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This information is provided by
Provet for educational purposes only.
You should seek the advice of your
veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the
diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.
Tails are very important parts of the
anatomy for many animals. they are used for a variety of purposes and loss of
use is a very serious matter Tails are very convenient bits of
anatomy and they have more uses than you probably think :
- Tails are used as signals between animals - and between animals and
people, for example:
- Nervous, frightened dogs cower in a submissive way and hold their
tail down between their hindlegs
- Frisky horses flick their tails in a lively manner
- Cats that are confident and determined hold their tails straight up
and erect
- Everyone is familiar with the happy greeting wagging of the tail
that a dog performs when meeting people. This type of tail wagging -
rapid horizontal wagging, has been compared by animal behaviourists to
a human smile. Interestingly different breeds wag their tails
differently in response to contact with other animals and humans -
indicating that some breeds (eg the Cocker Spaniel) are instinctively
more friendly than other breeds (eg Basenji).
- The forceful, deliberate, slow thumping down of the tail by a cat
however, can be a warning that the cat is about to attack
- Tails are used for balance during running by athletic animals eg during
fast sprints with turns by a Cheetah.
- Tails can have other practical applications as well. For example horses
use tails to flick away biting flies.
- Aquatic animals use their tails to provide forward propulsion during
swimming
- Some animals (eg lizards) are able to regenerate a tail if it is injured
and lost.
From time to time tails stop functioning normally, and this is a matter of
concern because the underlying cause needs to be investigated. An animal will
not move it's tail normally if :
- To do so causes pain. Under such circumstances the animal may hold the
tail fixed in an unusual position. Pain is caused by local bruises,
fractures, dislocations, tumours, or infection
- The animal can not do so because of a physical abnormality - for example
if it has been dislocated, or the joints in the tail have become fused
- The nerve supply to the tail has been damaged - in which case the tail
may hang limply, and become soiled because it is not lifted out of the way
during defaecation or urination
There are many disorders that can lead to abnormal tail function including
:
- Trauma - road accidents, trapping tails in doors, fights
- Pain in the area around the tailbase - eg scent gland problems in dogs,
severe anal furunculosis in dogs, local abscesses eg fight wounds in cats
- Diseases affecting the spine that involve the nerves to the tail
- Diseases that affect muscles - eg tetanus
Whenever possible your veterinarian will try to treat tail diseases and
retain the tail, however if traumatic injuries are extremely severe, or if the
tail is permanently paralysed - amputation may be necessary. This may have an
affect on behaviour n cats and dogs, and it will be most serious in species
that use the tail for movement. Nevertheless animals manage very well if
they do lose their tail.
Updated October 2013
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