What did you all think of this video? Should I make more like this? Let me know what you'd like to see next. Thanks for tuning in and have a great weekend everybody!
I have been feeding my cat this. Wondering if its any good? Ingredients Beef: Meat and animal derivatives (24% of which beef 4%) Vegetable protein extracts Fish and fish derivatives Derivatives of vegetable origin Minerals Various sugars Chicken: Meat and animal derivatives (27% of which chicken 10%) Vegetable protein extracts Fish and fish derivatives Derivatives of vegetable origin Minerals Various sugars Salmon: Meat and animal derivatives Vegetable protein extracts Fish and fish derivatives (salmon 4%) Derivatives of vegetable origin Minerals Various sugars Tuna: Meat and animal derivatives Vegetable protein extracts Fish and fish derivatives (tuna 4%) Derivatives of vegetable origin Minerals Various sugars Calories 100.15kCals/80.18kCals can Nutrition & Analytical Constituents Moisture: 74.0% Protein: 17.0% Fat content: 4.0% Crude ash: 2.0% Crude fibres: 0.5% Nutritional additives IU/kg: Vit. A: 900; Vit. D3: 137. mg/kg:Iron (II) sulphate monohydrate: (Fe: 10); Calcium iodate anhydrous: (I: 0.25); Copper (II) sulphate pentahydrate: (Cu: 0.9); Manganous sulphate monohydrate: (Mn: 2.0); Zinc sulphate monohydrate: (Zn: 18.6); taurine: 560. Flavourings.
It was great. I saw many comments (live chat & now) asking about cats with stubby or missing tails (eg. Manx, Japanese Bobtail, amputation, etc). so that may make a good follow-up video or addendum, or even a short.
Have never understood how Any cat can jump up on the bed (for ex) and not make any presence known at all, then walk across you with the wt of an elephant in each foot?!? How do they control gravity? ( besides b3ing aliens)🐈⬛🐈⬛
I just lost my Ginger cat, she was 21 and I am a mess.please pray for her and me. I'm so lost without her. I wasn't around many people but Ginger was always with me. I'm devastated and lost. 10/21/23 I want to thank everyone who has responded. The number of responses is amazing. A little orange tabby boy showed up on my doorstep recently and has adopted me. He doesn't replace Ginger, but he does have quite a personality! 8/12/24 Sadly, that orange tabby boy has passed away. He had a short life, but he enjoyed every day.
Oh Miss Pam, I am so sorry. If it gets too much and you need to talk, please just reply here. I think that would work. You were a great Mom, and I hope you can take comfort in that. You're not alone. Somewhere , when you're ready, some little purring ball of softness will need you, and love you, and give you back your joy. It will be her lucky day!♥️
I'm so sorry Pam. I'm there too - I had to say goodbye to my beautiful Calico girl a couple weeks ago. You're not alone! We'll always hold them in our hearts. 21 years old is very impressive. You must have cared for her really well. ♥
Is she not otherwise an affectionate cat? Mine loves belly rubs and her tail does lovely thing buy as I said, nothing can persuade her to sit on my lap 🤢
@@suzannevaughan7952 Mine? She definitely is. She follows me everywhere and loves to cuddle in the morning. She just happens to be food obsessed as well.
Same, it confuses tf out of people haha. He'll be purring like a tractor but flicking his tail and people will be so anxious about him, but he's just happy to be there
Great info, I have taught my son from a very young age to watch for the warning signs that what he's doing is upsetting the cat. I tell him to watch out for "airplane" ears and a "twitchy" tail which means "back off" in cat language. Usually he's pretty good. He has gotten a couple scratches when he wasn't paying enough attention, but he's never been bitten! Our cat loves going into his room and waking him up each morning. They really do love each other
When I was about that age, I got stuck behind the couch with a cat. I learned SO MUCH about personal space that day (I didn't get bit miraculously, but I was shredded pork all day)
Great parenting! Hopefully that focus on being sensitive to other's internal experiences carries over to other people, other animals, and himself as well c:
Thanks for the shout-out to the confused hissers of the world. There is nothing and nobody that my girl won't hiss at, but it is never a sign of anger. She's smol, confused, and Very Rude!
When it’s time for food one of my fosters will run up to me with a happy tail and hiss. She grew up in a colony so I guess she never learned to talk to humans in a nice way. If I interpret it as a meow it makes much more sense!
I love the way our new and formerly frightened kitten now gives head bumps, and she loves to be scratches under the neck. She is blossoming before our eyes and it it due to the implementation of Jackson’s advice. So many cats and humans saved by this knowledge, thank you a million times! 🙏❤
Who else LOVES it when Jackson brings out the science? 🎉😁 I volunteer at our city animal shelter and will share this video with the other volunteers. Keep educating us Jackson!😊
When one of the shy shelter cats where I volunteer ran up to me with her tail up I was so happy and proud of her. When we first met she wouldn't let anyone get close to her without hissing.
I am so thankful that you did this video. I have a neutered male cat who is so cuddly and his most favorite thing is when family comes home and settles in so he can climb up in their lap and make bread. When you first sit down, he backs up to the chair and twitches his tail and it really does looks like a spray tail, but he doesn't spray, he's just looking for some attention and judging if you are settled in enough for a lap cat. There is such a different stigma put on a cat that is spraying versus being loving that more people need to know about this so that future caregivers don't scold and shut out a love bug just being excited to come in for a cuddle.
I too lost a 23 yr old cat and absolutely devastated. It was extremely difficult but time really does heal all wounds. Just takes time. Try to think of all the happy moments you shared with your baby.
I've lost cats before too and it never gets any easier. I'll be praying for both of you. I don't know what you believe, but I believe you will meet again in the next life.
My cat likes to lay on my lap while I'm working.... for a limited time anyway. I watch her tail! When it starts flicking and then whipping, it's time to put her down.... she's done. I learned that from Jackson! Thanks for teaching me what my baby is telling me! 😊
When I was working rescue and trying to socialize shy or feral cats, the tail salute was one of the first signs that it was working. A cat who greets you and responds to contact with the tail salute has grown more comfortable around humans, and is showing that they trust you.
I'm glad you mentioned mock spraying! One of my cats does that every morning and I got the impression that it was a positive thing but could never figure it out. Every time I googled it I would get "your cat is spraying!!" and I knew she wasn't. Thank you JG!!
Almost all my cats do this in the morning over their food dish. It's because I feed them in meals and I won't entertain screaming for food or parading in circles on my face to wake me up. I'll shut them out of the bedroom if they jump on my face for breakfast, and if they scream over the food dish I'll wait with the can a minute until they quiet down. They all learn (even ones i've catsit for a few days) to beg in other ways that I call the "charm offensive" - they'll come gently curl up and purr on me in bed to wake me gradually, then run straight to the breakfast dish and stand there silently with their tails vibrating in excitement. Sounds like you have a very polite kitty who is REALLY excited to see you and for breakfast!
I recently adopted a seven month old three legged kitten! Her left rear leg was amputated. It is fascinating to watch her use her tail when playing or running or whatever as a counter balance for that missing leg. She is getting quite good at it 😊 I have a photo of her in mid air, jumping for a toy with her tail in the place where the leg should be.
I feel ya. I'm a first-time cat dad to a beautiful Ragamuffin named Ollie. Cats are so amazing, aren't they? What are your thoughts on a raw diet. I'm all for it but my wife is apprehensive. We watch Jackson together but the brainwashing from cat food companies runs deep. Do you feed your cat raw? Do you add supplements like taurine and I think ground bone? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Only minutes ago, I fed my girl, Raven, some smoked salmon - where I saw her do one of the biggest fake-spray shimmies, I have ever seen her do. And, now, thanks to you, Jackson - I know it means that she is super excited and extra happy. Which, makes me feel good, because I think she has a little throat infection, and isn’t feeling too great, ‘cause she can’t meow, currently. Though, she just wolfed down a ton of salmon and her own food, so, I think she’s doin’ alright, despite so.
