Kitten with Tail Curled Under

[SquishyToeBeans]

Hello everyone! So I have a question about my little 7-week old kitten. I took him in at only 2 days old after he was found abandoned by his mother. I have bottle fed him since then, transitioning onto wet food now. We noticed when we first got him, that the tip of his tail looked funny - slightly bent and a little puffy at the end. I'm not sure if it has been injured. As he's grown, the tail has become more and more curled under - not over like I see in all the threads and articles about so-called ringtail cats. He straightens it out some when walking, though his gate is a little funny, and even then it's still curled at the end. It's cute, but the biggest issue is he dowsnt often move it out of the way to potty, which is problematic as you can imagine. Has anyone ever seen this before? Is it some type of defect? We are also concerned as he seems so tiny next to others his age - and his tail is like a scrawny mouse tail. We just adopted a 7-8 week old rescue who is the runt of his family, and he's huge next to this guy. Any thoughts? Thank you!

 

[ArtNJ]

Skinny tail is normal variation! I say my current kitten has a "little rat tail" so you are kinder by referring to his as a "skinny mouse tail" lol. My adult cat has an unusually long robust tail so the contrast is silly!

As far as the curl, this doesn't sound like normal symptom of a tail injury, but the walking issue might be. You can call your vet to ask if its not convenient to bring him in just now (although I'm sure you will be doing so before too long). And maybe this will help: Tail Trauma in Cats - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, Management, Cost

If you search the internet, you will find many sites stating that a downward curled tail is a sign of defensiveness in a cat. Of course, I do agree that it is unusually curled, and since its like this all the time, its definitely unusual. Enough to reasonably ask the vet about, especially given that it is proving to be a liter box issue. Hopefully the vet says this is a very young kitten prematurely weaned, give him time to grow out of this. I haven't had kittens this young, so maybe I'm missing an age related variation issue that another member (or your vet) can educate us on.

P.S. Clapping for your heroism in taking the little fellow in and making the extra effort to take care of a baby in need!

 

[catsknowme]

Welcome to TCS and congratulations on your adorable duo. I haven't seen a tail like that before but am very interested in what the vet will say. I have a singleton that I got as an abandoned preemie and she is tiny like your little guy. She is almost 6 months old but is the size of the 10 week old kittens that I am fostering. The vet says she's healthy so I will be content with that.

 

[SquishyToeBeans]

Skinny tail is normal variation! I say my current kitten has a "little rat tail" so you are kinder by referring to his as a "skinny mouse tail" lol. My adult cat has an unusually long robust tail so the contrast is silly!

As far as the curl, this doesn't sound like normal symptom of a tail injury, but the walking issue might be. You can call your vet to ask if its not convenient to bring him in just now (although I'm sure you will be doing so before too long). And maybe this will help: Tail Trauma in Cats - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, Management, Cost

If you search the internet, you will find many sites stating that a downward curled tail is a sign of defensiveness in a cat. Of course, I do agree that it is unusually curled, and since its like this all the time, its definitely unusual. Enough to reasonably ask the vet about, especially given that it is proving to be a liter box issue. Hopefully the vet says this is a very young kitten prematurely weaned, give him time to grow out of this. I haven't had kittens this young, so maybe I'm missing an age related variation issue that another member (or your vet) can educate us on.

P.S. Clapping for your heroism in taking the little fellow in and making the extra effort to take care of a baby in need!

Thank you for your thoughtful reply! I'm glad to hear that he isn't alone with his little mouse/rat tail! lol It is amazing how different one kitty to the next can be.

And thank you for all of your insights on his tail. I do plan to take him to the vet within the next few days for his shots, so I will see if he has any thoughts and will report back to everyone. Overally, the tail issue doesn't seem bothersome to him - there's no pain or issues. It just curls up under him, or just at the tip when walking. He seems to be able to fully move it too, and sometimes curls it around my finger like an opossum. It's really curious... almost like a prehensile tail without the strength.

I did come come across the articles you mentioned - and agree, it doesn't seem to be a behavioral response. I'm worried about the muscles being weak - as he never holds it straight up either, like our other kitty. I agree, it may be a result of his early abandonment. Overall, I'm just a little worried about him as he seems really small and frail - though he still likes to play and tumble and bite, so he seems ok otherwise. We can't seem to get him to drink water from a bowl either, but everything I've read says the fact that he eats only wet food with extra water added, he should be ok.

 

[SquishyToeBeans]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply! I'm glad to hear that he isn't alone with his little mouse/rat tail! lol It is amazing how different one kitty to the next can be.

And thank you for all of your insights on his tail. I do plan to take him to the vet within the next few days for his shots, so I will see if he has any thoughts and will report back to everyone. Overally, the tail issue doesn't seem bothersome to him - there's no pain or issues. It just curls up under him, or just at the tip when walking. He seems to be able to fully move it too, and sometimes curls it around my finger like an opossum. It's really curious... almost like a prehensile tail without the strength.

I did come come across the articles you mentioned - and agree, it doesn't seem to be a behavioral response. I'm worried about the muscles being weak - as he never holds it straight up either, like our other kitty. I agree, it may be a result of his early abandonment. Overall, I'm just a little worried about him as he seems really small and frail - though he still likes to play and tumble and bite, so he seems ok otherwise. We can't seem to get him to drink water from a bowl either, but everything I've read says the fact that he eats only wet food with extra water added, he should be ok.

And P.S. back... thank you! It's an honor to get to save a little baby in need, and he's changed our lives for the better in so many ways!

 

[SquishyToeBeans]

Welcome to TCS and congratulations on your adorable duo. I haven't seen a tail like that before but am very interested in what the vet will say. I have a singleton that I got as an abandoned preemie and she is tiny like your little guy. She is almost 6 months old but is the size of the 10 week old kittens that I am fostering. The vet says she's healthy so I will be content with that.

Thank you!! Everyone here is so helpful. And Thanks for the congrats - I love these little guys. I appreciate your thoughts - and impressions on his size. I think you're right on why he's so small. I'll definitely report back on what the vet says about his tail. In all of my google searches, I haven't come across another baby with a tail like his.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Hi! If you are taking him in to the vet for a well-check and his shots soon, I would talk with the vet about all of this, his bathroom habits, anything you've seen symptom-wise that might relate. If the vet thinks the kitten can handle some xrays being taken, maybe you could get some early-on, initial xrays of his spine and tail for a radiologist to review. The xrays would be a good thing to have in your kitten's file as he continues to grow... a lot of congenital issues may not fully develop until he is working his way through his growth spurts over the next 2-3 years.

 

[ArtNJ]

I'm no expert on prematurely weaned kittens, but I can tell you that we thought the last stray we rescued was 6 months old when rescued; she was actually 3 years old according to the vet. She quickly doubled in size without gaining fat as we properly fed her. So I'm guessing your bottle fed baby will do a lot of catching up in the coming weeks as she starts to really chow down on solid food. From the picture, she certainly looks age appropriate apart from the tail stuff.