What Your Cat Tells With Its Tale

Since animals are not as vocal as we humans, their other senses are very sensitive.  Body language is everything in the animal kingdom and usually comes down to two messages; distance increasing or distance decreasing, after all that is what keeps it alive and decreases risk of harm.

Tails, ears, eyes, whiskers are used in their non-vocal communications, along with body positions.  For example, if your cat walks up to you with a confident gait, his tail high over its back, it is looking for interaction.

A cat's tail is not just a tool for balancing, it is a flag!  or not.  Since the cat's tail is easily visible when upright, he can use it to tell others if he is open to interaction....or not.  Like a flag it can be seen from far away and its position can be read by other cats.  When straight up with a slight curl to the end usually means 'I am friendly'.  When held parallel to the body, horizontally, half-lowered and when walking it may mean he is relaxed.  When lowered to the ground, it can mean aggression.  A lashing, whipping motion usually means agitation,  I see this all to frequently in the clinic.

The tail by itself is not the tell all of the cat's mood.  But when you add the tale language with the rest of his body language, it speaks volumes.  Again, I invite you to think cat, watch your cat during it's interaction with you and others, watch his tail in relation to other body postures and see if you can interpret what you can is saying with his body.

Cattitude Behavioral Langauage

Cat's, much like dogs, are very scent oriented and something as humans we have a hard time grasping since we are a verbal and visual species.  A good example of this is try hiding a medication in your cat's canned food.  I can guess the cat did not eat or ate around the medication.  Another good example is urine marking territory.

Scenting is a complex and serious communication behavior in the animal world in general.  The smell of other cats says a lot to your feline about the other cat.  Urine marking territory is not the only reason why a cat may 'spray' urine, urine spraying can also be a form of cover aggression.  When a cat is unsure of how much of an opponent he may have to face in his territory, he might spray as a way of leaving a calling card.  The urine smell lets the other cat(s) know about him.  This is especially troublesome to the multi-cat household.  Can you imagine how frustrating and busy each cat may be urinating in the same litter box with 2 or more other cats, reclaiming his territory, etc.  No wonder he is peeing around the litter box, he may be trying to tell the last cat there that he is not happy with it.  From the human side, it also how a cat may combine his scent with yours as a way of comforting himself.  This can be a big problem for us.

If you have a cat(s) urinating outside of the letterbox(es), it could be a urinary health issue but it could also be a behavioral issue.  Have your veterinarian rule out urinary problems, and work with your veterinarian or animal behavioral specialist to work on changing your environment to be more cat friendly for all cats concerned.  Helpful tip:  you should have one litterbox for each cat in the home plus 1.  If you have one cat you need two litterboxes, two cats; 3 boxes, etc.  Also where the boxes are located is important, placed in high traffic areas by other cats or people is not a good thing.  Again, discuss litterbox problems with a veterinarian and/or behavioralist.

One last scenting things cats do:  rubs on you or an object.  Rubbing their cheek along an object, they are marking territory.  Facial rubbing releases pheromones on objects and these are 'friendly' smells.  He is marking it in a calm way to reaffirm that he's in familiar surroundings.  Rubbing against you, along with a sort of head bunt, is an affectionate behavior that is displayed only toward another companion animal or human.  It is a very respectful way that a cat shows affection.

Moral of the story--be an observer, watch your cat do the things he does, think like a cat (not human), look at the world from a cat's point of view and see if you can determine why he does what he does.

Time for me to head home.  Think I am going to rub my face and head against my husband when I get there to let him know that I really think he is the cat's meow!