Clubby always does the vibrating tail thing when she's super excited and she has never squirted pee on anything. She does it ALL the time and you can easily tell she's excited and happy. 😊❤i love it when she does it even though i do get nervous sometimes 😂
This will be extremely helpful. My 6yo son needs visual aids to help him understand things. This will be great for me to show him, and hopefully, he will understand our kittens' moods/behavior easier.
Hi @greenarrow219, How cool it is that you want to raise your son to understand cats!! Jackson Galaxy is a GREAT place to find out the HOW about cats!!
@j.b.9581 My boy doesn't tend to believe much you say unless you can show him visually. It can be difficult. So if I say to him, the cat is getting grumpy, he might scratch you. He will reply with "No, he won't," so he continues on until he gets scratches. So if I can show him Jackson's videos, he will see cat body language and what it means. Might help😬
I had, worked with bonded with and loved dogs my entire life...got old and was adopted by a cat. Jackson I love learning from you how to be a better human for my tuxedo companion. He's awesome and so are you. Thanks from both of us 😁❤️😎
One of my cats has a curly tail that he was apparently born with according to the shelter. It is a gentle curl, but definately a spiral and not broken. He still communicates as much as he can with it, but it used to mess with his balance until he really learned how it affected him. He's a three yr old bengal, so he's a spitfire regardless:)
We LOOOOve Cats. That's why you're at 2 million subscribers. We love you too Cat Daddy. Thank you for the video.I know a little more now than I did before.
I have shared what I've learned with my cat-sitting clients, and had one completely change their cats diet and litter, with excellent results! THANK YOU CAT DADDY!!
My girl kitty gently swishes her tail back and forth when she’s happy and being affectionate (and also when she’s asking for her dinner lol), it’s super cute 🥰 It’s definitely different from the stimulated swishing/flicking and the annoyed flicking, it’s more like a graceful cat-style happy tail wag. 😸
My current one does this too! We have been trying to figure out if it's an unusual expression of positivity or a hangover from her previous situation. I have rescued and fostered many cats and am largely familiar with the "bad" swish, but this is the first one who just does it constantly, all the time, including when she's happy and affectionate. She is a very traumatized rescue who when we got her in 2020 used to attack everything. No flight, all fight. After about a year on prozac and gabepentin and with the feliway going at all times, and in a solo-cat household with no dogs or children, she gradually reduced her angst to "normal" cat levels. It took her almost a year to purr for the first time while not on gabepentin. Her original meow volume was only a full-throated "is this cat going to attack me?" shriek. I was able to gradually train her out of that by treating it like it was a warning scream every time and backing off... and she gradually learned to make normal-volume meps and cute little squarks to get positive interaction and affection. I felt like she'd been raised in a negative environment where the only way she could get noticed was by screaming, and this was the first time she'd learned she could communicate with sane-volume noises. Several years after weaning her off the prozac and gabepentin, she's now full on affectionate and relaxed with us - lots of showing us her belly, big face-first dives down our legs to flop at our feet, purring, sleeping on us, very clingy lovey, etc, never ever screams any more, etc. She's even getting pretty okay with other people. But she still does the tail swish, and I kind of thought it's was like the excessively loud scream meows - what leftover anxiety is still part and parcel in her body from her original trauma. It isn't a fast, oh-f*ck-oh-f*ck type lash, just what I'd interpret as idle anxity lowkey swish. But what you and others are saying gives me hope - maybe it's just a thing some cats do, and it means nothing bad at all!
A fair number of your audience may have recently adopted a cat from Maui that was airlifted to the mainland to free up resources for Lahaina survivors, as we did about two days after the plane landed at PDX in August. Our Fruity cat was quite traumatized by her ordeal, but is slowly coming out of her shell and behaving more normally. Your advice and Intel have been very helpful for us in our quest to give Fruity a secure and happy home. Thank you. ❤❤❤
Catnip, surprisingly, has a calming effect for humans! It's medicine can be helpful for humans of all ages, infants included. Things like tea and tinctures. To help with sleep and even teething. I used a glycerite blend with catnip in it for my teething baby and it worked wonders. So, beneficial for humans and felines alike! 🥰
I didn't ever really see the "low tail" thing until it was in the emergency mode of tucked tail with a new toddler! I was the kitty whisperer in that moment and now the kid and kitty are besties each time she visits.
My husband had never interacted with cats before and he learned really fast (thanks, Mr Galaxy!) to watch out for what our cat is telling him with her tail. She positively loves him right now and he knows very well how to avoid turning our princess into Deathclaws The Ripper. Complete besties.
I rescued my cat as she was running across the road in a wonky manner as a kitten with traffic coming both ways. It turned out she had been injured falling off the roof of a 2 story building when she was a kitten. because of her weak back her tail became a stabilizer and she uses it to balance when she is on the back legs, like a kangaroo very cute but also another relevant story of how tails help cats use their agile and magnificent bodies...Love them!!! Thank you Jackson Galaxy for being awesome ...Miew... 😺😺😺
When I adopted my cat a few years ago, I was so confused about the "mock spray" tail vibration. I'd watched tons and tons of your videos front to back multiple times, along with lots of other in-depth research, and I thought I was prepared for anything. First day I brought my kitty home, she was SO excited to explore her new home (she'd been absolutely miserable at the shelter) that her little tail vibrated multiple times throughout the day! I had no idea what it meant and was a bit concerned, but since she seemed super happy and at ease, I decided to wait and see. So funny to only learn now all these years later why it happens! Unable to find any info on it online, I simply chalked it up to a weird little happy tic. Thank you for everything you do, Jackson, your videos are always fun and informative! :)
It is a great little happy tic! I've commented this for one or two people so I apologize if you're seeing this twice, but I have often gotten this vibration out of cats I've had (even ones I've catsit) because I refuse to encourage them to scream for breakfast. I don't enjoy all the chaos yowling over the dish, so I'll wait with the can for a minute and reward them as soon as they quiet down. They almost all quickly replace yowling for food with this vibrating tail, which I call the "begging tail" - they run over to the dish silently and just vibrate and purr in happy excitement. Sounds like your kitty is happy as can be!
I'm getting 2 6 month old kitties the day that I'm commenting this, I've been watching damn near every one of your videos and I'm learning so much invaluable information!! Thank you for everything you've posted to help make my cat's lives better :)
Hahaha...so funny...the sprinkling part! Well...here's something I would like to add... When our, ginger long haired cat, Mickey is relaxed and laying on the floor, he reacts to our voices with the back end of his tail. As if he's talking back and is at that point just too lazy to use his voice. Thanks again Jackson for the useful information!
I think your videos might be my cat's favourites - she's currently sitting on her window seat (i.e. a cheap upholstered bar stool next to the living room window), in a sunbeam, watching your video over my shoulder, and purring her guts out. Thanks for making such good content!
yay this is so awesome! I’ve been wondering my kitty vibrates her tail and the only things I’ve ever found are that it means they’re nervous or spraying which definitely wasn’t the case for her. I’m so happy to know she’s just happy to see me followed by the head bunts 🥰
I call it the "begging" tail as well, as I have had many cats do this in front of the food dish for me. This may be because I feed wet food in meals, so there is the excitement with knowing it is mealtime - but they also do it pre-emptively to "ask" for meals. I sometimes will jokingly voice-over them doing it: "Snack? SNACK!" I also always discourage annoying forms of begging for food in cats I rescue or catsit such as yowling, jumping on your face in the morning to parade in circles, etc. A cat that runs to their dish and screams will have me stand there holding the can and waiting a few minutes until they shut up - and within days of being rewarded the moment they *stop* screaming, almost all cats will replace screaming over the breakfast dish with silent, excited tail vibrating over the breakfast dish.
