"Double jointed" tail?

Beeba can arc his tail over his back and the tip touches up near his shoulders. He "taps" it there sometimes.

I take it as a sign of extreme happiness.

We have the same thing in 7 cats. and our vet said it was really rare. 3 of the cats are inside the rest are outdoor cats. I find it funny that its rare but yet we have 7 with it.

 My cat does this alot when she walks, and she seems fine... and she's just 2 months old...

Yeah I'm pulling up an old thread.  Don't know who's going to reply to it. 

Only reason I'm doing so is that we just adopted a kitten last week from the pound.  A couple of days later my youngest daughter says "Mom- check this out- Sam has his tail flat along his back".  Sure enough- when he's happy he'll have his tail almost flat along his back.  It's got this funny little crook on the tip too.  A friend of mine saw it and said that maybe he had a broken tail.  But from what dd said (and we both found on the internet) it's a genetic mutation. 

Kind of cool   I like "different" cats.

Cheryl

Sneakymom said:

Yeah I'm pulling up an old thread.  Don't know who's going to reply to it. 
" But from what dd said (and we both found on the internet) it's a genetic mutation."

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Just found this site after first trip to vets in Australia --  tried to describe to new vet how my cat's tail curls over his back -- when he isn't scared. From what I've read, it is a genetic mutation.  I adopted two kittens (brothers) from Batterseas Dog and Cat home in London; one has a curly tail, the other doesn't.  Ziggy's tail curled up over his back from just a few weeks old (hence being named 'Ziggy' by Batterseas.  Milo has a very expressive tail, but he looks more oriental...    When particularly happy and on my lap, he will curl his tail  around my wrist like a bracelet --  so quite a flexible tail.  Apparently there is a colony of curly tailed cats in Chelmsford, England, not far from London.  Not sure where my cats were originally from!  Ziggy has no health issues that I'm aware of. Did not have a broken tail --  he was born with this.   

 Will try to post a pic if I can.  Nice to have an unusual cat!

I have been trying for a month to take a picture of this cat's tail.  But he's a 5 month old kitten, so he's in perpetual motion    Got lots of pictures of his butt, but nothing where he's laying his tail flat on his back.

Cheryl

Haha - re: not managing to get photo of kitten with curly tail.  Ziggy is now 2, so a little bit easier, but not much!  Here we go- not great photos, but at least the curly tail is visible.  In addition to previous, he is very sweet tempered, quite a small cat, and very vocal.  He likes to 'sing' at about three in morning and talks to himself, whereas brother Milo is quite silent. He looks like a rabbit when he runs (bounces along --  maybe it's the tail?) and is quite springy.  Not sure how much his tail helps with balancing.

Oh, this is interesting!

The colony of cats that I care for all have the strangest tails. Some have long tails that seem to be bent in half, either to the left or right, others just a half tail that curls over at the tip. Some have little curly stumps and Gin kun, the boss of the colony (He's in my avatar) has a long tail that looks as if someone tied a knot in the end of it.

I'll try to take some photo's and show you.

I thought it was down to inbreeding. I live in a small village surrounded by mountains so I guess the cats here don't get much chance to wander. I've noticed the shorter the tail the less likely the cats are to climb up onto trees or rooftops. Maybe it has something to do with balance?

Your cat colony sounds fascinating and Gin kun is lovely. There is a Japanese bobtail cat with short curly tail, but I don't know how common they are.  I wonder if your cats are like those at all?  Pics would be interesting.  The maneki neko is a Japanese bobtail...  (my sister lived in Japan for a while).  You're probably right about (smart) cats with short tails avoiding risky climbs that require 'tail balance'. 

Better a tail that curls UP, then DOWN like our Buddy's tail.  Like I posted before - sometimes the tip of his tail gets dirty after he uses the litter pan.  ugh!  

ref: post #11  of 29

Yep, can now definitely see benefits of a curling up tail. 

My Storm, who's in my display pic, always has her tail flat against her back as well. It's quite a long tail and she's extremely expressive with it. I noticed it right away because I thought it made her unique. I'll try to take a pic of it to post

I had a cat that he walked around with his tail against his back no bends and he was fine and he like his tailed played with he was the only cat I have ever seen do that good to know he was not the only one

Just wanted to add to this. I have a cat with the same thing.



It's hard to see because his tail is so poofy. It usually bends back and hangs over his side, but it does put it down on occasion and sometimes flat on the back. He never sticks it 90 degrees. His tail used to be normal until about 7-8 months old. I'm not sure if it's double jointed or caused by another genetic trait with the back of the tail.

Glad this thread is still alive!  This is DeeDee and his "rainbow tail".  When he trots down the stairs his tail bops him in the head on every step.  His "neutral" tail position is hovered perfectly overhead between the ears.  I had no idea whether this was normal or not, his closest breed type is Egyptian Mau and they're known for long limbs so I figured it was just a breed sort of thing.

I work with a rescue group and recently received a foster kitten with a hypermobile tail. Most of the time, it's curled forward. He had horrible conjunctivitis and ear mites when I got him, but with a bath and a few days of medication, he's really turned around. He has a wonderful playful personality, and adores toys of all kinds. I took this video of him playing in the litter box, you see how he normally holds his tail.

He's adorable @gmm80  I think he's going to find a home very quickly.

Mia holds her tail up like that all the time too.

ashof said:

Glad this thread is still alive!  This is DeeDee and his "rainbow tail".  When he trots down the stairs his tail bops him in the head on every step.  His "neutral" tail position is hovered perfectly overhead between the ears.  I had no idea whether this was normal or not, his closest breed type is Egyptian Mau and they're known for long limbs so I figured it was just a breed sort of thing.

DeeDeeTail1.JPG

• ashof
• Feb 22, 2016

DeeDeeTail2.JPG

• ashof
• Feb 22, 2016

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That's exactly how my kitten always holds her tail she is pure black

I'm glad I found this site I was wondering if something was wrong with Athena she is always holding her tail like this but loves for it to be petted and played with