Cat Tail Language You Must Know

Cat tail language. You want to understand everything your cat is expressing. This is not impossible, although it is absolutely impossible to communicate language with cats. However, you can still tell from the body language your cat uses, namely by paying attention to the ears, eyes, body posture, and especially the tail.

Reporting from Catster, Marilyn Krieger, Certified Cat Behavior Consultant and author, says “Although the tail is expressive, the eyes, ears and body position combined with the tail language provide a more complete picture of how a cat feels.” In short, a cat wagging its tail can mean many things. Here are some meanings behind the tail movement.

Cat Tail Language

The Swish

This is a gesture when a cat wags its tail rapidly back and forth, indicating that they are unhappy and want to be left alone. Meanwhile, a tail moving slowly from left to right often indicates that the cat is a bit upset. However, a cat at play will also wag its tail from side to side before pounce. Because of these possibilities, it means that you should pay attention to the way your cat wags its tail and not make assumptions right away.

The Twitch

This movement is usually done when the cat is sitting on the windowsill, concentrating on the bird or rodent nearby. This movement is not exactly the same slow wagging motion as before, although it looks similar. His ears, eyes, and vocalizations will tell if he’s upset or just paying attention. A twitch around the tail usually also leaves a message, “leave me alone”.

The Quiver

Quiver is the act of rapidly wagging a small cat’s tail. When your cat is pleased with you, it may approach you with its tail vertical. While the tip of the tail will make a quick movement and slightly vibrate, like the tail of a rattlesnake. However, unlike snakes, a cat’s wagging tail is welcome and is usually accompanied by purring, face rubbing, and sometimes happy vocalizations.

The Sleepy Flick

Cats are not like dogs who will immediately come when called. Cats will usually reflect on the situation and decide if they want to come to you or not. However, they usually won’t hesitate to approach you if you give them food they already know.

In sleep state, when you call his name, the cat will give a signal with the movement of his tail. Very smooth movement, one tap from the sleepy tail. This is a cat tail wagging which means, “Yes, I hear you”. Wow, so sweet, huh?

The Meaning of the Cat’s Tail Position

From some of the tail movements above, you can tell that a cat’s tail is really a barometer of his feelings. Not only when they move their tails, cats also position their tails according to their feelings. This will usually be witnessed by his fellow feline friends as a signal and even from the cat itself to humans.