Cat moms love sharing their pets’ funniest antics on social media, often showcasing mischievous behavior. Thousands of feline-flavored videos have viewers saying “awww” or laughing out loud. However, this TikTok creator left users both horrified and confused with a nine-second stroll into the Twilight Zone she posted which depicts her search for her missing cat.
Ava Stanley (@ava.stanley11) posted a video on TikTok saying she was in her room looking for her cat Timmy when she saw his furry black tail sticking out under her clothes that were haphazardly tossed on her bed. When she pulled off the clothing, however, she revealed a tail, but no cat! “Pro tip to win hide and seek,” she captioned the video.
Users flooded the comments section with concerned questions and shocked reactions. One user wrote, “I’d absolutely lose my mind,” while another wrote, “Someone explain because I’m panicking.” A user asked Ava how she could be so calm in that situation, with another saying, “You’re too calm, cause the way I would immediately start crying.” However, there’s a simple yet amusing explanation. The most important thing to note is that Timmy is perfectly fine and doesn’t require any medical attention. He just likes playing with his mother’s “toy.”
It turned out that the black cat tail Ava found on her bed wasn’t Timmy’s tail at all. Instead, it’s a broken cat tail plug — and by plug, we mean a personal pleasure device used in intimate settings. Not everyone was quick to figure it out, as the plug part of the pleasure enhancer was missing. One of Ava’s pinned videos shows Timmy pawing and clawing on the “severed tail,” and she wrote in the caption that it’s her cat’s favorite toy to play with. She also uploaded another video showing Timmy hiding under the curtains with his tail sticking out as proof that the feline still has his tail intact and is doing well.
Cat tails can fall off
Despite the relief that users felt after finding out Ava didn’t find Timmy’s detached tail, they were horrified to discover new information: cat tails can fall off. Viewers most likely went on Google to see whether it was possible as soon as they finished watching the video. It’s true, and it’s something we never want to see. The tail is an extension of a cat’s spine, and when it is fractured, it can fall off, but it’s a rare occurrence. Fractures can result from accidents, such as being struck by a vehicle or getting caught in a closing door. There are also medical conditions that may cause the tail to fall off including infections, tumors, frostbite, or gangrene.
As for whether a cat’s tail can grow back, the answer is no. Cat tails can heal naturally, but they don’t have regenerative abilities to grow back, unlike lizards. A user who works as a vet technician commented on one of Ava’s videos saying she’s seen it happen due to an injury “that causes the tissue to die.” Another user commented, “This happened to my cat when I was little, it was also on my bed while he was chilling tailless inside my closet.” Yet another commenter had the same experience, sharing, “My cat did that once. He was just lying beside it, cleaning himself. Forever traumatized.”
While commenters were relieved to know that Timmy is healthy, cat owners are now left with the unsettling thought of finding a tail and no cat to go with it.
