this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2025
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We had one that did that. Apparently it can happen after they've had a trauma, which she had (some sort of infection that put her in the hospital for a few days). We woke up one morning to blood all over the house. All. Over. The. House. My wife took her to the animal hospital while I cleaned the mess.
The vets weren't able to get the wound to heal, and she ended up losing part of her tail.
Contrary to what I'd always heard, it didn't affect her ability to jump, or anything else that I could see.
(When I told this story on reddit, someone claimed, "That never happened!" So I posted a picture of her tail bandaged up. No apology, of course. I have no idea what someone would think I would have to gain by making up such a story.)
She passed away four years later from a long list of medical issues. To this day, when we see pictures of her before her tail was docked, we say, "It's the long-tailed tabby!"
Wow that's kinda sad.
We had one that did that as well, but he was just dumb as nails. He would be laying down with his tail around him so it's at his face (looong tail). Then he would hit himself in the face on accident with his tail, this would piss him off so his tail would start wagging in his face. This pissed him off even more so he would grab his tail and bite it, but as soon as he felt that he would realize what he just did and start grooming his tail. Playing it off like he didn't just do something stupid, but was just grooming normally. He did this a lot, because he wasn't always the smartest of the bunch.
I've seen my cat do exactly this. Not very often, but it happens.
He's not a smart cat, but he does have a tail he can cover his eyes with for naps.