Cat Injured His Tail By Dog, Getting It Removed Tomorrow

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danteshuman

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He was hurting last night so he got more pain meds. (I thought it was odd he went from the narcotic to nothing but hope springs eternal (the light sensitive one.)) He has pain meds, isn’t hurting & is OK.

Now my stepdad thinks he got injured and I found him later..... then the dog scared him as I was pulling him off the fence (both hands under his armpits, feet dangling.) Because he just ran away without scratching me all up.

I think the dog got his tail and it was such a shock he hissed and jumped. I heard a thump (seeing a grey blur on the other side of the fence) then a hiss and I released him immediately ( my goal was to get him back in the yard not hold him.) He appeared frightened (I avoid holding pissed off or frightened cats when possible!) so I let him run back to the house/open sliding glass door. It wasn’t until he ran away that I saw the pink in his tail and realized he was injured.... and got ready to take him to the vet immediately. It took 15 minutes to get him to come out from under the bed..... poor baby.

I’m not sure if it matters or which scenario I prefer (him injured in a tree for god knows how long or him being injured while I was holding him.)
 

fionasmom

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As you said, the scenario does not really matter because you have taken such good care of him...it is the ending that matters. Holding an injured and upset cat could be disastrous and he ran back to your house which was fortunate. Actually 15 minutes is not a bad time for getting an injured and frightened cat to come to you.
 
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danteshuman

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Visiting my mom/Nick for a couple of days. So Jackie arrived the cats all greet each other. Both boys are now only allowed outside with a harness. The girl has made no move towards the fence or climbing but she was being supervised by my mom, who was out with her (& I will put her in a harness to go outside if I’m watching her. She is my mom’s baby.)

Here are some pics of them, you can see Nick is doing just fine.
 
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danteshuman

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A86C487C-D91D-4FDD-9900-0FFAF6104AB0.jpeg The tree/Bush it happened in.

570A119D-11AC-4AE8-A4C6-E059D6AE41EC.jpeg
Nick all handsome despite the cone, while he was having fun outside (the leash is hooked up to the gauze harness..... mom did it.)
 

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bengalcatman

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Nick is gonna be okay. Seems like Nick receives plenty of love and support. I am sure the whole episode is upsetting now, but in the long run there is little to worry about.

Our Lilia lost her tail, and she gets along just fine


One time she was playing on the mantle and fell off upside down. She was able to right herself and land on all four feet. (I thought they used their tail to help flip themselves, apparently its not required!)


She seems as agile as the other cats when playing


Hope Nick is back to his old self soon!
 
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danteshuman

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He is hurting without his kitty morphine but my mom is trying to wean him off it & only give it to him at night. Would gabapentin help? We could ask the vet to write a prescription to give him daily for a couple of
 

fionasmom

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I had three cats who used harnesses and leads to go outside when I was home. They completely accepted it and would sit for hours in the shade and watch the world go by.
 
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danteshuman

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Nick accepted the harness & just lazed around for three hours (Jackie is used to the harness and had a great time finding spots to hide/lay down.) My only problem is they keep winding their leafs around things & getting it stuck on something. I’m more worried about managing Nick’s pain because on pain meds he wants to play like normal, off them he barely does anything. He wiggles/wags his tail and raises it occasionally. Hopefully the vet will call us back tomorrow about giving him gabapentin or some milder pain medication.?
 
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danteshuman

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So no pain meds needed he is doing great! I included some pics of the boys together during Jackie’s visit. Nick will loose the tail
 

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danteshuman

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.... he will loose the tail wrap on the 15th. Nick is doing just fine hanging out in the backyard on his harness.
 
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danteshuman

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Oh and the purple tree/bush where it happened was included.

*the boys really want to play fight/wrestle but I won’t let them while Nick is in the cone. Jackie & I will be there when Nick finally gets the cone off. So I will post a pic of his healed tail & let this thread die. Thank you everyone!
 

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Poor Nick. He doesn't look too happy in the cone. It will probably take several weeks for the fur to grow back.
 

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It takes quite a while to the fur to be back to normal but within a month he will have a downy fur and it wont be so noticeable. The important thing is that he is well and that thevet did a good job. I think it will look cute.
 

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View attachment 296456 Well Nick has to keep the cone on for a few more days but got to loose the tail wrap. Any idea how long it will take for his fur to grow back?
Oh man. That is classic Cone Face! Poor Nick. :alright:

It could take some weeks, sometimes a few months, for hair to regrow after surgery. A lot depends on whether or not the kitty overgrooms the area a bit. I see he also has his forearm "patch". My kitty Milly fussed with the hairless area on her forearm for months after her second knee surgery. FINALLY, she let the hair regrow, but she still licks it too often at times.
 
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danteshuman

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Nick seems to be irritated/can’t get comfy with his tail..... keeps trying to reach it, getting up& running around. He has some minor abrasions from the wrap on his tail& small crusty scabs on the tip of his tail. My mom is going to try putting some A&D cream on his tail & see if helps. If it doesn’t and he still struggles in a week is it possible he has some minor nerve damage where they removed his tail?
 

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danteshuman

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I called my mom in time so no zinc oxide. She might try vitamin e oil or Neosporin (he is wearing a cone and can’t reach his tail ..... plus it would take very little since his wounds are teeny tiny.)

If he is still acting weird about his tail a couple of days after his cone is removed, then she will call the vet and ask about nerve damage/probably take him in for another check up. We have tried taking off his cone for a free minutes so he could groom himself but he just runs around all crazy & goes for his tail. I think I get it though, if his tail is itching and he finally can scratch it/lick it .... well it makes sense that he tries to scratch it first chance he gets! Yes he does have the “get this stupid cone off me” look! :lol:
 
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