My cats tail is a question mark
@margieanneart (26423)
United States
March 17, 2007 11:07am CST
I have two cats. One is a tortie, and she is so adorable. When she is happy her tail is straight up. Now, the other one, he is a long haired. When he is happy, his tail goes up into the shape of a question mark, never straight. Does your cat tail go straight up or into a question mark? Don't you find that strange?
3 people like this
11 responses
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
17 Mar 07
Hey honey, I thought I would share this interested pic with you. It's more a diagram really of the language of cats. People actually studied cats and came up with the meanings for the different positions of a cat's tail. Here's enlarge the image below. It is very interesting.;-)
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
17 Mar 07
Well sugar, that was extremely helpful, and earned you a best response, right off the bat. Thanks a lot. Have a super day.
1 person likes this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
17 Mar 07
Hehe, thanks hon. This is one of the fastest best responses I have got. ^^
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
18 Mar 07
Well you certainly deserved this one. It was an outstanding reply. Thank you.
1 person likes this
@rosie_123 (6113)
•
17 Mar 07
Sometimes some of my cats have the "question mark" tail too! I was always led to believe it meant they were happy, but also "interested" and wanting to explore, whereas the straight-up tail is more a sign of contentment. Evidently, when kittens are very youmg, they always run to their Mothers with their cats straight up, as they are happy to see her, and know they will get fed:-))
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
17 Mar 07
Thanks dear. Look at the diagram that the first person sent me. It is very interesting.
@GardenGerty (159719)
• United States
17 Mar 07
So, he speaks with an accent. I think most of us cat owners know that cats "speak" with their tails. I had not noticed that any of mine do the question mark thing, but I have had cats in the past that did this. Somewhere I have a book that would probably tell me exactly what this means, but I am not going to look for it now. It is called "Tribe of Tiger" and it is written by an anthropologist. She also wrote "The Secret Life of Dogs". I find them to be informative and entertaining books.
1 person likes this
@1983tyler (507)
• United States
17 Mar 07
That sounds interesting. My four cats all have tails that go straight. Isn't it wonderful how each cat is different from another?
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
17 Mar 07
Our female cat's tail is flying high unless she is "hunting". I would say 50-60% of that time her tail is a question mark. Our male cat rarely has his tail up.
1 person likes this
@Willowlady (10658)
• United States
17 Mar 07
That tail carrying is usually a contentedness being expresse. I guess you are a good feline friend. I have seen that before however as you know they are all different Glad that they are happy and so are you. Take care my friend!
1 person likes this
@sigma77 (5383)
• United States
17 Mar 07
Yeah, both of my cats have strange tails. They go into all kinds of shapes at one time or another. The question mark formation is common. I think it is a means of showing distress. The swishy tail means I want attention but don't touch me..lol. The straight up tail is a sign of happiness or pride. I am just guessing at this.
1 person likes this
@enchantedleppard (1541)
• United States
17 Mar 07
Thats funny, I just wrote something about my cats tail too.. my boyfriend is laying on the bed with my tortie and he was talking about her tail. Great minds think alike. That diagram is neat in the first comment. I'm going to save it.
1 person likes this
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