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Why Does My Cat’s Tail Shake

Importance Of Sleeping In Cats

Cat shakes tail like a rattlesnake

A cat will sleep differing amounts throughout their lifetime. When they are newborn, they will sleep for the majority of the day, only rousing to suckle their mother. They won’t even be able to open their eyes until about 10 days. Sleep allows them to grow and develop, their internal processes working as their conscious selves rest.

When a cat is an adult, they will still need up to 16 hours of sleep per day, depending on the individual. The time of year may also affect their energy levels. Once they become a senior cat, they will need to sleep even more due to a depletion of their energy levels. All cats need to conserve energy, especially in nature as they do not know when they may need to make a hasty escape.

However, not all sleep is the same. Just as we may have a deep sleep or a light rest, a cat’s quality of sleep will differ for various reasons. When we see a cat twitching or trembling in their sleep it could be one of various reasons:

  • Digestion

Below, we take a look at some of these reasons in more depth.

Neutered Male Catpretending To Spray

Spraying is a common behavior in male cats that havent been neutered. Thats because non-neutered male cats are more concerned with finding territory and a mate.

This is dictated by biology. Before the neutering procedure, the cat produces more testosterone. The more testosterone the body produces, the more likely male behaviors become in mammals. The majority of the male bodys testosterone in mammals is generated in the testes.

But neutered male cats will still spray, too. If they never learned how to spray with urine, they will choose to phantom spray instead.

While most testosterone is produced in the testes, some is produced in other parts of the body. This low level of testosterone can still trigger spraying behaviors, though. If the behavior became a habit, then the cat may continue fake spraying.

Here Are 6 Reasons Why Your Cat May Be Wagging Her Tail

Its a universally acknowledged truth that your dog is happy when his tail is wagging. But what about your cat? Have you ever asked yourself, Why do cats wag their tails?Most owners and cat sitters;are surprised to learn it often is not a sign of a happy kitty, says Dr. Blain Kennedy, a veterinarian at Florida Veterinary League in Vero Beach, Florida. In fact, there are several reasons why your cat may be moving her tail in this manner. Heres everything you need to know about your furry friends tail wagging.

Why Do Cats Wag Their Tails?Here are six reasons why your cat may be engaging in this behavior:

  • She Feels ConfidentA confident, happy cat will walk around with her tail straight up, gently wagging at the tip. This is a playful stance that lets other cats and you! know that your pet is open for interaction.;
  • Shes FrightenedA cat who is feeling scared may wag her tail low to the ground. If your furry friend is extremely afraid, she may even tuck her tail between her legs in submission. This position indicates that she does not want to engage in conflict. On the other hand, if your cat has an erect tail, arched back and pushed-back ears, she is showing that she is scared but willing to fight the aggressor in question whether that be another animal or an innocent object that has spooked her, such as a leaf blowing in the wind.;
  • For information on why your cat may engaging in another common behavior, check out Cat Purring: Why Does Your Pet Make This Noise?;

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    Do Cats Twitch Their Tails Because They Are Angry

    One of the signs of a cat moving its tail because of anger is a lashing motion. When a cats tail starts to lash, this may be a sign that you need to stop petting the cat. Otherwise, the cat may have enough of the contact and bite or scratch.

    According to The Cat in the Box, a wagging motion from a cats tail is not a sign of pleasure, it is a sign of annoyance and anger.

    You will also need to watch for your cat thumping its tail against the floor. This gesture is also a sign of an angry cat. When cats have reached their limits for handling, they will signal their desire to be left alone with tail language.

    Most cats are sensitive about being petted too close to certain parts of their body, like their feet or belly. If you dont cease petting the cat after getting tail warnings, your cat might growl, swat, hiss, or bite.

    Cat body language is relatively predictable for the most part. Although some complaint of getting bitten without warning, this situation is relatively rare. Angry or annoyed cats usually provide fair warning before acting out against their owners.

    What Cat Shaking Tail Tells You

    Why Does My Cat Shake Its Tail At Me

    It would be absurd to imagine that your cat will one day communicate to you using words. This will never happen. However, it will often pass messages to you through its tail, face, eyes, ears, and overall body behavior.

    In this case, be keen to note when your cat is quivering, aggressively thrashing, shaking or vibrating the tail. Maybe it is trying to put some message across.

    What do all these mean? According to pets.thenest.com, a;cat shaking, and vibrating its tail may mean many things such as aggression, annoyance or even anxiety.

