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Why Do Cats Wag Their Tails?
George
Answered by:
My tail is, if I am honest, the most expressive thing about me.
And I am not without expressiveness in other areas. But the tail is - let me think about the right word - comprehensive.
It communicates things I have not decided to communicate. This is occasionally inconvenient. Now, let me say at the outset: I mean no offence to the memory of Filthy, who didn't have the luxury of a fully expressive tail due to an accident long ago.
There is a significant difference between a dog wagging its tail and a cat doing the same thing, and I want to be precise about this because the two are regularly confused by people who mean well but have not looked carefully.
A dog wags its tail to indicate happiness. The whole tail, sometimes the whole body, in a movement that means something simple and the same every time. I am not being critical of this. It is legible. It is just not what we do.
When my tail moves slowly - a long, measured sweep from one side to the other - I am content. Settled. Paying attention to something that interests me without requiring me to do anything about it yet. Mack does not bother with this motion at all. He goes from stillness to action without the intermediate stage. This is efficient but I find it lacks texture.
When the tail moves more quickly, I am either excited or working something out. There is a pigeon on the roof of the house opposite that I have been observing for some time. When I watch it from the window, my tail is very busy indeed. This is not aggression. It is concentration.
When the tail moves forcefully and the back is involved - when the whole posture shifts to accommodate it - that is something else. That is a clear message. A cat producing that movement has arrived at a firm conclusion and is communicating it without ambiguity. I have used this exactly twice in my life, both times correctly.
The tail held high is confidence. Ownership. A statement about one's relationship to a space. Mine goes up when I enter a room I have decided to inhabit fully. Mack's goes up when he has located the mouse before I have. He does not mention it. He does not need to.
The puffed tail is fear or extreme agitation and is not something I deploy lightly. I mention it for completeness.
And the slow, deliberate wag - the one that looks almost lazy, one side, then the other, with no particular urgency - that is the tail of a cat who is thinking. Who has not yet made a decision. Who is, as it were, composing.
Mine is doing it now, as I write this. Make of that what you will.
A Vet Would Say:
Tail position and movement are among the primary signalling mechanisms cats use to communicate mood and intent.
• A slow swishing tail typically indicates concentration or mild stimulation - not aggression.
• Rapid side-to-side movement can signal excitement or agitation; context determines which.
• A tail held upright is associated with confident, friendly approach behaviour - the equivalent of a wave.
• A puffed tail (piloerection) is a defensive response to fear or perceived threat, not an offensive one.
• Unlike dogs, whose tail wagging is generally a positive signal, cat tail movement is context-dependent and should be read alongside body posture, ear position, and vocalisation.
Cats whose tails move vigorously during handling may be signalling overstimulation. Give them space before continuing - redirected aggression from an overstimulated cat is a common cause of scratches that could be avoided.