Spinning

I've noticed that my cat is chasing her tail and spinning. First time was last night and it's happened again this morning. Just having fun, or is something bothering her?

How old is your cat and what does she do when she catches her tail?

She's about 7 months (shelter cat so it's hard to say) and when she stops spinning, she doesn't do much else. Maybe lick the tail a bit, lay down for a second or two, walk off.

Ok, so she's little old for the "gotta catch my tail" behavior that young kittens will do for a little while. (I usually only see 4 month olds or so doing this) And since she's not trying to play with it after catching it that seems a little odd, too.

Since it's a new behavior and there are some neurological and vestibular illnesses that can cause spinning, your best bet would probably be to consult your vet just in case.

My oldest cats are nearly 4 years old and they still "spin" and chase their tails. I honestly wouldn't be too concerned about it. It sounds to me like she's having some fun, is all.

Originally Posted by GingersMom

My oldest cats are nearly 4 years old and they still "spin" and chase their tails. I honestly wouldn't be too concerned about it. It sounds to me like she's having some fun, is all.

Click to expand...

sooty does it all the time, and always seems like hes got a grin on his face once hes finished

One of my "ex" cats is fascinated by his tail and still chases it.

Princess is 4 years old and she still chases her tail every now and then!

I think its the kitten coming out in them every so ofen

I still insist that since this is a completely new behavior that the OP should at the very least call their vet - as people generally are suggested to do when their cat starts a new and odd behavior. Dismissing anything new as just play can be dangerous.


This reminds me of a video I seen a couple years ago on one of those funny video shows (I was in the hospital and there was absolutely nothing on the basic cable they had). The video had a siamese cat spinning, it would stop walk a couple of feet then resume spinning. You could hear the person filming laughing and the audience was laughing, too! How anyone could find an obvious health problem funny is very sad and disturbing.

The cat my mother had when I was born was still chasing her tail when she was 16 years old. After eating, she went to one spot in the dining room and chased it, spinning exactly 16 times in each direction.

Everyone notice the key word that is being used is "still", as in cats with an established behavior. Not "new" or "first time" from anyone else posting.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Everyone notice the key word that is being used is "still", as in cats with an established behavior. Not "new" or "first time" from anyone else posting.

Click to expand...

For there to be a "still" there has to be a "first time."

I understand your concerns, but cats, like all creatures, go through developmental periods, and her cat is still a kitten.

The fact that her kitten has only just discovered that it is fun to chase its tail does not constitute a panicked vet call, IMO.

Because the kitten catches her tail, then licks it, sounds like she is merely chasing her tail, not spinning due to a neurological issue. Were the OP's description different, describing just spinning behavior rather than spinning in a tail chase, I would be more concerned.

A cat simply cannot chase their own tail without spinning.

This kitten was just adopted about a month ago, this is more than likely a behavior it has had a while.
My tail chasers never did it all the time, not even as babies, but whenever they were having the crazies or just wanted to play alone.

Of the 30+ cats (closer to 60 if you include kittens) I've been around in my lifetime I've never seen one chase it's tail once out of that 'everything within reach is a toy stage' (younger kittens). And I've most certainly never seen an adult cat do it. Even the number of kittens I've witness do so is rather low.

However, Sho is the only cat I've ever had that was a single cat during any point in it's life. All other cats in my life have had other cats tails to chase and bite.

Whole bunch of videos on YouTube of older kittens and grown cats chasing their own tails.
It really isn't an uncommon thing.