    Commonly, this behavior means the following:

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    What Does It Mean When A Cat Lashes His Tail From Side To Side

    The tail waving quietly from side to side means contentment. If the cat is sitting quietly with his tail gently wagging back and forth, he’s concentrating intently on something. Vigorous lashing back and forth is a sure sign of anger; signaling annoyance and a good sign that the cat is really upset. Tail wagging somewhere in between heavy duty and half-hearted can mean that he is indecisive.

    Why Do Cats Shake Or Vibrate Their Tails And What Does It Mean

    Understanding a cats mood and needs can prove difficult even for experienced pet parents. Cats communicate mainly through body language or vocalization.

    But even if your pet kitty doesnt have a problem with speaking its mind through meows, yowls, and chirps, the fact that you dont speak meow makes communication hard. So all thats really left for you to try and do is to monitor your beloved furball in order to read its body language.

    One of the most expressive aspects of the feline body language is the tail position. Unless you own a bob-tailed breed like the Highlander or the Pixie-Bob, you can learn a lot just from the way your cat is moving or positioning its tail in various situations.

    Out of the many ways a cat can move its tail, a particularly interesting movement is shaking, or vibrating .

    When cats shake their tails, they express a variety of emotions. The shaking/ vibrating can affect either the entire tail or just its tip. It usually occurs when the tail is facing upwards or is slightly bent at the tip.

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    Why Do Cats Wag Their Tails

    Unlike dogs, cats often wag their tails when they are angry or upset, but its not always the case. Cat tail language is really sophisticated and can be an excellent indicator to your kittys emotions. By paying attention to the direction and speed of your cats wagging tail, as well as the rest of their body, you can usually get a good grasp as to how theyre feeling. See our list of possible explanations as to why your cat is wagging their tail.

    The Cat Might Be Angry

    Is Your Cat Shaking Her Tail Up, Not Spraying But Looks Like It?

    Do cats have emotions of anger? Yes, they do. According to many experts, these pets are the most emotional pets of all of them. Therefore, yours can get mad, just like people do. When it is angry, you can tell it. Unfortunately, many people are too ignorant to notice anger in cats.

    Thenest.com notes that your feline friend will always shake and whip their tails vigorously when angry. The shaking and whipping are generally exaggerated. At the time of shaking, they look unusually aggressive.

    Tail shaking, in this case, signifies that your feline friend is angry about something. The anger makes the cat confused and restless. It also acts defensively. As you approach it, just take caution as it can release its anger on you.

    What do you do in such a case? Be calm and approach it in a friendly manner. Hold the cat gently and caress it. It will get settled and calm. Anger will soon disappear. However, at times you must leave it alone or else you will become a victim of her claws and mouth.

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    What To Watch For

    Shaking in an adult cat can be generalized, involving the entire body, or more localized, involving the head, tail or other body part. The condition can come on suddenly or gradually, depending on the cause, and it may not happen often, or it may occur more frequently.

    If the shaking or tremors are involuntary, what you will observe are repetitive muscle movements that alternate between contraction and relaxation, usually involving either rapid or slow movements of one or more body parts.

    As the causes can be numerous, it may be difficult to determine exactly why your cat is shaking.

    Do Cats Wag Their Tails When Happy

    Its a common misconception that cats will only wag their tails when theyre angry, but theres actually loads of reasons why they may do this. Contrary to popular belief, a cats tail is actually really expressive and can give you an invaluable insight into if theyre feeling playful, happy or scared.

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    Cats Wag Their Tails When Theyre Annoyed

    If your cat is wagging their tail back and forth continually while lying down or flicking it with little bursts of energy, its likely that they are expressing their annoyance. Maybe they dont want to be bothered at the moment, or perhaps their territory is being invaded by pushy humans. No matter what their annoyance level is, if you see this tail movement, youre best to move away and leave your cat alone for a while. At least until they are feeling more sociable.

    Its A Way Of Greeting You

    Why does my cat shake his tail like a rattlesnake Te Ata ...

    When you come home in the evening, you note your cat is shaking tail after seeing you. When it raises it, it is a way of saying hi. You deserve to know that these pets do this as an expression of greetings. They are just happy that you have come back. The tail is a welcome back tone.

    During this shaking, the tail is slightly raised up and while the tip is bent. The ears are also up high, and the eyes can, in fact, tell you that you are welcome home. The tail will gently shake, vibrate or quiver. The shaking signifies a friendly greeting.

    In such a case, it expects you to recognize the greeting and respond. By this time, it is eagerly looking at you for a response. Therefore, dont just ignore it and move on. In response to the greetings, pick it and hug it. Then place it down, and it will be;satisfied.

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    Why Do Cats Fluff Up Their Tails

    If your cat assumes the quintessential Halloween-cat posture with a puffed tail and arched back, then they are startled or frightened by a sudden, severe threat.

