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Just realized I've been reading my cat's tail wrong for years
I always thought a swishing tail just meant my cat, Mochi, was annoyed. Last Tuesday, she was sitting on the windowsill watching birds, her tail doing a slow, gentle sweep. I went to pet her and she whipped around and gave me a warning nip. A vet friend told me later that a slow, focused swish during hunting or play is totally different from the fast, angry flick they do when mad. I had been ignoring the context and just seeing the motion. Has anyone else learned a specific tail signal the hard way?
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samf955mo ago
Forget the tail, watch the base of their spine. My cat's whole back twitches right before she pounces, like a coiled spring. That's the real giveaway she's in predator mode, not just annoyed. Missed that signal once and got a claw through my sock.
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beth_stone4mo ago
Coiled spring" is a great description, @samf95, but it's actually the tail base that tells you the difference between play and real hunting.
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