Tail Problem

wildog47

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Hello. My cat has an odd problem with her tail. She was fine this morning at 9 am and now she has a droopy tail. She can move it side to side. But when she came to greet me I noticed that oddly she couldn't put her tail straight in the air...it only went up halfway at the base. And the rest was droopy. She can move the tail just not straight up (how she normally walks around). Could it be sprained? I've felt all down the tail and it feels normal. She doesn't react to me touch ing it. Should I wait a few days? Should she go to the vet Now?
 

weemomma

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My cat's tail has done this since birth. She has full sensation in it. The only concern that you should have is if your cat's back end is compromised in some way. Tail damage could signal an issue such as paralysis or kidney disease. If they are pooping and peeing just fine, then you shouldn't have an issue. If you think that it is something major, definitely take them to the vet.
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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I was going to ask a similar thing, like how does she react when you gently rub down the length of her spine?
 
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wildog47

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No pain at all. She's still running around like crazy and bouncing all over the couches. Still jumping down from the fridge which is pretty high. So I don't think there is any pain. It's just odd cause I've never seen her tail limp. She has sprained a leg before and was limping a few days. She loves to play. I don't know if it's possible for her to sprain a Tail?
 

Snowhite525

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It is possible she could have tweeked something in her back and just isn't displaying any symptoms of pain.especially if she is a high active cat who jumps and crawls on things hat are high up. Cats are excellent at masking pain. It amazes me at how resilient they are. Has she used her litter box at all today? If you can monitor her output and make sure that all looks normal. Also make sure she continues to use her tail and it doesn't worsen. I'm fan of when in doubt or there's a question of concern take her in, but I get that it's not always an option. You could elect to monitor it for now, but if it doesn't improve or she has anything else that seems off about her behavior a trip to the vet may be inevitable. Tail issues can commonly be associated with spine/nerve trauma. Try to also carefully examine her tail make sure you aren't finding any open wounds, noticeable sores, or any swelling. If you gently hold/flex her tail up does she have any ability to keep it in place or does it instantly drop?
 
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wildog47

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She can move the bottom half of her tail around. She can't lift her tail straight up. She tries and ends up holding it up halfway. Just now at dinner she held it up and vibrated it normally when she's excited for food. But back to looking a bit limp. It's like she CAN hold it up but prefers not to. She just went in to the vet 4 days ago for her yearly and it was all clear. I just didn't want to stress her out with another trip cause she needs to be heavily sedated with gabapentin to just be looked at. I have full insurance but if prefer not to stress her and drug her if I don't have to. That's why I wanted to see if anyone else has had this issue? On and off use of the Tail?
 

Snowhite525

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Gotcha. Yes, lol one of my own cats has an awful time going in. The poor dear, last time I took her in, we tried giving her gaba, couldn't get the pill down or fool her into taking it in something tasty, next option was an injection of a concoction to slow her down, after bite wounds through thick leather gloves to my colleagues hands and a hole in her scrub pants we succeeded - only to find she was still un-handleable (at least for what we had to do-examine a problem inside of her mouth) ...much to my dismay we ended up having to completely anestatize her. I get what it's like not wanting to take your kitty in due to the stress they endure.
I've never heard or seen of a tail seeming this way without something having happened, but it could certainly be minor. If she were my kitty I'd just keep an eye on her especially since she seems to have the mobility just prefers not to use it. :) You could always catch a quick video of what your observing and email it to your vet just to get their opinion. They may be able to assess it via video and make a suggestion on what is going on and/or if it should be addressed -especially since she was just in.
 
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wildog47

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My cat is the same way. The shot actually doesn't work I have to give her the pill 2 hours before. She's quite sweet with me and takes her pills no problem for a treat after. I think me and husband decided to give it 48 hours. If no improvement I'll take her in. If it gets worse I'll certainly take her right in.
 
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