Bob.....

[Tambrey]

Well....about 3 weeks ago I noticed a gnarly tomcat around....fighting with others....I also noticed that from a distance it looked like his spine was hanging out the end of his tail...like it had gotten caught and stripped....when I watched him groom, he would make a face at his tail and get up as if he was trying to run away from it...

so, I made an open ended vet appointment to bring him in when I could catch him and off I went, carrier in one hand and open can of food in the other...it was fairly easy and only took 45 minutes to coax him into the crate on the first day!!

He ended up having a broken tail, which had done spinal damage, and there was no blood flow getting to his tail from that point on, so it was actually just fur fallen out and dead whitish looking skin (he is all black skinned with black fur and a reddish undertone to it), and the tip starting to rot...it was amputated an inch above the break and sewn shut...he was also neutered while he was sedated...

then.....home to the bathroom where he spent the next two weeks...a lot of it hiding behind the toilet...making me nervous every time I sat down...until a few days of this...he started to wander out and weave between legs....loved his head scratched....back scratched...and eventually even belly rubs....

his two weeks was ending and hubby said he would HAVE to go back outside...I have been trying to find him a home as he has become an awesome loving LAP cat that loves to cuddle....

I took him in Friday to get the stitches removed...and after they were all clipped and the tech went to pull the first one loose...it took the entire scabbed end of his tail of with it
it did not bleed, but was still raw looking....and he nomnomnomed at it all the way home .....

so....more bathroom time....

today....he wanted so badly OUT of the bathroom....my husband sighed and said to let him run out and get to know the others...right now, he is hiding under a chair in the entry hall...and the others keep wandering over to check him out...a little hissing and growling...not much....sooo....we'll see....

and I am still looking for a forever home for him...

then on to another spay...

[Traci]

Tambrey, did they clean the tail end or attempt to resuture it? If it is just an abrasion, keep it clean (gently) but you MUST get it rechecked before you allow him outdoors again (IF you allow him outdoors) - Reason being, the skin might have sloughed somewhat post-surgery and without the prior blood flow, sometimes (although rare), it can be missed upon recheck. The fact the tech took some skin off with a suture is not good, make darn sure you get it rechecked again - you need to know that proper blood flow is getting to the surgical site and the entire tail remaining.

[Tambrey]

the actual vet was in surgery at the time, so the tech gently wiped it down looked it over well...it looked like the skin was healed, but like when a scab gets pulled off too soon how it is tender underneath...and it looked like a scab in the shape of the now rounded tip of his tail...there was no bleeding at the time....so she did not even call the vet from surgery to look at it..

but now that you mention it...that has me concerned about if there is blood flow to it....

I have been diligent in checking it...making sure it is cleaned...and no infection...it looks as if it is healing nicely...but.....I believe that until I find him a home...he will be inside with us....

I will get him in again this week..if I can get him from under the chair...LOL...to ge it re-checked so ease my mind about the blood flow!

[Traci]

Please do, the last thing you want is complications from a surgery where blood flow is restricted. Clipping and pulling sutures after 14 days does not generally cause a scab to pull off, just want you to be absolutely certain everything is ok - and don't depend on the tech, she didn't do the surgery and may not know what to look for. Ask for the surgeon only, to look at it, it was his job to do that anyway, since he performed the amputation!