Cat Owners .... cat with floppy tail ....

They can get tail/pull injuries that would cause this or it could be something like a cat bite injury causing a temporary problem. Worth getting checked out tomorrow.

My old cat, Pepper, had this problem and the vet thought she'd probably been in a scrap and the other cat had bitten her at the base of her tail which apparently is not unusual ... but it sounds like your cat is a housecat, am I right? Probably worth a quick google - try ThePetCenter.com - it's an American site but it correctly diagnosed a small cyst on my dog's back. Other than that, I'd keep an eye on it for a day or two and then if it's no better, head to the vet. Better safe than sorry and all that? ?

Thanks Dove / CBH for your posts ....

He and my other cat do scrap a bit at the moment so maybe it is an injury thru' that. He's not housebound, but he is in more than he is out these days. Not sure its a bite as I've not seen him madly washing it, nor noticed any bleeding/felt any lesions ....

I'll check out that site, thanks for the pointer .... I tend to stay away from internet diagnosis on things (human or feline!) as sometimes it can just scare the pants off you, but to have a particular site to go to is OK!

Both Jake and Ollie have had a floppy tail at one time or another. It usually rectifies itself within a week. They had no movement in theirs to begin with so it may be a lesser time for your cat.

Hope his tail gets better soon.

I hate to sound the voice of doom but i'd get him to a vet pronto ☹️

my mums cat had this and it was down to him having been hit by a car. it also rendered him incontinent

sadly he had to be put to sleep as the vet said that it could lead to kidney problems which in cats is pretty much fatal, and in a painful way

i really really really hope your cat's injury is due to the less serious reasons like the other posters, but i would definately have him checked soon, especially if he loses his bladder/bowel control ?

edited to add...i've just noticed your cat had movement at the base of his tail whereas ours didn't it was just hanging totally floppy...so maybe your cat's is far less serious

Thanks guys - I'm not quite so worried now as it seems a reasonably common complaint - I won't ignore it but ...

He's curled up next to me on my right, and his half brother is curled up next to me on my left so I am currently unable to leave the sofa!! Gesh, I adore my boys! (the one with the tail issue is the dude in my avatar)

Hes defo not 100% happy tho, is very careful how he sits down so I'm going to take him to the vets tmrw morning unless I wake up to a cat with a fully functional tail.

KTC - Rusty has been silly enough to walk into a moving car before and I'm fairly confident he's just done something stoooopid to his tail on this occassion.... (and I'm sorry bout your Mums cat - thats too sad : (

Well, Rusty isn't meowing in pain so I think I'll see what Mother Nature can do in the next couple of days and then consult the vet ...

This is him and his half brother Gizmo ... (hope the photos show!)

I would think about getting him seen tomorrow, at the very least they may give him a shot of anti-inflammatories to speed up the healing, they may wanted to x-ray if it's a tail separation. They may ask about toileting too, the tail action helps with the passing of faeces and damage temporay or not may hinder that.

I'm not a vet but a vet nurse, that would be my advice if you were a client and rang up.

Hiya

Did you get your cat sorted out in the end?

I too had the same problem on Friday and while seraching on the internet found thsee posts! Our cat Sully suddenly developed a very floppy tail overnight, but did not appear to be in any pain or bothered at all, and no signs of bites or blood.

We took him to the vets on Saturday morning and she said something may have fallen on it, or hs may have landed on it funny. She gave him a session of acupuncture! Bless him he squealed a bit when he put the needles in and he cried all the way home - hates being in his box. But after only two days, and some medication for the injury (syringe drops into his food for the damage, anti inflammartores, and some sort of complementary medicine) it is almost back to normal, so deciding whether or not he needs his second session tomorrow. Here is a photo of him in one of his favourite places - the bathroom sink! I have tried to stop him but he alwys sneaks in - must find it cool in there!

Aimee

I was hoping for an update, too, having come to the thread late. One of my cats, Oscar, developed floppy tail once. He was like it when I came back from holiday and I toook him to the vet pronto. He though Oscar had caught his tail, perhaps in a door, or some other incident had befallen him. He was worried for a bit that he might have had a spinal injury as trauma to the bas of the tail can sometimes cause this, apparently [not a vet disclaimer] but after an e-ray and some antibiotics or whatever, he seemed to recover well - he just has a slight kink of the tail at the base as a reminder.