A dog or cat’s tail is more than just their prized body part. Animals need tails for balance and stability, so when this key aspect of their anatomy is wounded or disabled in anyway, the pets begin to suffer. If you suspect your cat or dog’s tail might have experienced some trauma, check for these tell-tale (pun intended) symptoms (LINK to tail injuries blog). If you believe your pet to have an injury, here are some of the ways to diagnose what the problem is, and to determine how it can be mended.
Tail Injury Diagnostics
The first step when you discover a broken or wounded tail, is to take your cat to the vet. To the untrained eye, a maimed tail might seem irreparable, when really it’s only a little lost fur, while seemingly simple problems could indicate a more critical health condition. To avoid making uninformed judgements, it would be best to take the cat or dog to the vet, where he can receive a professional diagnosis.
In order to determine the full extent of the injury, the vet may take some x-rays of the dog or cat, so he can see if the bones have been severed, fractured, broken or simply strained. There are may be spinal complications that need to be considered for the animal’s safe recovery.
If the vet finds there is partial or full paralysis of the tail and the spine, it may have an effect on the pet’s hind legs, their ability to urinate (with accuracy), or their bowels. This might require an ultrasound scan, or other tests to find the extent of the injury’s impact.
Treating Tail Injuries
Finding a solution for a broken or wounded tail will vary based on the severity of the injury.
These are a few of the treatment methods and the scenarios they would be recommended for.
Amputation: This worst-case scenario solution is reserved for situations in which the tail has been severed, or is paralyzed without any damage done to the spine. If the vet does not believe that feeling will return to the tail, it may be amputated. *Note: When a long-tailed pet is amputated there may be a short period where the dog or cat learns how to maintain balance while walking, running or urinating. But there are seldom any serious long-term complications that accompany a pet losing his tail.
Self-healing: This is most often the solution for tails that are impaired on the tip or the lower end of the tail, having no negative impact on either the animal’s mobility, balance, or digestion. In such cases (where the injury exists beyond the vertebrae), the tail will most like heal itself.
Surgical Repair: If the break is near to the end of the tail, a pet-owner might choose to have it surgically repaired (or in extreme cases, amputated). In cases of surgery or natural healing, a cat or dog might be kept at the veterinarian’s as an in-patient for a few days to see that the tail is able to mend without any movement or interruption. The vet will also check a pet’s spinal alignment to make sure that they heal properly.
