Tail wagging

[shaye706]

I've been trying to learn about my kittens body language to better understand them. When I look up info, I see that a cat wagging its tail means it's angry or upset. I'm a bit confused because my girl kitten wags her tail often. When shes getting petted, eating, playing. She's a happy cat, never get a hiss or growl from her, always purrs and chirps. Could she be using her tail to communicate differently than other cats? She doesn't seem agitated to me!

 

[kittenpowerpow]

Everything that ive read says that when a cat does that it is agitated. My cat only wags her tail when she is annoyed. How old is your kitten?

 

[katluver4life]

A moving tail in cats generally indicates arousal of some sort. So can mean excitement, fear,  or aggression. I have 3 cats and all their tails start twitching or wagging when they are ready to initiate a chase or wrestling match (playfully). It is also a signal that the cat may be getting a bit overstimulated, such as with too much petting down it's back.

It's more important to observe combined signals, such as with their ears. If tail is wagging and ears are flat and back, hair on end, that is the fear signal, which then can lead to aggression.

 

[shaye706]

She's seven months old. I should clarify that it's more if a wiggle than a wag. Just the tip of her tail moving very fast, almost in a zig zag motion. Her ears are normally pointed up when she does this. She sometimes makes a trill noise too.

 

[my-boy-jasper]

I think it means she is excited, alert, in a happy way. I don't think it has to mean angry or upset. I see my cat do the same thing all the time. The worst thing that happens is your hand gets playfully bitten. Look for other signs to indicate aggression such as ears back, hissing, swatting etc.