We call our cat Miss Twitchy Tail, because she moves her tail ALL the time. She goes really nuts every time she sees a bug on our window screen, or when she's stalking one of her little mouse toys. It also makes me feel really good to be reminded that Cecilia putting her tail up and meowing and giving me those little tail-crooks when she sees me in the morning or when she comes over for pets means that she's happy to see me. Also- some cats never learned what a hiss was is a MOOD with my girl. I think she knows it means "Hey, that's annoying me!" because she'll do it when I pet her just a bit too much, or bug her when she doesn't want to be bugged. But she ALSO just... Doesn't put the ears back. Doesn't flatten the whiskers. She doesn't have teeth anymore but even when she did, she never really flashed them too much. It's like a bored hiss. I think it's cute- but I also know that's her telling me to eff off and stop touching her.
My cat is so happy and energised that often his tail goes so high that it almost touches his head from backwards!😂 also he hiss only when he's playing, happy and excited. 😂And he purr only when he suckle his blanket. I've got a weird one 😂
That’s so cute 😻 Our weird one is a cat 🐈 dog that follows you everywhere you go, his tail is so high you see that before him. He is orange, so he is our strange on. The youngest out of 4, we get a kick out of him though.
I love cats so much❤ after watching this Channel I have increased my understanding and affection for my cat 10 fold.❤ I even slow blink at him when I tell him I love him❤
My husband and I adopted a cat a week and a half ago. I’m completely obsessed with him. Hearing “ownership = love “ made my heart swell knowing my little man loves me. I always thought it was cute how he wraps his tail around my pinky and/or wrist sometimes
@@lisabethfrits3491 okay that’s good to know about you Washington is a nice place, how is life with you over there? I’m originally from Paris France 🇫🇷 but live in San Jose California
When l come home from work, Chester, renamed Lord Chester by my British uncle, gets fed. I never tire of his tail quivering so quickly, knowing he is so excited and happy.
This is such a good guide! I like that you added in the end that individual cats have their quirks, and it's true. Probably most if not all of these tails can mean different things depending on the context. My cat puffs his tail from excitement, even positive. He also does it when he's playing with his toys by himself. My dad had a regular house cat that was born with no tail a couple of decades ago, and she still managed to have a pretty expressive butt lol
Had a bengal cross who would tap the last couple of inches of his tail to the beat of jazz music (including syncopated beats). He would be chilled out, eyes at half-mast, and tapping along with the beat. Never seen any other cat do that.
Thanks again Jackson! My cats are living a great life thanks to your training of me on cats. Interesting about the Mock Spray. One of our cats do this and I thought it was excitement, but it's somewhat different. He's fixed so he isn't spraying. My Siberian kitten didn't seem to speak the same language as our two normal cats. But, he is intelligent and a year old now so he is learning and our micro Pride is getting along better than ever. Time to go build some cat trees for our catio.
One of my cats is really expressive. Most of the cats will have a straight vertical exclamation mark, hers will almost touch her back! She won't just touch my leg with her tail, she will wrapped it around. Cute babe ❤
I adopted two cats together, one of which the shelter described as shy and skittish. It took a couple of months, but one day, all of a sudden, her tail went from drooping to straight up, and it's been mostly that way ever since. Every person who has ever had a cat in their life knows the meaning of that tail and I was ecstatic when the change came.
VIDEO IDEA: how to play with more than one cat. Just adopted a bonded pair, 1 year, but playing with them in parallel is so difficult. Closing one out is no option as they get concerned, but it is very hard to keep the balance that not one is taking over play and when trying to simmer one he gets into the others play. Video needed! ❤
Is 2 toys an option for you? I'm sure there's also some cat toys that would work for both cats at the same time, like the wack a mole ones so both cats can have their attention on it and go for it
I've always used fishing rod toys in that situation, if you get one with a nice long string then you can make it go to the cat that is getting less play time. When you have 2 cats there will always be one that is a bit more dominant.
I missed the flat tail on the ground with only the tip lifted. It's a sign of a happy cat :-) Also, the tail can get puffed when cats are happy, not only when they get scared. A bit like purring, they do it when they are happy, but also when they are in a lot of pain. Love your videos, greetz from Holland !
1) The tail consists of a varying number of vertebrae (called “caudal” vertebrae) and voluntary muscles with ligaments and tendons holding it all together. Cats have bones in their tails-in fact, 10 percent of your cat's bones are in the tail. The Tail is full of blood supply, nerves, cartilage, bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles. in the tail play an important role in your cat's movement, balance, bowel control, scent distribution, communication and more. A Cat's tail is an extension of their spine, and is important in many ways Cats use their tails to balance, both when walking on narrow footing and when hunting prey, The tail helps to serve as a counterbalance when cats walk on narrow spaces such as fences or shelves. The tail also aids in balance when a cat is running after or jumping on prey. The lack of a tail is usually caused by a genetic defect and this can have serious consequences. Cats with no tail may have a deformed spine which can affect the spinal cord and nerve supply to important organs. Other possible health issues could include early arthritis and bowel blockages. 2) Used as communication Device, with other animals, prey , predators and humans. A tail that is straight up acts as a greeting. When cats put their tail in the air around other cats, it can be seen as an invite for the other cat to smell them. a curve at the tip can mean your cat is relaxed, while a puffed up tall tail is a sign of dominance or confrontation. Fast flicks can mean kitty is preparing to pounce, or is peeved or is agitated.. Your cat may quiver their tail when they are especially excited to see you or another cat, or prey. When your cat thrashes their tail, or is thumping it on the ground, they are irritated, annoyed, or angry. This tells you that something is bothering your cat. This is a distance-increasing behavior. In other words, if you are petting your cat and they start thrashing their tail, they are trying to tell you to stop. The Slowly Swaying: Cat's move their tails this way, often with some twitching, when they are planning to pounce. It's believed that the sway is enacted to mesmerize their prey. The Domestic cat is the only feline that can hold its tail in a vertical position while walking. Wild cats hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs. 3) Cat's Tails help them stay warm...similar to how humans cross their arms to stay warm..but a Cat's tail Ex: Maine Coon, will wrap their tails completely around their body and face to keep them warm. Other breeds, like the Siamese, will also do the same to help trap body heat during a cold day. It helps conserve body heat. A tail can provide an extra layer of warmth , wind barrier and sensor..for a cat that is sleeping, which is why you will often see a recumbent feline curled up with its tail wrapped around its face and body. Even with all that fur, cats are most comfortable when the temperature is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit / 10 celcius. 4) One thing many people don't know , is the TAIL Is similar to a memory stick....Cats have a strong body memory, ...the tail will touch objects around them as they pass by them , to measure distances, and place scent on them. A cat's tail is a very sensitive and an essential part of their body. When in battle with other cats..the tail becomes important for many reasons. It will urinate sometimes in battle and leave the scent on the tail. Like a brush , it will rub against places to avoid. (like predators, no go zones etc) Cats generally bite each other around the head, neck, ears, and front legs when they are going mano a mano, but they aren't above throwing in a cheap shot and chomping down around the base of the tail of another cat, who is running away. Cats have scent glands around their cheeks, chin, top of their head, and *base of their tail* . These scent glands contain pheromones. When cats rub their face or tail against humans, other animals, or household items, they are leaving behind this pheromone that they can identify. Some cats do PHANTOM SPRAYING.. Phantom spraying looks like true urine spraying (urine marking), but no urine comes out. The Cat is anxious or might be territorial and is expressing that. Phantom spraying may progress to actual urine marking so it would be important to identify any possible stressors in her environment and remove those. Enriching the environment is almost always helpful when treating cats with behavioral disorders. 