When does your cat wag their tale?

[buckingfrolicks]

My mum swears her cat wags his tale when he's happy. Mine does it just prior to biting me or chasing his toys.

When does your cat wag?

[RedForShort]

Mine will wave his tail slowly which shows a whole different mood to wagging.

Slow waving = good

Fast waving = not good

[swapsicles]

When he's happy 😊 his tail is like a windscreen wiper swishing about!
Usually when headbutting and fussing us or when receiving strokes or chin rubs

[YahBasic]

Mine both do a slow wag with slow blinks when I talk to them. Every time they hear my voice, their tail goes.

[Papergirl1968]

Mate's tail quivers with anticipation when I'm getting his food.
Otherwise it might twitch when he's on the windowsill watching the birds.

[Papergirl1968]

Matt not mate!

[claraschu]

Cats don't wag; they wave.

[buckingfrolicks]

Mine must have missed the memo cos he definitely wags thump thump thump like a dog. Then bites (with a "cant help myself" look on his face)

[Papergirl1968]

I think a swish from side to side is a warning sign that they've had enough of being fussed and are getting annoyed. It does sound like a thump if they're lying on a sofa or floor or whatever.
Best to move those hands away quickly!

[SagelyNodding]

Mine has a stump, but my old boy used to vigorously wag his tail when he was trying to 'hunt' grasshoppers and lizards... He was a useless hunter

[MadCatEnthusiast]

What you're describing is when they get a bit annoyed with the strokes/fussing and are about to tell you with a nip!

[Sammy867]

Mine does when she’s annoyed, angry or about to attack

[OfficeSlave]

Continuously, at least 70-80%of the time like a windsreen wiper. She's a happy, playful but sassy cat.
It 'wipes' when happy, mad, sitting, laying, investigating, semi-relaxed, playing, looking at birds, sittling looking at me whilst 'smiling'. If i talk to her it flicks more pronounced, like a response or an 'i know youre talking to me' shes not mad, just communicating back. I've never seen a cat move its tail as much as she does, people always comment on it.

[Toddlerteaplease]

Snorg seems to have had some sort of tail injury before I adopted her so it flops over in the middle. She doesn't wag. Cheddar never stops wagging hers. I think she's a dog in disguise!

[Allergictoironing]

Both of mine slowly wave theirs when they are happy or content e.g. strokes, treats (think the Queen waving her hand in her carriage style). Tail ends twitch when very stimulated, so when they are about to chase each other, other cat seen out of the window, tummy rubs just too much bliss. Only seen either of them actually swish their tail in the anger style when another cat has sworn at them aggressively through the mesh over the patio doors.

[Rockbird]

St Jackson of Galaxy says we shouldn't look at cats through dog coloured glasses! Wagging tails in cats is generally agitation, nerves, piss off and leave me alone or I'm about to pounce and try to kill something! I know that if my cats are waving their tails it's best to retreat for a bit.

[Calvinsmam]

One of my cats has the most expressive tail of any animal I’ve ever met.
It’s really long and she swishes it about all the time, it goes really curly when she’s curious and she twitches it to tease the other cats too. It’s like a thought bubble above her head because you can tell exactly how she’s feeling by looking at her tail.

One of our cats barely ever moves her tail but sometimes runs into the house with it all puffed up if she sees another cat/dog/crisp packet blows past.

And our boy cat has a little skinny tail that he puffs up at the bottom when he neeeeeeeeeeeeds hugs and he pokes it right into the air and vibrates it when he’s excited or being bossy. It looks like a toilet brush.

[Waxlyrically]

Mine slowly thumps his tail when he’s happy (ie sat on my lap purring, he quivers it as a greeting or when he’s excited about food, wags the tip if something’s annoying or he’s playing and swishes it if he sees another cat or is hunting. As if that wasn’t enough, he also does a little tail flick as he walks away if he’s had enough of me - bit like flicking a v sign!