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WHEN TAILS STOP WAGGING AND SWISHING !

First broadcast on www.provet.co.uk  


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