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Does your cat hate it when you touch their tail?

post #1 of 10
5/18/10 at 2:33am
Thread Starter 
Does your cat hate it when you touch their tail?

Mine really hate it, is it normal?
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post #2 of 10
5/18/10 at 4:36am
I don't know if it's normal or not. I make a point of being able to touch my cat's tails, paws, etc in case of emergency. None of them have really seemed to mind my touching their tails though.
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post #3 of 10
5/18/10 at 10:07pm
This post reminded me of a cat I used to have. He was so sensitive about his tail. You could pet his head, scratch his back, and rub his belly, but the tail was off limits. Hissing and growling if you touched his tail. Dont' know if that's normal but I had a kitty like that.

I think people may have pulled his tail before we adopted him.
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post #4 of 10
5/19/10 at 3:02am
Thread Starter 
My mother accidentally stomped on his tail before
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post #5 of 10
5/19/10 at 4:52am
No, Storm loves to have her tail touched. Her game is to start at her head and pet her harder as you go down her back and 'grab' her tail as you 'pull' it up.
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post #6 of 10
5/19/10 at 12:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysteryCat View Post
My mother accidentally stomped on his tail before
Have you had him checked by a vet? There could be a broken bone, or nerve damage. He could be in pain. Seriously, get this cat to the vet, no matter how long ago this happened. The tail is an extension of the spinal column, so lots of nerve endings along it.

My cats have sensitive tails but they don't mind our touching them at all. We also make a point of touching their paws and so forth, so we can apply Soft Paws and check them out health-wise.
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post #7 of 10
5/19/10 at 5:38pm
I have a couple that don't seem to like having their tails handled a lot, but don't really make a fuss over it. The rest don't care.

In an unneutered tom or a cat that had previously been an unneutered tom with a chance to breed and fight (and fought quite a bit) the back end and tail will be very sensitive areas. This is simply because when male cats fight, they try to bite the other cat back there and at the genitals. If you take in an adult male cat that has a history of fighting chances are he won't want you messing around back there or will have very short patience for it.
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post #8 of 10
5/19/10 at 11:21pm
None of mine mind, I pat from the head all the way to tail tip and have done since they were young so they are well used to it.
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post #9 of 10
5/20/10 at 7:02am
None of mine seem to mind in the least, even the ones that only allow being touched at feeding time. I make a habit of petting the whole cat from nose to tail tip so they have no issues. I also pet feet and bellies, and the tamest of the outside cats accept, well encourage and demand all over cat petting including feet and bellies. Da Lip is the most sensitive about his tail (nothing dramatic but the odd low growl) and the two with curled tails are least sensitive and one even wraps that curled tail around my arm, the rest are inbetween but not one, even the kinda tame ferals objects violently, although I am sure they would get violent if I tried picking up and cuddling them
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post #10 of 10
5/20/10 at 7:08am
LOL When I pet Daisy's back, sometimes I'll run my hand along the length of her tail, then hold the final 2 inches. She wiggles the tail until it's free and slams it with a thud. Then I do it again maybe 2-3 more times. Penny does the same thing with hers, but I can't hold any part of her tail. Oh no siree. Miss Cattitude won't like it I'm sure --I can pet it, but it needs to be in a non-stop motion. It's so funny when they slam their tail-- but they lift it back up again straight up as if asking me to "do it again" Well, they like the back massage mostly I guess but I think they like the tail thing too. They never tried to bite/protest/scrtch/swipe .. I've been doing it to them since they were little--maybe that's why.
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