5) Cats with normal anatomy and physiology are able to control their tails from the base to the tip and know how to do so instinctually. All of the action begins in the brain with your cat determining what the tail should do. Nerves then act like cables, delivering the command via electrical signals from the brain to the muscles that manipulate your cat's tail. 6) Cats slap their tails against people to show affection, irritation or because they want attention. 7) Cats puff out their tails and arch their backs when they're frightened in an effort to make themselves seem bigger than they are. Cats sometimes make their tails puffy when they're feeling especially happy and playful. It's most often seen in kittens, but even older cats make the base of their tails look extra fluffy when they're having fun. 8) Motion triggers instinctive hunting behavior. Kittens especially target their own (or other cats') tails during play. Usually, the youngster outgrows this type of behavior although some older cats will continue to play with their own tails from time to time. 9) Does the Color of the cats tail , affect the personality of the cat ?? When comparing the cats by coat color, gray cats had the highest scores for shyness, aloofness and intolerance, while orange cats had the highest scores for trainability, friendliness and calmness. Tabby cats had the highest scores for bold and active, tricolor cats for stubborn, and bicolor cats for tolerant. 10) Both male and female cats can spray. Unneutered male cats are the most likely to mark. They also have the strongest smelling urine. About 5% of neutered females and 10% of neutered males continue urine marking after they've been fixed. 11) It is cruel to pull a cats tail. Tail injuries can cause permanent damage. The tail, houses nerves that can affect the tail's muscles as well as their control of urination and defecation. Pulling on the tail can cause nerve damage. Nerve damage may heal over time, but can often be permanent. 12) Docking a cat's tail for other purposes other than medically necessary removal is uncalled for. Tail docking became a common practice for breeders to conform cats to the rest of a litter born without tails for certain breeds. There are occasions that docking a tail is necessary, which then becomes an amputation. Even though cats use their tails for balance, if a cat’s tail needs to be amputated due to an injury, the cat will soon learn to compensate for the loss of their tail. In fact, Manx cats are born without tails and are not any less agile than their tailed friends. 14)
Good summary. You are right about the amputated tail, I unfortunately had to have a paralyzed tail amputated, but he adjusted to life without a tail. With the paralyzed tail, other cats saw it as a sign of potential aggression, so he was getting beaten up.
Thanks for this video! I have a cat with feline hyperesthesia and she’s always had her tail going, even when she’s happy and affectionate. She was rescued from the streets at six weeks, and she hardly ever walks around tail upright. She will usually walk around with it kind of level in the trust but verify position. Just wanted to bring some awareness to feline hyperesthesia and tails, because it took me a while to figure out what her condition was. Now that I know, I’ve been able to treat her with medication and her quality of life has gone up a lot. 😊
Hi JG, We have the distinct privilege of adopting and socializing ourselves WITH a former feral cat. She is a tortiseshell and has taught us SO MUCH about cat-dom (or cat-ness?). One special thing that our former feral does is that when she is playing, especially when she might be just a tad between curiosity, puzzling something out, and happy excitement, she will 'bottle brush' her tail. It's not because of fright, it's a thrill more like. Do you know of any other cats that do this? It's an endearing feature of her many cool aspects. She is SUPER quiet. In her first few months in the house if she accidently knocked something over, she was PETRIFIED!! (OOPS, I made a noise . . something out there will come and GET ME now, it KNOWS I am here . . .).
I was wondering the same thing, my kitten will also "bottle brush" her tail when playing, but I never felt like she was scared, just being super playful and excited, but now I'm thinking maybe I should worry about it...
My Tabby's tail often gets puffed when he gets excited playing. You know when they get the zoomies? Well, it's as if, sometimes, running full speed around the house wasn't enough to channel all that sudden burst of energy, so some of it goes through the tail and puffs it - that's the impression it gives. None of my previous cats did that. I'd always thought puffy tail meant frightened or upset, but it turns out it's quite common for kittens to do it when they're playing.
My daughter posted a video of her newly adopted kitten the other day and I just checked the position of his tail in the video. I was pleased to see that his tail was straight up.
Every morning when I wake up and meet my cat she miaows at me and does Mock-spraying and since Jackson taught me what it means I get happy everytime I see it
I've had cats all my life, but the kitty my wife and I got about two years ago is hilarious. She will walk in front of us with her tail straight up in the air and mew to have us stroke the length of her tail, almost pulling it. She also likes to have her tail pulled like that while she's eating, almost like pull-starting a lawn mower.
When we took in our stray kitten, her tail tip was burnt. We took her to a vet and he said it would soon fall off, and it did. Her tail is perfect now and since it happened when was a small kitten she adapted. She is named Sierra Brialle.❤❤❤
Jackson- I think you should make a video about grieving the loss of a cat. How it impacts the other cats in the household, tips on how we can help ourselves through it, and their cat companions through it as well. ❤
My boy will do the mock spraying whenever he sees me! He also sometimes will just sit and stare at me, and if I say hi to him, he’ll swish his tail aggressively and give me slow blinks 🥰
My cat was really patient with me, he was really chill. Whenever i started to go over the top he started growling and then i knew "time to let go". He taught me so well, i learned his pre-growling signs and then after a while i just knew how much pets and hugs and snuggles he has patience for at all. He was a good cat, i miss you Happy.
As someone with a blind cat, this was a pretty interesting video. Whenever my cat is walking around the house, his tail will be straight out or at a low 45° angle, denoting caution, which makes sense. Also, when I call him or speak to him as he's walking around, his tail will usually shoot straight up.
Just watched my new kitten walk into the room with that tail down and popped it up once I started talking to him. This is fascinating. Going to watch my older cats now!
Our Pip psychs herself up so much sometimes, her tail puffs up. This is where the context really matters! It usually happens when the treats come out or at the end of a long pet session. It looks slightly different from the scared tail, it happens very slowly, doesnt go to full glory and stays on longer. My only cat ever to do this!
❤ yes Jackson I have experienced the tail language! 😅 Especially with my last baby girl. If I happened to walk down the hall and she was in front of me; her tail was always straight up. If she wanted to make a point her ears would go back, more to listen, and her gait would quicken. But her tail was still the same; I called it her "I'm on a mission walk!" LOL 😅 Also when petting, grooming or playing, she would use her tail a lot to talk to me! When she was serene she liked to pet me with her tail. But as you said, when she was over it ... that pet turned into a slap!! LOL I had about 2 slaps to get my body parts out of range of her claws!! LOL Luv you Jackson!! 😊❤❤
We took a cat from the streets some six months ago, her tail is always in a question mark position and she sleeps with her belly totally exposed, I'm very happy to know she's felling happy and safe in my home
I can't thank you enough for your videos! My very first kitten has me wrapped around her tiny paws due to your awesome video's! I'm obsessed with her that I may need an intervention 😅
Very good video Jackson! I really appreciate the differentiation between two quivering upright Tails backed up to anything. My new companion backs up beside me a lot in when I am in"my" chair. 😆 Really appreciate the situation could be something other than simply doesn't have any urine to squirt. 🤣
Love this video, thanks, Jackson. I joke that my cat is part black lab, he sways his tail so forcefully. He regularly smacks me in the face hard and knocks things over with his tail. He's fixed and does the mock spray whenever he sees his favorite toys or when it's time to eat. He's one of the happiest and most confident cats I've ever seen, lots of exclamation point and question mark tails, exposed bellies, and general command over his domain. Nothing much aggravates him (besides the vacuum cleaner). Sometimes I wonder if he had a tail or spinal injury as a kitten before I rescued him though. If he jumps up to play, he has a hard time landing on his feet; same when he jumps on one of his perches. He miscalculates sometimes and tumbles back to the ground. His vets have never seemed concerned. I just find it curious that he seems to have such a muscular tail and so much control over it, but then it doesn't do him many favors to accommodate gravity when he lands.
