I have been continously teaching you on this blog how to understand your cat and hwo to create a beautiful relationship with your feline family member.
In those posts I made it a point to make you understand that in order to understand your cat you have to look at the entire body language of your cat.
Only when you see your cat’s behavior in a holistic sense will you be able to perceive what your cat is trying to say.
And with that light I am so happy to present another awesome post that in many ways if you read the post completely, will help you understand your cat better.
We have seen our cats do funny, weird and borderline freaky stuff.
I mean they are cats right?, and that’s why we love them.
But have you paid close attention to how your cat’s tail behaves in different situations?
Looking at her tail you can actually perceive quite a lot about what is going inside that cute head, believe it or not.
What Are The Different Cat Tail Movements Trying To Tell You?
Okay so now let’s go ahead and decode different cat tail movements that your cat expresses and relate to what your cat’s tail is trying to tell you.
Let’s start this discussion on what your cat’s tail is trying to tell you with the most popular one.
What Does It Mean When Your Cat’s Tail Is Pointed Up?
This is probably the most common cat tail movement that you might have seen.
And also you might already know what you cat is expressing through this gesture.
When a cat is presenting herself with a slow walk and her tail pointed upwords and a low sounding meow, this means your kitty is feeling friendly and comfortable in your presence.
A body language like that is a clear indicator that you cat is feeling happy, confident and secure.
What Does It Mean When A Cat’s Tail Is Pointing Up In A Question Mark?
On many occasion you will observe your kitty’s tail pointing up and curled to form almost a question mark.
This is again an expression of friendliness with a “twist” (see what I did there?) of curiosity.
A twisted straight tail means your cat is feeling curious about something.
You will observe this behavior when she is curious about something new introduced in her territory and she she knows it isn’t threatening.
Food is a big catalyst to bring out this behavior from cats. You bring forth the new can of food and you see the tail raised in a curl, you bet she is interested.
Talking about food, check out these homemade cat food recipes you can make if you have a senior cat in your home.
What Does It Mean When A Cat Is Thumping And Whipping Her Tail?
When a cat is thumping or whipping it’s tail, she is in ready to pounce mode.
But there is something to note here.
The thumping or whipping if it is aggressive needs to have a reason.
If a cat is thumping or whipping her tail lightly and there is no potential threat or intrusion in her territory it may again mean playfulness.
The best way to know what you cat is trying to portray is by checking her surrounding.
If there is an immediate threat in the form of other cats, animals or You it’s time to back them or yourselves off slowly.
She is feeling threatened and her fear can turn into aggression very soon.
If you are trying to introduce a new cat or pet in the territory do so gradually and in a process that doesn’t portray intrusion.
Cat Seated Upright With Her tail Wrapped Around Her, What Does That Mean?
This is yet another very popular pose cats sit in.
The answer is again subjective and depends on the surrounding she is sitting in.
If the surrounding is safe and secure she may choose to sit like this and begin her process of grooming herself.
Or she may sit like that to keep her paws warm.
If she perceives some kind of threat in the surrounding her sitting with her tail wrapped around her may mean she is a bit nervous and is trying to wrap her tail around her feet to feel safe and comforted.
Cat tails are prime focus on this blog post, it’s worth wandering how Japanese bobtail cats express themselves isn’t it? 😀 😛
What Is Your Cat’s Tail Trying To Say When It Is Pointed Up and Flicking Back And Forth?
When your cat’s tail is pointed up and swishing back and forth, it means your cat is feeling excited and playful.
Consistent to what I have said before an erect tail implies a happy cat but if it also moving in a relaxed way it implies your kitty is excited and ready to play.
This is when you will have the most fun with your cat.
You will observe your cat doing this when you take your cat(if your cat allows it) for a walk.
Where she is happily exploring trees and sidewalks for potential critters and rodents.
You will also find her doing this when she is sitting ny the window and chattering at the birds.
Cat Tail Pointing Straight Down
The answer to this position of tail is again subjective.
This time what is the cat trying to imply will again depend on the situation in which she is existing in.
Generally, if your cat’s stare is fixated at something or somebody, and she has her tail pointing directly downwards, it is a clear sign that your cat is agitated and most likely aggressive.
