Help! My kitty's tail!

[Betty]

My kitty got the very very tip of his tail in the front door I closed it. There was a fire very close to our house. I saw the planes outside the window flying so low and ran outside to see plumes of smoke about 1/2 mile away! Coming back into the house, he somehow got it in the door when I closed it.

He didn't meow or anything, but ran into the bedroom under the bed. It oozed a little blood and looks like it might have pulled all the full off the end and maybe the very very tip of his little tail.

He didn't act like anything was wrong. Let me handle him. Wasn't crying. I wiped it off a bit with a damp paper towel. He's been eating and drinking.

This morning it's clotted on the end with the fur. He's licked it a little bit and seems to be sleeping with his paw or head over the end of his tail.

How worried should I be about infection? Does this require a vet visit? (Unemployment has taken it's toll and if I can handle this without a vet vist, that would be preferable.) Does it need to be bandaged? I imagine some bandage that doesn't stick to fur? But then how would it stay on the end of tail?

My poor poor kitty. I feel terrible.

Now for the weird part. I had a dream the night before this that my cat lost his tail due to some incident with a dog. I didn't know I was the dog.

(and in case you're interested, the fire was out very quickly. The wind was blowing away from us. They had mulitple planes, a helicopter and from what I read, ground crews: http://tcfireweb.co.riverside.ca.us/...tHtml&id=27323 )

[RStar]

So sorry to hear about that! Try not to blaim yourself, it was an accident. I know how you feel, I backed my van over my aging kitty that couldn't move fast enough, and I didn't see her, crushing her spine and hips. We had to put her down, so you can imagine my guilt! Our cats never go outside anymore.

Anyway, it sounds like it is a small wound, and if you keep a close eye on it, I think it will heal on it's own. If she is a cat that goes outside at all, try to keep her inside for a few days to make sure she doesn't get anything nasty in the wound. I would have used an antiseptic wipe on it when it first happened, but other than that, I think you will do fine.

However, if the cat's behaivor changes, feels warm with fever, or any kind of a discharge or swelling starts at the wound site, seek medical attention right away.

My thoughts are with you and kitty!

[Betty]

Thanks RStar.

[cirquelover]

Our son shut the cats tail in the door. He had a crook in the tip of his tail the rest of his life.

I would think the cat would keep the tail clean and should be ok. We had a cat shot by a bb gun, he had a small wound on his shoulder. The vet had us put antibiotic gel on it twice a day until it started to heal. Your cats wound doesn't sound that severe though so I would just keep an eye on it for infection.

Oh and don't feel bad, sometimes kitties are very fast and sometimes not so much. I bet he won't linger in the door anymore!

[alphabassettgrrl]

I think you can use Neosporin on cats. Definitely keep an eye on it, but it will probably heal.

I'm sure kitty knows you didn't mean to hurt him. I know we've stepped on ours and smacked them with doors on occasion, when they're just not quite quick enough and we don't see them.

[Betty]

Oliver kitty (aka: kit-cat-magoo) seems to be doing fine. Not acting any different and his tail looks - well I can't see how it looks because the hair has clumped and "hardened" around it. He's made a few minor attempts licking at it.

I'm thinking I should leave it as is. Eventually the clumped hair will break up, he'll clean it, whatever. Unless those smart cat people here think it needs to be washed and unclumped. Right now his tail looks like it has an inner fur core at the end.

I was worried about using neosporin knowing that he'd lick it off.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Yes, the cat will lick it off, but neosporin is safe for cats. You can maybe distract kitty for a few minutes to let it sort of do its thing.

But if it's looking ok, then you probably don't need it.

[Cynthia]

Poor you, if it is any comfort my Lizzy has two kinks in her tail and she has never had a problem with them at all, and the vet told me years ago (she is nine) that there is no health risk associated tail-kinks.

[Not Afraid]

An open wound is always a danger. Keeping it clean is paramount. I, personally, would put Silver Protein on it as a topical, natural antibiotic. It is not harmful if ingested. I give it when my cats get URIs.

Watch for increasing redness, warmth or abscessing. If it abscesses, you'll need to go to the vet and get it lanced.

[Ghoulish Delight]

For the record - I'd be wary of silver protein. NCCAM considers it hokum