Tail Trauma

Tail trauma is known also as broken tail, luxated-subluxated tail, or dislocated tail. It is an occasional problem mainly in outdoor cats and can be the result of vehicle accidents, tails caught in doors or, unfortunately, malicious causes.

The most important factor in your pet's prognosis is the sensation to the tail and area around the rectum. The nerve, the pudendal nerve, that supplies the sphincters of the urethra and anus is located on the spinal cord at the base of the tail. Trauma to the tail often causes forcible separation or detachment of the pudendal and coccygeal (tail) nerves, or avulsion.

Nerve trauma is classified pathologically as neuropraxis, axonotmesis and neurotmesis depending on the amount of damage that has occurred to the nerve. The classification scheme allows your veterinarian to give a prognosis.