Cats tail

Question
My wife and I adopted a feral female cat 5 or 6 years ago.  She stays outside and we noticed that she is disappearing all throughout the day and only comes around at night.  She appears to be unable to use her tail.  I examined it, thinking it was broken near the base, but only found the tip to be oddly brittle and looking like it was put in a pencil sharpener.  Just a bony point on the end. Any thoughts on what could have caused this? Does she need to see a vet or what?  Thank you in advance for your time.
Kindest Regards

Answer
Hi
yes I think it is best to have her checked by a vet. She may have cause the tail and has nerve damage or she may even have fractured it.

At the very least the vet will be able to ascertain whether or not she needs some pain relief or not.

My cat recently had a nasty bite on the tail which made him unable to use his tail, he was also in pain and so the vet was able to give him a pain relief injection to allow the wound to heal without too much distress to the cat.

In some cases if the tail has been damaged beyond repair the vet may suggest removal of all or some of the tail. Lets hope it is nothing that serious.

best wishes Kate