I just adopted a young cat from the shelter who had multiple pelvic fractures and surgeries 2 months ago. He is healed, but I notice that he is not as adept in jumping up on something like my bed or the sofa. He tends to leap but use his front claws to scrabble onto the bed as his jump isn't high enough. He won't even attempt to jump on anything higher than that. I sometimes help him because I think he is still recovering even though the vet at the shelter said he is healed now. Time will tell.
I'm in shock. Usually I learn something from watching you. Today, you didn't teach me anything new... that's not a complaint. I'm thrilled. I knew all of this from many decades of being a Crittermama. I try to let me fur kids be themselves, only have rules that are for their safety and ours so they can just be who they are. Since i width from June, I'm with them ask the time abs i really feel like i understand what they're trying to tell me. My husband thought i was weird, but he's started realizing he understands them. We have 5 month old, previously feral, kitten with mild Cerebellar Hypoplasia, he doesn't walk, wears a diaper and needs help with eating abs drinking due to poor motorskills, but he's otherwise healthy and happy. Since he's a little differently-abled, i was terrified i could've give him proper care. I was so wrong, he so smart. I try to let him have a much independence as is safe for him and we indeed it as he grows. He sends to understand he needs help with some things, we are learning how to understand his way of communicating and it's great. I bought the talk buttons thinking they might help, but we dint use them because he communicates so well. We have 4 adult cats and an elderly 80lb lab with joint disease, i was really concerned allowing him to roam alone wouldn't be safe. It's fine. The others dint rant want anything to do with the CH kitten so they avoid him. He likes his independence and being able to go where he wants. He had his own little method of flipping, rolling, pushing against things with his legs to propel himself and he does somersaults, the boy can jump so high, he scares me to death. I've caught him in mid-air more than once, he's so fast. He's learning to be more careful, but sometimes the zoomies just can't be helped. Since the big kids went play with him we had to break a few of the typical rules regarding rough play. We allow him to "murder" us. I feel like a a kitten he needs to be able to be as normal as possible despite his CH. Kittens need to learn how to sneak attack and fight and just be furry little ninjas. We let him attack our arms, but we remind him to be gentle, we don't tolerate him beginning toi aggressive, we're trying to teach him how to play so it's a compromise on his part and ours. Thankfully, he's very smart and usually just needs to be asked to be gentle abs a reminder we don't have fur to protect us. In a firm believer that compromise is a must with fur kids. We dint "own" then, they have their own ideas and preferences, we bring them into our homes without their permissions and expect them to follow human rules, it's only fair that we make a hinge that's safe and fun fur then and take the time to find out what they do and don't like and respect that (nail trims,medications, necessary bathing, etc are not things they enjoy, but it has to be done. We can make it as painless as trauma free as possible, then they don't fight as much and it's over quickly and we don't need band-aids and Neosporin.
TOPIC FOR A VIDEO: Institutional cats, cats that are in Long Term Care homes or hospices. Some seem to have good lives but others seem stressed often. Inconsistent care, random dog visits. Should cats get to 'retire' from this life. Thanks for all your cat advocacy Jackson!
Wow, my cats were casually lying around until the bottle brush section. That caught both of their attention and they were watching the tv. The visual of a cat in that pose must communicate to them. They weren’t agitated or anything, just watching. I never thought about that possibility. 😁
At 2:41 my cat landed on the floor next to me 😹 The fact that his tail works normally is a great sign, since some large unknown species of animal bit him right at the base of the tail a long time ago, and the vet said she thinks the animal shook its head and flung the cat, allowing the cat to escape. The cat was clearly a house cat, but either got lost, was evicted, or abandoned to fend for himself. He came to me begging for help, and when I picked him up, he wrapped his paws around my neck, clinging for dear life. I named him Ombre because he's grey, like a shadow (ombre is French for shadow). Plus, he's one chill hombre. Hardly anything fazes him. I've been watching his tail when different animals are around, to see if that might have been the species that got him, but he hasn't reacted to any of them so far. We were outside last night when a loose dog came running up from between buildings, and Ombre didn't even react. I scooped him up (he was on his leash), but Ombre was just curious. He didn't know that the dog had the predatory thing going on and was hunting him. Just one more sign that Ombre is a house cat, not feral. (And yes, the dog was at a crouched run with his eyes oh Ombre, and when I picked up his target, he stopped dead in his tracks and just stared at me). The bite wound had festered, causing a fistula ("tunnel of infection") in the tail, and systemic infection throughout his body that took 4 months to heal with a combination of antibiotics. He was x-rayed to check the extent of the injury and see if there was any vertebral separation in the tail, but that was all ok. The vet had brought up the possibility of amputation as one of many potential actions that might be needed, because it it would be necessary, she couldn't do that surgery, he would need a specialist, just because the injury was so close to the actual spine. I'm thankful that wasn't necessary. He's such a happy boy now. Every time I come home, he's so happy to see me. He runs to greet me at the door, and tries to get me to pick him up even before I've set my bags down 😹 So I have to drop everything right in front of the door just to pick him up. And then he wraps his paws around my neck so tightly, and kisses my cheek, with his tail whipping back and forth so hard that it hits me in the face 😹 Then he rolls around in my arms rubbing his cheeks all over me. I don't know how anyone could have intentionally booted him outside. Unless it was someone who wouldn't or couldn't get him neutered, because he was intact when he came to me, and he did spray here and there until he was neutered, which was within 2 weeks of coming to live here. I've since learned that the local humane society has a low cost SNAP program, but it fills up fast, and when it's filled, appointment scheduling closes, so you have to wait until it opens, usually within a few weeks, and hope to phone in time before the next month's appointments fill up. If you do get through, you have to drop the animal off by 7am on a Thursday, and pick it back up at a certain time, at an out of the way location that isn't easy for low income people to get to. There's no way I could do that, because of my work schedule, but thankfully I was able to get Ombre into a regular vet.
I love this information. I just adopted an outdoor cat that wondered into my yard months ago. I couldn't really put my finger on how she felt about me, she always looks pretty calm. This helps so much you have no idea how much I appreciate it ❤
Can you include manxes with stubby, nubby tails? 😂 Basically I need to know what it means when my cat is wiggling hers around. She even does it when I call her name.
Not only manx cats, but as far as wild cats, lynx and bobcats have little to no tail, so what about them? We may not be able to be watching for their emotional cues on said wild cats, but if the tail is so important for balance, why is it that they have balance that is just as good as a long tailed domestic cat?
@@rachelschwartz8114 I wondering about Manxes, too. Do they move through their world differently from a "standard" cat? Their lack of tail must be doing *something* for them, because my understanding is that they evolved spontaneously, as opposed to being specifically bred.
What did you all think of this video? Should I make more like this? Let me know what you'd like to see next. Thanks for tuning in and have a great weekend everybody!
I have been feeding my cat this. Wondering if its any good? Ingredients Beef: Meat and animal derivatives (24% of which beef 4%) Vegetable protein extracts Fish and fish derivatives Derivatives of vegetable origin Minerals Various sugars Chicken: Meat and animal derivatives (27% of which chicken 10%) Vegetable protein extracts Fish and fish derivatives Derivatives of vegetable origin Minerals Various sugars Salmon: Meat and animal derivatives Vegetable protein extracts Fish and fish derivatives (salmon 4%) Derivatives of vegetable origin Minerals Various sugars Tuna: Meat and animal derivatives Vegetable protein extracts Fish and fish derivatives (tuna 4%) Derivatives of vegetable origin Minerals Various sugars Calories 100.15kCals/80.18kCals can Nutrition & Analytical Constituents Moisture: 74.0% Protein: 17.0% Fat content: 4.0% Crude ash: 2.0% Crude fibres: 0.5% Nutritional additives IU/kg: Vit. A: 900; Vit. D3: 137. mg/kg:Iron (II) sulphate monohydrate: (Fe: 10); Calcium iodate anhydrous: (I: 0.25); Copper (II) sulphate pentahydrate: (Cu: 0.9); Manganous sulphate monohydrate: (Mn: 2.0); Zinc sulphate monohydrate: (Zn: 18.6); taurine: 560. Flavourings.
