: How does losing a tail affect a cat? I have a cat that just got home from getting her tail amputated. She is about 10 years old, she's typically an outside cat, but since the incident we are going to keep her inside. My

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Balance

However, this does not mean that cats who lose their tails or are born without them cannot balance themselves. According to VetInfo, cats who suffer tail injuries that require amputation learn to balance without them. In Cat Health 101, Animal Planet states that Manx cats, who are born without tails, also learn to balance without them. They are thought to have an especially sensitive vestibular apparatus inside their ears to compensate. pets.thenest.com/cat-need-its-tail-balance-10716.html

Basically balance is all that it affects from what I've seen and in my research. It does take them a while to get used to it. Their tail is an extension of their spine. Other words their tail has part of their spine in it. So they use their spine for balance landing etc. When they lose their tail they lose part of their spine. When that happens they lose some balance. So they have to get used to it to the point where the cat acts as if he always had a tail.