My cat's kinked tail hurts her hips. What are my options?

Hello, sorry t hear about Lumi. His tail may indeed have a kink there either from some form of trauma when he was really young or from an birth defect. As long as he is not bothering at it then he may have this curled tail for the rest of his life. However, if you think it is painful, then it should be seen by his veterinarian and an x-ray may show if there is a fracture. If there is a fracture and it is causing him pain, then your options may include to manage the pain medically while the tail heals to to remove the damaged part of the tail. Hope this helps and best of luck.

I would have Burt checked out by the vet. It is possible he could have suffered an injury to his tail causing it to be painful and may actually have a broken bone. A physical exam and x-rays can be done to see if any trauma has been done to his tail, and the vet can suggest treatment based on the findings of the physical exam and x-rays.

That does sound very worrisome. Unfortunately an injury to the spine is not something that we can diagnose by hearing the clinical signs. As you know, a back injury can be very serious. I recommend to get mittens in to see the veterinarian quickly. The doctor will be able to palpate the back and should get an idea as to if a back injury is likely. Pets can also get soft tissue muscle pulls, hip pain and a variety of other ailments that are not as serious as a spinal injury. The first step though is to get her checked out. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hello and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think Millie could still be showing signs of hyperesthesia even if she is only sensitive at her tail base and lower back. It is also possible that she has arthritis in her hips or back that is causing her to be painful. There are several options to treat her for pain even with her blood pressure issues. It would be a good idea to take her to your veterinarian for an examination to see if anything like pain medications or Adequan injections may help reduce the pain she is experiencing.

I am sorry to hear about Matilda! It is definitely possible to have a broken tail. We can see fractures, and also trauma to the nerves that can affect the tail. I would recommend a visit to your vet. They can examine the tail and likely will want to take an x-ray to check for fractures. They can prescribe pain medication to make her more comfortable and decide the best treatment to help her.

That could represent a subluxation (partial or complete dislocation) of the tail vertebras with arthrosis process around. A check up and possibly radiographs are needed to confirm that, but it is not painful it is likely to be an old lesion and unlikely to be clinically significant.

Ouch! Without seeing the x-rays, it's difficult to provide a terribly accurate opinion regarding Luna's tail. In general, if there is a small fracture near the tip of the tail, these can heal quite well without any lasting problems. However, if there is a fracture closer to the tail base, these can cause more problems when healing (i.e. holding the tail up while using the litter box) and be more painful. Tail amputations do not cause any significant stress beyond the stress caused by any surgical procedure. Most cats recover uneventfully after 10-14 days with the help of some pain medication. To my knowledge, there is not emotional distress caused by tail amputations because cats do not experience the social pressures that people will feel. In most cases of tail fractures, I lean towards amputation. I hope this helps you to confirm your decision!