tail wagging

[alfie1]

My cat Alfie is a year old and is also like a dog, incidentally we have a 3yr old jack Russell and they are best friends I'm sure Alfie copies him. He wags his tale gently constantly only swiftly when he's angry so I think all cats must be different [emoji]128049[/emoji]

 

[jay72bird]

I thank you for posting that. All 5 sites I visited show aggression and Samson sways his tail & puurs almost every time I pet him. Another thing about him is he follows me around like puppy, and is more affectionate than most cats I've encountered. 

I stopped petting him having read the 2nd web page claiming aggression. Thank-you once more !!!

I used to take him with me on weekends. I recommend NOT doing that. It cost med $652.87 for emergency vet. Stressed with different environment  and caused a block not being to pee. Samson cannot eat ANY food other than Rx food. It's not cheap buying but he is worth every penny and I unknowingly caused it.  

 

[chris herrmann]

yes, thank you for posting this. my 1/2 Maine Coon kitten (almost 10 months) lashes her tail sometimes and purrs while being petted, and i started to wonder if she was annoyed, but her eyes are always closed,  her ears are never laid back, and she's never taken a swipe at me unless i got too near her belly - and even then she tends to lazily push my hand away with her back paw.  i never thought she was upset/annoyed since she's never 'seems' annoyed, but the tail made me wonder. she will even come up to me and lay down next to me or curl in my lap and lash her tail. it's very odd. well... it is if you take the sites about cat behavior as gospel.

 

[lieutenantworf]

I swear my cat is a happy tail wagger, but most internet sources say I'm wrong. She'll come up to me with the intent of trying to sleep on me and wagging her tail the whole time, even with her eyes closed.

 

[detroitcatlady]

My cat Pumpkin wags his tail in his sleep sometimes when he is really relaxed and sometimes he will sit on me and wag his tail as he is going to sleep while purring. I've also had many cats wag their tail when they are anxious and going to claw/bite as a warning sign, but the body language is very different

 

[Michael Bear]

My cat doesn't chase squirrels, but she head buts everything, and her tail never stops. Shell wrap the TV tray legs, human legs, and arms. Her tail tip moves the most, does anyone know why? Her tail only some what stops when eating and asleep.

 

[mani]

My cat doesn't chase squirrels, but she head buts everything, and her tail never stops. Shell wrap the TV tray legs, human legs, and arms. Her tail tip moves the most, does anyone know why? Her tail only some what stops when eating and asleep.

Hi M Michael Bear and welcome to TCS!
My girl is exactly the same. She's quite slight and I swear she doesn't put on weight as she expends all that energy into her tail. I don't think it's an issue. The tail tip thing is probably just her way.

 

[Joceywocey]

I have been wondering why my cat wags her tail like a dog for the longest time this since been so interesting to see so many other people with cats similar to mine it's hysterical! My emerald green eyed, solid black kitty "titty" is an amazing Hunter I have never seen a cat who catches animals quite like she does, it's kind of terrifying at times actually lol! If she was any bigger she may just eat me!!!
. but she is an absolute love any other time, and is so playful and sweet, she loves to get her "pet pet" when i come in the house, she has a big whicker trunk she loves to lie on beside thr window, with her favorite towel draped neatly over it. That originally started to keep her from picking at the wicker, but the towel is now her cuddle baby sort of. whenever i give her pet pets, she grabs her towel tight with her paws and hugs it, bites it and kicks at it like a rabbit, and flops from one side to the other so i can pet both sides of her evenly until she has had enough, and she flops over to the other side, its the cutest stinkin thing!!!
. (long story to the name, short for Prettytittykitty, titty was formed by a friends little boys innability to yet be able to pronounce kitty, it came out as titty, and sort of just stuck!!!)
but as far as the tail wagon goes I noticed that she Wags it when she is happy to see me arrive, when I am petting her, when she is irritated, when she is stalking her prey, oh when she is happily and lazily dozing off to sleep. But whatever the case is, she is always wagging that tail, flicking it around like a whip! the personality in this cat is like a combination of a lovable, cuddly housecat and a viscious, threatening black panther lurking in the shadows of thr jungle!!!
we could not have saved and adopted a more amazing kitty than our lil Titty!!!! lol!!!!

 

[ReallySleepy]

Turbo wags his tail whenever he is thinking. When I let him out, he cannot go straight ahead, so he wonders whether to go right or left. While deliberating, he wags his tail. Then he takes a stand, and the tail falls down.

There is too much generalization about cats and too many cocksure answers. This thread is a great example of the varieties of cat behavior that defy easy answers. This variety might also have something to do with breed.

What do I mean by breed? Another generalization about cats is that they keep their tails high when they are happy. There are two Norwegian Forest Cats here who are apparently happy all the time, because they generally hold their tails high. My Turbo, on the other hand, who is a standard DSH, must be congenitally morose since he scarcely ever raises his tail unless it's feeding time. I really doubt this difference in mood, so I suppose it is due to a difference in breed.

 

[mama africa]

When Missy is relaxing (laying down but not yet sleeping), she starts wagging her (whole) tail as soon as I start talking to her. When I stop talking, she stops wagging, and as soon as I start talking again, she restarts wagging. When I talk to her when she's asleep, I sometimes notice a slight movement in the top of her tail. It seems to me that the wagging is a sign of a positive emotion, but maybe this is wishful thinking ?

 

[mani]

And then there's the 'tail as toy' scenario.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Milly's an indoor kitty but the last six months I've been using a leash on her to do "rehabilitation walking, trotting, galloping" in the long halls of our apartment building. A lot of times she just spends the supposed rehab time just sitting on one or another window sill at each end of the hallway, looking out at the crows, seagulls, squirrels, dog walkers and vehicles.

I've always thought there are a few reasons for a cat wagging its tail, one being a sign of aggravation or "I'm-fed-up-with-you". But another being signs of high alertness and interest in the surroundings! When Milly is intent on what's going on outside, she thwacks her tail over and over and over again against the window sill frame.

 

[Yaffir]

I keep reading that when a cat wags its tail that it is a sign of irratation or aggravation. Coco wags her tail when she is happy, just like a dog. She'll be laying next to me, purring away and whacking me with her tail!

Other people tell me their cats wag their tail when happy. Anybody else out there?

My cat Alex wags his tail quite violently when he's happy, given that after a few minutes of leaving him he may rush me and knock me over to play as well he's quite interesting like that. He seem to wag his tail violently for most things even when he's eating he sits at the table wagging his tail while eating

 

[edie56]

my savanagh cat does so much wagging with her tail and she also twitches it like when males do