How Do Cats Communicate with their Tails?

Cat tails can be long or short, straight or bent or curled, and anywhere from nearly furless to luxuriously fluffy. A few cats have no tails at all! Cats use their tails to help them balance and to feel what’s going on behind them [3], but cats communicate with their tails, too. Because cats and dogs send very different signals with their tails, this part of cat body language is a common source of miscommunication between cats and both human and canine family members. So, here’s a guide to what your cat’s tail is telling you.

Tail Up or Down?

Your cat can hold their tail anywhere from straight up in the air to tucked all the way underneath their body, and the position they have their tail in gives you a lot of information about how they’re feeling [2-4]. A tail held straight up means that your cat feels confident and safe in their space [2-4]. A cat is more visible to potential predators or enemies with their tail held high, so they only do that if they are 100% certain that there is no danger here [3].

An even more relaxed cat holds their tail up with the tip curved, like a question mark [4, 3]. Cats will often pose their tails this way when they greet a trusted friend, including you [3, 4]! If a cat’s tail is up in your presence, there is a good chance that they’re interested in interacting with you [2].

If a cat is walking around with their tail held out to the back, roughly level with their spine, this is a fairly neutral message [3]. This is a cat who feels pretty comfortable, but they’re being a bit cautious, just in case [3]. When a cat is crouched down with the tail straight out back, that means they’re getting ready to pounce [4].

If a cat is keeping their tail down low, then they are scared or maybe in pain [3, 4]. When cats tuck their tails all the way underneath their bodies, they are terrified [2-4]. That’s their way of trying to get as small as possible to avoid being seen by something they expect to hurt them. If you see your cat’s tail going low, that’s a sign to you to find out what the problem is [3].

Bottlebrush Tail

A different way that cats communicate fear with their tails is by fluffing out their fur [2-4]. Every hair stands up on end, giving the tail a “bottlebrush” appearance [2-4]. This is meant to make the cat appear larger and more menacing to whatever has scared it [3]. It’s a startle response [3, 4], so it comes from a different flavor of fear than tucking the tail. A cat with its tail puffed out is primed to react aggressively, a reflex that helps cats survive in the wild [2], so make sure you give them their space to calm down [3].

How worried you need to be about a bottlebrush tail really depends on your cat. Joon is the perfect specimen of a scaredy-cat, and the slightest unexpected noise makes her fluff up. So if I see her running through the house with her hair on end, I don’t think much of it. But Wednesday has no fear. The first time I took her to the vet, she tried to start a fight with a German Shepherd. On the rare occasions that she gets startled, I go looking for the danger, because maybe I need to be worried about it, too.

Tail Movements

This is probably how the way that cats communicate with their tails causes people–and other pets–the most confusion. Cats may move their tails in similar ways to dogs, but the message is not the same. Let’s start with the tap: just a little, up-and-down motion of the very tip of the tail when your cat appears otherwise relaxed [4]. This means your cat is slightly irritated about something or perhaps lost in thought [4]. A side-to-side flick or swish of the tail indicates some kind of excitation [1-4]. What kind depends on the context. It could be frustration, annoyance, even pain, but it can also be playful, such as when your cat is focused on a bird outside the window [1-4]. Whatever the case, that is probably a cat that is too excited for you to bother right now [1, 2].

While dogs generally wag their tails when they are in a good mood, the exact opposite is true for cats, which can lead to some disastrous miscommunications. When a cat thrashes or wags their tail from side to side, they are telling you that they are most upset, and you need to back off before they have to become aggressive [1-4]. Dogs (and people who expect cats to act like dogs) tend to take it as an invitation to approach instead [2, 3]. If you have dogs or very dog-minded friends, you may have to keep an eye on them around your cat so you can intervene before a tense moment becomes bloodshed [3]. Don’t be afraid to educate your houseguests about feline body language, too, especially if you witness someone misinterpreting your cat’s signals. It will help not only them but any cats they meet in the future.

References

1. Bailey, A. and Cosgrove, N. (2023, November 23). Cat tail language: The meaning of your feline’s different tail wags. Catster. https://www.catster.com/cat-behavior/cat-tail-language-movements-meanings/
2. Coates, J. (2021, November 21). What’s my cat’s tail telling me? The Spruce Pets. https://www.thesprucepets.com/cat-tail-body-language-554048
3. Galaxy, J. [Jackson Galaxy]. (2023, September 9). Quivering, wagging, puffed up: What is your cat’s tail trying to tell you? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLi3Z_Mlshk&ab_channel=JacksonGalaxy
4. Jordan, C. (2021, November 1). Why do cats wag their tails? Here’s what your feline is trying to tell you. Daily Paws. https://www.dailypaws.com/cats-kittens/behavior/common-cat-behaviors/why-do-cats-wag-their-tails