My cat seems to wag her tail when she's happy

[JamSandle]

I'd love to know if I'm reading my cat right.

I know a wagging or swishing tail in a cat is a sign of stress or agitation. But my cat seems to swish her tail when she's happy (laying in the sun, cuddling next to me in bed).

Is she secretly agitated? Or is she just like a dog?

Some cats do seem to wag their tail when happy. Is she around a dog a lot?

My cat wags hers when she’s annoyed despite living with dogs but her moods are easy to read.

Cats are weird. Mine fluffs her tail up and it shudders for ages when she's super happy, at the same time she lifts up her back left leg. Always the back left.
Weird.

@doubleoseven I loved getting the "quiver" from our girl. So cute 😊

@JamSandle Many cats do a slow, linguine tail swish when relaxed. It's almost as if the tail isn't part of them 😂

https://www.purina.co.uk/articles/cats/behaviour/common-questions/why-do-cats-wag-their-tails

I was always intrigued by my cat lifting and dropping just the very end of his tail. I could never work out what he was feeling when he did that.

I have 2 cats. One of mine quivers her tail in excitement sometimes when she sees me and knows she's going to get a lot of attention. But then she also adores her belly being stroked, which apparently most cats don't. She gets this spaced out look in her eyes and really gets into it! She's super furry too so it's also nice for me 😁

Yeah no chance would I get to stroke my cats belly. I would be eviscerated

Mine wags her tail when she walks towards people. She is very sociable and like a dog I think her waggy tail is a friendly thing.

Cars are odd little things. Mine act more like dogs at times and fetch is their favourite game. One of mine puffs her tail right up (in the same way they're meant to do when they're BIG mad) and quivers it when she's super excited. Mostly when I first get home and she's getting all the love.
The other two suckle their tails to go off to sleep.

And we do get some happy wags of the tail!

I get happy tag wags here. Plus grumpy ones, plus excited tail quivers. And floofy tails too.

We don't have any dogs. She's just always been a tail wagger. When she seems the most blissful, her tail seems to move more erratically.

I suppose they are just generalisations about cat behaviour. Not every cat follows the cat code!

I was worried about the same thing with our cat - when ds is stroking her and doing tummy rubs, she will quite often swish and thump her tail. I thought this meant she was distressed (but couldn't reconcile it with the fact she lets him do it - this cat does literally nothing she doesn't want to). I also googled and found it can be a way that they relax.

If you mean an upright tail with a little kink at the end it means your cat is confident, happy, content. They usually do it when walking towards their home or their bestest human. The American cat behaviourist says they have their "mojo" when they do it, and it's a lovely thing to see 😊

Yes,it's normal, different wags for happiness vs anger/stress/annoyanxe, I'm sure you can tell the difference :)

My cats tail pings upright when she sees me and quivers with happiness - I love it :)

Mine does the same. But if I stop, he will pull my hand back for more belly rubs. He actually flops in front of me, belly up, and demands them

Little weirdos

Here he is asking me to throw this as he wants to play fetch

Our malecat sits in the garden scouting for prey , he waves his tail like helicopter blades
Maybe he's given up thinking If I sit here long enough one of those birds will fall out of the tree into my mouth and now its If I wag my tail enough I can take off and hover right there to catch them

I love it when they sit there wagging the end of their own tail then act all surprised "What in tarnation" and grab it .
Like its nought to do with them

I used to be very offended when my cat dies the super happy quivery tail thing, to the lady at the cattery, who loved her. She rarely if ever does it to me!

Cheddar loves having her tummy tickled. She's never ever scratched!

This is my favourite 😂

Thank you for the explanation! He did it when he was lying down in his favourite spot.

Cats make it up as they go along.

They do, indeed.

Last night my “scared of houseflies” cat killed a huge black moth.

Didn't even leave a shred of evidence.

Ours like butterflies,moths,dragonflies (if they are going for exotics) but usually chew them and throw them up on the carpet .

Little waggy tail boy is eyeing up bees (I'm hoping the tail alerts them)

"Don;t chase bees you daft git"
I used to be a feral kitten.It;s how I survived
"But you are fed to bursting now"
I still got it .....
"Didn't your Mum teach you black&yellow=Danger"
oh wait. Yeah.
"Yes. Emergency Vet for you if you eat one of them"

Malecat wanders off,muttering darkly.

Mine wags her tail when she's happy too. She also puts her back legs round my arm as if she's cuddling me, I know when she's not as she kicks my arm away.