Tom has an owie tail

[coaster]

Poor Tom. I'm so d**** tired from cutting up a tree that came down in a storm last night. I was carrying Rocket into the bathroom and Tom was in there so I shooed him out. Except not all of him was out when I closed the door. Yup, he got his tail caught in the door. And scraped the hair off a strip about 1/4 inch wide on the last four or five inches of his tail. I keep telling him I'm so sorry, but he's not too happy with me right now. And I'm always so careful about their tails.

It's obviously very painful to the touch, but it's not bleeding, doesn't appear to be broken, and he's moving it around, so I've decided to wait until tomorrow morning to call the vet.

Anybody here have this happen? What are the likely consequences? Will the hair grow back?

Thanks for your advice and your good thoughts for my Tom.

 

[xocats]

Tom...I wish I knew how to fix your poor tail.

Your daddy did a boo boo.

He will make sure that you are well cared for in the morning.
Good healing thoughts are coming your way Tommy Cat.
Sadie

 

[buzbyjlc10]

My aunt had a cat who's tail got caught in a door... his actually broke and (I dont know whether he ever went to the vet or not) it healed at an angle! Didn't seem to bother him at all and it was fun to see people touch his tail for the first time and freak out... I'm sure your little guy will be just fine!

 

[maherwoman]

In all honestly, I don't see why the hair WOULDN'T grow back...so he should be just fine. I would call the vet in the morning to see if there would be really clear indicators if his tail was injured. Sounds like you just got the end hairs, and they were just that long.

Poor Tom might be a little skiddish of doors, though.....LOL!!

Hey, I know I would be!! LOL!!

Hope you feel better, little Tommy Boy!! Sending love your way!!

 

[coaster]

AM Update - it's quite painful to him but he's articulating it normally, both of which are good signs. Vet appointment for this afternoon. I wish I could have spoken to the vet tech instead of the receptionist, but she and the vet do surgery on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. My main concern is avoiding infection, which would not be good in that location. It looks like the epidermis was scraped off. The follicles are located down in the dermis, so hopefully the hair will grow back. But I'll find out later, I guess.

 

[xocats]

Tim...thanks for the update about Tom's tail.
Let us know what the vet says.
Good luck Tommy.

Lei

 

[coaster]

PM Update - after vet visit: the vet says it should heal fine. She shaved it and examined it. She doesn't know for sure if the hair will completely grow back. She gave me an antibiotic (Amoxicillin) to prevent infection and a pain med (Metacam) because he's been trying to bite it (because it hurts!!)

Here's what the injury looks like. The dark strip is where the hair and skin were scraped off.



Thanks for all your kind words and thoughts for Tom!!

 

[rosehawke]

Poor Tommy! He's going to look a bit odd for a while! Hopefully the hair will all grow back in okay, and he'll get to feeling better soon.

 

[xocats]

Tom's poor tail. Ouch!
It sounds like your vet is hopeful that it will be ok.
I'll send Tom's tail, healing vibes.

Keep us posted ...
Lei