I was so hoping this would be some silly, simple thing! However, it is certainly not as bad as it could have been! I've seen cats who did really, really well with the laser treatments, it's sorta a non-invasive acupuncture type thing. When you start the new thread, be sure you do link it here! I'll be wanting to follow along in how he is responding.

 

[neely]

Laser treatments (first one was today) at the vet three times next week and twice the week after. As many of you probably know, this type of treatment is not necessarily proven effective, but they regularly use it on dogs after surgeries on their backs at our vet and, aside from the stress Sam feels being carted to the vet that often, shouldn't hurt him. Worth a shot.

Our guy has arthritis in his back end, not the same as a ruptured disk, but our vet also recommended laser therapy treatments. I've talked to other people who gave it rave reviews. He was likewise put on bupronex for a very short period of time and it helped immensely. Sending positive thoughts and healing vibes to Sam.

 

[ManekiNekko]

I was so hoping this would be some silly, simple thing! However, it is certainly not as bad as it could have been!

Yeah, now I really wish it had just been his knee! But we are hopeful he will respond to the laser and steroid together. And I really do feel better at least having a diagnosis so we can make plans for him.

 

[ManekiNekko]

Sending positive thoughts and healing vibes to Sam.

Thanks for the vibes.
Did you try the laser for your cat's arthritis? And if so, did you see any improvement?

 

[neely]

Did you try the laser for your cat's arthritis? And if so, did you see any improvement?

We went as far as narrowing down who we were going to take him to since our vet did not offer laser therapy at her hospital albeit recommended several reputable places. However, after the buprenex and rest he did amazingly well. We also kept a close eye on him to limit any running, jumping or playful activity.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Always better to know than not to know. And it sounds like you have a solid plan in place!