It was great. I saw many comments (live chat & now) asking about cats with stubby or missing tails (eg. Manx, Japanese Bobtail, amputation, etc). so that may make a good follow-up video or addendum, or even a short.
I found this video very useful. Thank you very much. 👍🏻
Also, you should pin your comment so people see it & reply here.
Have never understood how Any cat can jump up on the bed (for ex) and not make any presence known at all, then walk across you with the wt of an elephant in each foot?!? How do they control gravity? ( besides b3ing aliens)🐈⬛🐈⬛
I just lost my Ginger cat, she was 21 and I am a mess.please pray for her and me. I'm so lost without her. I wasn't around many people but Ginger was always with me. I'm devastated and lost.
10/21/23 I want to thank everyone who has responded. The number of responses is amazing.
A little orange tabby boy showed up on my doorstep recently and has adopted me. He doesn't replace Ginger, but he does have quite a personality! 8/12/24 Sadly, that orange tabby boy has passed away. He had a short life, but he enjoyed every day.
Sorry for your loss **big hugs**
Oh Miss Pam, I am so sorry. If it gets too much and you need to talk, please just reply here. I think that would work. You were a great Mom, and I hope you can take comfort in that. You're not alone. Somewhere , when you're ready, some little purring ball of softness will need you, and love you, and give you back your joy. It will be her lucky day!♥️
@@jeanperry9527 thank you so much, it is very overwhelming
Ginger must have been a great pal. Don't forget all of her fine qualities. They are there to cheer you.❤
I'm so sorry Pam. I'm there too - I had to say goodbye to my beautiful Calico girl a couple weeks ago. You're not alone! We'll always hold them in our hearts.
21 years old is very impressive. You must have cared for her really well. ♥
I love being greeted by the vibrating tail. It means so much from my independent minded cat. I’m her person.
My cat gets brontosaurus tail when she follows my boyfriend to the kitchen for food 😂
My cat's tail only vibrates like that when I'm in the kitchen because she's obsessed with food. 😆
My Millie does that to us. It's so sweet ❤
Is she not otherwise an affectionate cat? Mine loves belly rubs and her tail does lovely thing buy as I said, nothing can persuade her to sit on my lap 🤢
@@suzannevaughan7952 Mine? She definitely is. She follows me everywhere and loves to cuddle in the morning. She just happens to be food obsessed as well.
I have a cat with "happy tail wiggles". Whenever she is happy she gets the tail wiggle. We love it.
Same, it confuses tf out of people haha. He'll be purring like a tractor but flicking his tail and people will be so anxious about him, but he's just happy to be there
Great info, I have taught my son from a very young age to watch for the warning signs that what he's doing is upsetting the cat. I tell him to watch out for "airplane" ears and a "twitchy" tail which means "back off" in cat language. Usually he's pretty good. He has gotten a couple scratches when he wasn't paying enough attention, but he's never been bitten! Our cat loves going into his room and waking him up each morning. They really do love each other
When I was about that age, I got stuck behind the couch with a cat. I learned SO MUCH about personal space that day
(I didn't get bit miraculously, but I was shredded pork all day)
Lol! I call them radar ears
Cats are so easy when you understand them. My girls are 9 years old and they’ve never bitten, scratched, or even hissed at me.
Great parenting! Hopefully that focus on being sensitive to other's internal experiences carries over to other people, other animals, and himself as well c:
Amazing! Best thing to do is to teach children from a young age
Being on the autism spectrum, the overstimulation is 100% relatable. The balloon analogy was a good one.
That's part of why cats are good for autistic people; our body language is similar lol
Thanks for the shout-out to the confused hissers of the world. There is nothing and nobody that my girl won't hiss at, but it is never a sign of anger. She's smol, confused, and Very Rude!
Lol. . .I have one that SPITS when he gets super excited. . .it was the most startling thing the first time he did it.
When it’s time for food one of my fosters will run up to me with a happy tail and hiss. She grew up in a colony so I guess she never learned to talk to humans in a nice way. If I interpret it as a meow it makes much more sense!
My kitten has only ever hissed one time in 2 years. It was from a water spray bottle (I stopped doing that a long time ago)
I have one like that. A ragamuffin
I love the way our new and formerly frightened kitten now gives head bumps, and she loves to be scratches under the neck. She is blossoming before our eyes and it it due to the implementation of Jackson’s advice. So many cats and humans saved by this knowledge, thank you a million times! 🙏❤
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Who else LOVES it when Jackson brings out the science? 🎉😁 I volunteer at our city animal shelter and will share this video with the other volunteers. Keep educating us Jackson!😊
When one of the shy shelter cats where I volunteer ran up to me with her tail up I was so happy and proud of her. When we first met she wouldn't let anyone get close to her without hissing.
I am so thankful that you did this video. I have a neutered male cat who is so cuddly and his most favorite thing is when family comes home and settles in so he can climb up in their lap and make bread. When you first sit down, he backs up to the chair and twitches his tail and it really does looks like a spray tail, but he doesn't spray, he's just looking for some attention and judging if you are settled in enough for a lap cat. There is such a different stigma put on a cat that is spraying versus being loving that more people need to know about this so that future caregivers don't scold and shut out a love bug just being excited to come in for a cuddle.
I too lost a 23 yr old cat and absolutely devastated. It was extremely difficult but time really does heal all wounds. Just takes time. Try to think of all the happy moments you shared with your baby.
I've lost cats before too and it never gets any easier. I'll be praying for both of you. I don't know what you believe, but I believe you will meet again in the next life.
My cat likes to lay on my lap while I'm working.... for a limited time anyway. I watch her tail! When it starts flicking and then whipping, it's time to put her down.... she's done. I learned that from Jackson! Thanks for teaching me what my baby is telling me! 😊
When I was working rescue and trying to socialize shy or feral cats, the tail salute was one of the first signs that it was working. A cat who greets you and responds to contact with the tail salute has grown more comfortable around humans, and is showing that they trust you.
I'm glad you mentioned mock spraying! One of my cats does that every morning and I got the impression that it was a positive thing but could never figure it out. Every time I googled it I would get "your cat is spraying!!" and I knew she wasn't. Thank you JG!!
Almost all my cats do this in the morning over their food dish. It's because I feed them in meals and I won't entertain screaming for food or parading in circles on my face to wake me up. I'll shut them out of the bedroom if they jump on my face for breakfast, and if they scream over the food dish I'll wait with the can a minute until they quiet down. They all learn (even ones i've catsit for a few days) to beg in other ways that I call the "charm offensive" - they'll come gently curl up and purr on me in bed to wake me gradually, then run straight to the breakfast dish and stand there silently with their tails vibrating in excitement.
Sounds like you have a very polite kitty who is REALLY excited to see you and for breakfast!
I recently adopted a seven month old three legged kitten! Her left rear leg was amputated. It is fascinating to watch her use her tail when playing or running or whatever as a counter balance for that missing leg. She is getting quite good at it 😊 I have a photo of her in mid air, jumping for a toy with her tail in the place where the leg should be.
