Unlike the cat, the dog is a very sociable animal, curious and above all very close to the needs of man. On the contrary, the cat is an inscrutable animal, very suspicious and lonely, which is why at times they seem to be animals that come from another planet! Our cats communicate with us every day through beeps, vocals and meows, but also through their eyes, ears and even their tails. It is not easy to interpret the signals that cats want to tell us but thanks to a complete and specific guide we can understand them in a few steps!
Veterinarian has identified six ways in which cats communicate with us. Just like kittens, cats use their tails to express emotions. “For example, a defensive cat may have a downward curved tail, but so can be neutral or relaxed. The rest of the body, on the other hand, looks very different, ” says the professor.
Let’s see, therefore, the various meanings of the movement of the cat’s tail.
The tail is swollen, ruffled it seems to have become twice the size. In this case the cat is witnessing a moment of fear, almost always triggered by an external agent or another animal. For example, when a cat is on the street and meets a dog, you will be able to hear the high-pitched vocalizations and hisses towards it, by carefully observing the tail we will be able to see that it is swollen together with the arched back, a symptom of aggression.
The tail held at half mast, waving from side to side indicates a warm interest of the cat towards something. usually when we open some food or bring home some shopping bags, our cat will come towards us with the tail held up as a sign of interest and curiosity.
The tail swaying in large semicircles indicates that the cat is elated and excited. In this case it can be a strongly positive emotion, such as the emotion in seeing each other again, or an emotional rush of nervousness. Even a mother cat does it with her little ones, moving her up and down to let them play and entertain them.
The vertical or straight tail indicates a greeting or that the cat wants to understand what we intend towards it, invites us to play by moving it left and right and curves it when it is waiting to interact with us.
The tail held low with the tip contracted indicates that the cat has aimed a game or a prey if it is in the garden, real or pretend it is, and is about to throw itself on it. An outdoor cat will have much more movements than an apartment cat which will certainly have less stimulation.
The hidden tail indicates that the cat is afraid and feels threatened.Especially when we are at the vet our cat will feel vulnerable and helpless. For this he will hide his tail between his paws to hide the private parts which are the most delicate.