This is not the time to seek affection from your cat, this is the time to keep your distance and maintain adequate space between you and anything she might feel threatened with or aggressive towards.
Another exception to this is quite interesting.
It is found that some breeds like persian and scottish folds by inherent tendencies have their tails low when they are in playful and friendly mode.
Therefore, I keep mentioning that you need to look at the cat’s behavior as a whole and not in fragments.
Small or No Movements In Cat’s Tail
When your cat is sitting or more likely laying down on their side in a comfortable position and you see very less tai movements or no movement at all.
It usually means,”I have done all I could do during the day and now want to rest and the comfortable environment is helping”.
That is why it is very important to give your cat sufficient exercises and stimulation using cat toys, cat scratching posts or trees and other cat essentials and accessories.
In the absence of all the necessary activities that your kitty needs, she may develop unwanted behaviors, like anger, aggression and even biting in some cases.
These are a few essentials you need to get for your cat right away if you don’t have it.
Especially so if you are adopting a new cat.
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What Does It Mean If Your Cat Is Wagging her Tail?
We all know what it means when a dog wags its tail.
He’s happy, joyful and ready to play.
In cats its actually the opposite of that. If a cat is wagging her tail more often than not it means she is annoyed or upset at something.
One of the prime example of this is when you just took your cat to the vet and she isn’t looking at you and wagging her tail to understand what she means while lurking under the chair.
Cat’s Tail Tucked Away
Cats tuck their tail beneath their body to express fear and submission to the impending threat.
This usually happens when the cat is cornered and she perceives that there is no way out of the situation including attack.
But beware she is very capable of attacking in this situation as well.
So if there is something that is making her feel scared and threatened it is always wise to make sure that the immediate threat is removed.
A Cat Puffing Her Tail, What Does That Mean?
If you ever find your cat puffing her tail including her body when seen from the sides, it clearly means she is making herself appear larger to the imminent threat she is facing.
When she tucks her tail in as explained above she is in submission mode.
Puffing her tail is the exact opposite of it.
She is saying, “I see you as my threat and I am not backing off buddy”.
What you as a cat owner needs to understand is never try to interact or touch your cat when she is in this position.
She is in distress and ready to blow mode and any external intrusion in her body can be responded with violence.
Many a times you will also observe little kittens puff themselves up.
There are a few reasons why kittens puff up which includes
simply stretching themselves after a yawn,
playing with siblings
learning more about the world around them and checking out what is a potential threat, vantage and secure points.
A Back And Forth Sway With Slight Twitches
In a previous post we elaborately discussed different cat sounds and how you can understand them to show your cats you love them.
There we discussed why do cats chatter.
If a cat is swaying her tail back and forth and you can see it twitching as well, it just maybe that she is looking at the birds out side and chattering as well.
Of course, this isn’t a general conclusion.
They make this movement when they are zoning in on their prey.
This may include zoning in on a bird on a branch, some other animal in their territory or a catnip toy across the room.
As far the question why do they do that is concerned?
We don’t know exactly but many speculate they do this in order to mesmerize their prey.
I have my doubts about that, but oh well.
Cat Wrapping Their Tail Around You
Oh come on now.
I know you know what they mean when they do that.
It is one of the biggest sign a cat being a cat can bestow upon you.
If she does that too often with you in addition to all the head butts.
You my friend is one lucky duck. Your cat loves you and in all her cattitude isn’t afraid to show it to you.
Cat Tails Wrapped Around The Tail Of Another Cat
When two cats are wrapping their tails around each other, it is a cat’s equivalent of them hugging one another.
It a symbol of cat companionship and the portrayal that both the cats feel safe around each other and are comfortable in each other’s company.
Untill, of course one of them decides to freak out all of a sudden for no reason because,
CATS!!.
😀
Hope you thoroughly enjoyed this post on what is your cat’s tail trying to tell you as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Are there any other cat tail movements that you have observed in your cat that I might have missed here.
If there is don’t forget to mention that in the comments section below and if it indeed is an important cat tail movement I will update my post to include it.
Take great care of yourselves and I will see you in the next one!.
Bye!.