I'm 2 years in to the guardianship of my first cat and these videos STILL provide the best source of info on how to be the best mama I can 💘
I feel ya. I'm a first-time cat dad to a beautiful Ragamuffin named Ollie.
Cats are so amazing, aren't they?
What are your thoughts on a raw diet. I'm all for it but my wife is apprehensive. We watch Jackson together but the brainwashing from cat food companies runs deep.
Do you feed your cat raw? Do you add supplements like taurine and I think ground bone? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Only minutes ago, I fed my girl, Raven, some smoked salmon - where I saw her do one of the biggest fake-spray shimmies, I have ever seen her do.
And, now, thanks to you, Jackson - I know it means that she is super excited and extra happy.
Which, makes me feel good, because I think she has a little throat infection, and isn’t feeling too great, ‘cause she can’t meow, currently.
Though, she just wolfed down a ton of salmon and her own food, so, I think she’s doin’ alright, despite so.
My boy always vibrates his tail when I offer him his favourite food or treats. ❤
Such a great name I have cats called Raven and Ghost 😊
Clubby always does the vibrating tail thing when she's super excited and she has never squirted pee on anything. She does it ALL the time and you can easily tell she's excited and happy. 😊❤i love it when she does it even though i do get nervous sometimes 😂
This will be extremely helpful. My 6yo son needs visual aids to help him understand things. This will be great for me to show him, and hopefully, he will understand our kittens' moods/behavior easier.
Hi @greenarrow219, How cool it is that you want to raise your son to understand cats!! Jackson Galaxy is a GREAT place to find out the HOW about cats!!
@j.b.9581 My boy doesn't tend to believe much you say unless you can show him visually. It can be difficult.
So if I say to him, the cat is getting grumpy, he might scratch you. He will reply with "No, he won't," so he continues on until he gets scratches. So if I can show him Jackson's videos, he will see cat body language and what it means. Might help😬
Might be helpful to have him watch some My Cat From Hell!
I had, worked with bonded with and loved dogs my entire life...got old and was adopted by a cat. Jackson I love learning from you how to be a better human for my tuxedo companion. He's awesome and so are you. Thanks from both of us 😁❤️😎
blessings Chris, enjoy your "new love" ❤
Similar experience here. Never thought I'd have a cat, but she had a different idea. Jackson's videos have helped!!🐈⬛💜🐾
One of my cats has a curly tail that he was apparently born with according to the shelter. It is a gentle curl, but definately a spiral and not broken. He still communicates as much as he can with it, but it used to mess with his balance until he really learned how it affected him. He's a three yr old bengal, so he's a spitfire regardless:)
Thanks for that Jason, at last I know why the “pee” doesn’t hit me - she’s just really happy to see me!! Yay!! 🐾🐾
We LOOOOve Cats. That's why you're at 2 million subscribers. We love you too Cat Daddy. Thank you for the video.I know a little more now than I did before.
I have shared what I've learned with my cat-sitting clients, and had one completely change their cats diet and litter, with excellent results! THANK YOU CAT DADDY!!
My girl kitty gently swishes her tail back and forth when she’s happy and being affectionate (and also when she’s asking for her dinner lol), it’s super cute 🥰 It’s definitely different from the stimulated swishing/flicking and the annoyed flicking, it’s more like a graceful cat-style happy tail wag. 😸
Sounds like Maru.
Mine too! 😍I have never met a cat like her before, with such body language. Wonderful to see there is others like her out there 😃
Same with my Maine coon kitty! She loves to sweep her duster of a tail back and forth over the floor, over a shelf, over my face...:)
My current one does this too! We have been trying to figure out if it's an unusual expression of positivity or a hangover from her previous situation. I have rescued and fostered many cats and am largely familiar with the "bad" swish, but this is the first one who just does it constantly, all the time, including when she's happy and affectionate.
She is a very traumatized rescue who when we got her in 2020 used to attack everything. No flight, all fight. After about a year on prozac and gabepentin and with the feliway going at all times, and in a solo-cat household with no dogs or children, she gradually reduced her angst to "normal" cat levels. It took her almost a year to purr for the first time while not on gabepentin. Her original meow volume was only a full-throated "is this cat going to attack me?" shriek. I was able to gradually train her out of that by treating it like it was a warning scream every time and backing off... and she gradually learned to make normal-volume meps and cute little squarks to get positive interaction and affection. I felt like she'd been raised in a negative environment where the only way she could get noticed was by screaming, and this was the first time she'd learned she could communicate with sane-volume noises.
Several years after weaning her off the prozac and gabepentin, she's now full on affectionate and relaxed with us - lots of showing us her belly, big face-first dives down our legs to flop at our feet, purring, sleeping on us, very clingy lovey, etc, never ever screams any more, etc. She's even getting pretty okay with other people. But she still does the tail swish, and I kind of thought it's was like the excessively loud scream meows - what leftover anxiety is still part and parcel in her body from her original trauma. It isn't a fast, oh-f*ck-oh-f*ck type lash, just what I'd interpret as idle anxity lowkey swish. But what you and others are saying gives me hope - maybe it's just a thing some cats do, and it means nothing bad at all!
Mine too. Also when she is excited / v happy to see you the base of her tail puffs up.
A fair number of your audience may have recently adopted a cat from Maui that was airlifted to the mainland to free up resources for Lahaina survivors, as we did about two days after the plane landed at PDX in August. Our Fruity cat was quite traumatized by her ordeal, but is slowly coming out of her shell and behaving more normally. Your advice and Intel have been very helpful for us in our quest to give Fruity a secure and happy home. Thank you. ❤❤❤
You are an angel! Thank you for taking
In such a sweet baby!
Thank you for having the love and patience to take her on!! Hope her healing process goes well!!
Hey there I’m really impressed with your comment, please if you don’t mind me asking where are you from?
Last week my husband put catnip in the risotto ( obviously by mistake ) but we are all still alive and kicking. 😂
Yes, but did you start chasing sunbeams? 😂
This is HILARIOUS.
Catnip, surprisingly, has a calming effect for humans! It's medicine can be helpful for humans of all ages, infants included. Things like tea and tinctures. To help with sleep and even teething. I used a glycerite blend with catnip in it for my teething baby and it worked wonders. So, beneficial for humans and felines alike! 🥰
Did he think it was oregano? That's hilarious.
@@TwitchyWitchyGhoul Thank you, I didn't know that. My husband thought that it was dried parsley. 😂
I didn't ever really see the "low tail" thing until it was in the emergency mode of tucked tail with a new toddler! I was the kitty whisperer in that moment and now the kid and kitty are besties each time she visits.
Hey there I’m really impressed with your comment, please if you don’t mind me asking where are you from?
Thanks for reinforcing my thoughts,😹 My spayed Miss Molly always meets me in the mornings with the vibrating tail😊
My husband had never interacted with cats before and he learned really fast (thanks, Mr Galaxy!) to watch out for what our cat is telling him with her tail. She positively loves him right now and he knows very well how to avoid turning our princess into Deathclaws The Ripper. Complete besties.
I rescued my cat as she was running across the road in a wonky manner as a kitten with traffic coming both ways. It turned out she had been injured falling off the roof of a 2 story building when she was a kitten. because of her weak back her tail became a stabilizer and she uses it to balance when she is on the back legs, like a kangaroo very cute but also another relevant story of how tails help cats use their agile and magnificent bodies...Love them!!! Thank you Jackson Galaxy for being awesome ...Miew... 😺😺😺
When I adopted my cat a few years ago, I was so confused about the "mock spray" tail vibration. I'd watched tons and tons of your videos front to back multiple times, along with lots of other in-depth research, and I thought I was prepared for anything. First day I brought my kitty home, she was SO excited to explore her new home (she'd been absolutely miserable at the shelter) that her little tail vibrated multiple times throughout the day! I had no idea what it meant and was a bit concerned, but since she seemed super happy and at ease, I decided to wait and see. So funny to only learn now all these years later why it happens! Unable to find any info on it online, I simply chalked it up to a weird little happy tic. Thank you for everything you do, Jackson, your videos are always fun and informative! :)
It is a great little happy tic! I've commented this for one or two people so I apologize if you're seeing this twice, but I have often gotten this vibration out of cats I've had (even ones I've catsit) because I refuse to encourage them to scream for breakfast. I don't enjoy all the chaos yowling over the dish, so I'll wait with the can for a minute and reward them as soon as they quiet down. They almost all quickly replace yowling for food with this vibrating tail, which I call the "begging tail" - they run over to the dish silently and just vibrate and purr in happy excitement.