    Your cats hair stands on end so that they can appear to be larger. This is a defensive reaction indicating that your cat wishes to be left alone.

    This tail position is often triggered by feeling threatened by other animals in the yard, dogs approaching, visitors in the home, or sudden noises. Remove the inciting triggers to decrease your cats stress. If you try to interact with your cat when their hair is standing up, they may perceive your approach as a threat and become aggressive.

    Why Do Female Cats Shake

    Happiness And Excitement. In most cases the shaking tail is a sign of negative emotions, but there are exceptions to every rule. In other words, its also possible for your cat to be happy or excited when its tail is vibrating. Your pet kittys hyperactive tail is the most expressive fragment of its body language.

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    Low Wag Tail Tuck Or Bottle Brush: Your Cat Is Afraid

    Your cat will hold her tail in one of two positions if she is afraid. If she wants to avoid conflict she may wag her tail low to the ground, or even tuck it between her legs as a sign of submission.

    A cat with a tucked tail may also be signaling that shes in pain.

    A cat who is afraid but willing to fight may hold her tail erect and fluff it out like a bottle brush. She may arch back and raise the hair along her spine while flattening her ears in a kind of Halloween cat posture. The whole display makes the cat appear larger and more menacing than she really is to a potential aggressor.

    Cats Wag Their Tails When Theyre Feeling Confident

    Is your cat shaking her tail in a strange way?

    If you see your friendly feline walking around with their tail held high and wagging a little at the top, your cat is probably feeling pretty confident strutting around the house. Not only will your cat be feeling confident as they go about their day, but this also lets other cats and their owner know theyre open for some pets and playtime. This is one of the reasons if youre wondering why cats wag their tails. This also relates to when cats wag their tails when theyre happy.

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    What Does It Mean When Your Cats Tail Vibrates

    Cats are delightfully mysterious- from their aloof personalities to their adorable little ears, theres a thousand questions us humans have about our feline friends. Yet, one of the biggest points of interest has always been the cats tail. From the thumping twitches of irritation to little kink at the end, as they come over to say hello, the cats tail can indicate a thousand moods. Needless to say, its important to know what your cat is trying to tell you, in order to figure out what your next steps should be!

    One of these tell-tale signs is the vibrating tail of our cats. If youve ever noticed your cats tail vibrating, its understandable you might have a few questions as to what it means. Luckily, you have us to do the research for you. Below we discuss some of the main reasons its believed a cats tail may vibrate and how it affects your relationship between you and your pet.

    What Does The Different Positions Of The Whiskers Reveal

    When pointed forward and fanned out, the cat is tense – alert, excited and ready to act. When the whiskers are bunched together and flattened to the side of the face, he is feeling reserved, timid, or shy. When pointed sideways and aren’t spread out, the cat is comfortable, calm, relaxed, friendly, satisfied, or indifferent.

    Cats are intelligent and fascinating creatures who rarely do something without good reason, even if we don’t understand what that reason may be.

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    Why Do Female Cats Shake Their Tails

    Happiness And Excitement In most cases the shaking tail is a sign of negative emotions, but there are exceptions to every rule. In other words, its also possible for your cat to be happy or excited when its tail is vibrating. Your pet kittys hyperactive tail is the most expressive fragment of its body language.

    Cats Tails Can Quiver If They Have Neurological Disorders

    Why Does My Cat Shake Its Tail

    There is a possibility that your cat is not quivering its tail voluntarily, but rather for reasons that are not under its conscious control.

    If you cannot attribute your cats tail quivering to any of the aforementioned causes, take your cat to the vet for a health check.

    Cats are particularly good at masking illness. Once you have made an appointment, capture your cats tail vibrations on video if possible. This way, if your cat doesnt quiver its tail once at the vets, you can show the recording.

    Your vet will be able to determine if your cat is experiencing involuntary tremors that are casing its tail to quiver and hopefully provide any necessary treatement.

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    The Bottom Line On Cat Tail Wagging

    A cats tail is really a barometer for her feelings. Cat tail wagging is a way to communicate those feelings with us, but we must consider the entire picture, including non-tail body language and overall demeanor, before accurately interpreting it. When we learn to read the messages our cats are sending us, we will respond accordingly and develop a trusting, respectful relationship with our beloved felines.

    Top photograph: GlobalP | Thinkstock.;

    Ever Wondered Why Curious Facts About Cats

    Cats are unique creatures; very different from dogs. We share some fun and fascinating facts here!

    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Anyone with a cat knows it’s no surprise to see their favorite feline exhibit curious behaviors or watch them as they go through their entertaining daily rituals. We’ll share some fun facts about these antics and attitudes which seem crazy to us, but seem very normal to your cat.

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