Sounds like your kitty is happy as can be!
My cats tail shows his affection for me. Love him oh so dearly 😍
I'm getting 2 6 month old kitties the day that I'm commenting this, I've been watching damn near every one of your videos and I'm learning so much invaluable information!! Thank you for everything you've posted to help make my cat's lives better :)
Hope you and your new fur babies are doing well! Congratulations!
Hahaha...so funny...the sprinkling part! Well...here's something I would like to add...
When our, ginger long haired cat, Mickey is relaxed and laying on the floor, he reacts to our voices with the back end of his tail. As if he's talking back and is at that point just too lazy to use his voice.
Thanks again Jackson for the useful information!
I'm so happy you covered the quivering tail. My cat does that a lot, and I've always wondered what it meant.
When my kitten was practicing hunt skills, she would run sideways towards me with her tail puffed and her back curved. It was the cutest thing ever 😍
Jackson, it's a good thing you talk to yourself! That way you get free advice!
I absolutely love how my senior calico Pickles vibrates her tall tail every time she sees me since she was able to walk! 😻🥰❤️
I think your videos might be my cat's favourites - she's currently sitting on her window seat (i.e. a cheap upholstered bar stool next to the living room window), in a sunbeam, watching your video over my shoulder, and purring her guts out. Thanks for making such good content!
yay this is so awesome! I’ve been wondering my kitty vibrates her tail and the only things I’ve ever found are that it means they’re nervous or spraying which definitely wasn’t the case for her. I’m so happy to know she’s just happy to see me followed by the head bunts 🥰
I call it the "begging" tail as well, as I have had many cats do this in front of the food dish for me. This may be because I feed wet food in meals, so there is the excitement with knowing it is mealtime - but they also do it pre-emptively to "ask" for meals. I sometimes will jokingly voice-over them doing it: "Snack? SNACK!"
I also always discourage annoying forms of begging for food in cats I rescue or catsit such as yowling, jumping on your face in the morning to parade in circles, etc. A cat that runs to their dish and screams will have me stand there holding the can and waiting a few minutes until they shut up - and within days of being rewarded the moment they *stop* screaming, almost all cats will replace screaming over the breakfast dish with silent, excited tail vibrating over the breakfast dish.
We call our cat Miss Twitchy Tail, because she moves her tail ALL the time. She goes really nuts every time she sees a bug on our window screen, or when she's stalking one of her little mouse toys. It also makes me feel really good to be reminded that Cecilia putting her tail up and meowing and giving me those little tail-crooks when she sees me in the morning or when she comes over for pets means that she's happy to see me.
Also- some cats never learned what a hiss was is a MOOD with my girl. I think she knows it means "Hey, that's annoying me!" because she'll do it when I pet her just a bit too much, or bug her when she doesn't want to be bugged. But she ALSO just... Doesn't put the ears back. Doesn't flatten the whiskers. She doesn't have teeth anymore but even when she did, she never really flashed them too much. It's like a bored hiss. I think it's cute- but I also know that's her telling me to eff off and stop touching her.
My cat is so happy and energised that often his tail goes so high that it almost touches his head from backwards!😂 also he hiss only when he's playing, happy and excited. 😂And he purr only when he suckle his blanket. I've got a weird one 😂
That’s so cute 😻
Our weird one is a cat 🐈 dog that follows you everywhere you go, his tail is so high you see that before him. He is orange, so he is our strange on. The youngest out of 4, we get a kick out of him though.
@@yvonnelanese-coppola4999 aww so adorable! Cats are so cool 😻
Yeah when you first started talking about the cat being afraid of the toddler you had a smile on your face!
I love cats so much❤ after watching this Channel I have increased my understanding and affection for my cat 10 fold.❤ I even slow blink at him when I tell him I love him❤
My husband and I adopted a cat a week and a half ago. I’m completely obsessed with him. Hearing “ownership = love “ made my heart swell knowing my little man loves me. I always thought it was cute how he wraps his tail around my pinky and/or wrist sometimes
Jackson will ALWAYS be "The Cat Whisperer" & the Best Kitty Dude!
Love & Respect Animals ALWAYS!!!
@jamespatrick20906 I live in Washington, but came from Vegas & Mich.
How about you?
Love & Respect Animals ALWAYS!!!
@@lisabethfrits3491 okay that’s good to know about you Washington is a nice place, how is life with you over there? I’m originally from Paris France 🇫🇷 but live in San Jose California
When l come home from work, Chester, renamed Lord Chester by my British uncle, gets fed. I never tire of his tail quivering so quickly, knowing he is so excited and happy.
This is such a good guide! I like that you added in the end that individual cats have their quirks, and it's true. Probably most if not all of these tails can mean different things depending on the context. My cat puffs his tail from excitement, even positive. He also does it when he's playing with his toys by himself.
My dad had a regular house cat that was born with no tail a couple of decades ago, and she still managed to have a pretty expressive butt lol
Had a bengal cross who would tap the last couple of inches of his tail to the beat of jazz music (including syncopated beats). He would be chilled out, eyes at half-mast, and tapping along with the beat. Never seen any other cat do that.
Thanks again Jackson! My cats are living a great life thanks to your training of me on cats. Interesting about the Mock Spray. One of our cats do this and I thought it was excitement, but it's somewhat different. He's fixed so he isn't spraying. My Siberian kitten didn't seem to speak the same language as our two normal cats. But, he is intelligent and a year old now so he is learning and our micro Pride is getting along better than ever. Time to go build some cat trees for our catio.
Don't relax too much. Neutered boys & girls can spray. My boy had a range of about 3 ft!
Many years ago I also had a neutered boy that sprayed. It is possible 😕
Because he's speaking Siberian?
i think my cat likes you. she came over for belly rubs and slow blinks when i clicked
One of my cats is really expressive. Most of the cats will have a straight vertical exclamation mark, hers will almost touch her back! She won't just touch my leg with her tail, she will wrapped it around. Cute babe ❤
Great teaching in Cat Tails😻 "From activated to aggravated!" Rec Cat tail wagging! We love you Cat Daddy Jackson Galaxy❤😻🐱🐈⬛
My cat Mouse is always gently wagging his tail at me and his tail is always shaped like a question mark. He’s a friendly boy! He trusts me. ❤
I adopted two cats together, one of which the shelter described as shy and skittish. It took a couple of months, but one day, all of a sudden, her tail went from drooping to straight up, and it's been mostly that way ever since. Every person who has ever had a cat in their life knows the meaning of that tail and I was ecstatic when the change came.
VIDEO IDEA: how to play with more than one cat. Just adopted a bonded pair, 1 year, but playing with them in parallel is so difficult. Closing one out is no option as they get concerned, but it is very hard to keep the balance that not one is taking over play and when trying to simmer one he gets into the others play. Video needed! ❤
Is 2 toys an option for you? I'm sure there's also some cat toys that would work for both cats at the same time, like the wack a mole ones so both cats can have their attention on it and go for it
I've always used fishing rod toys in that situation, if you get one with a nice long string then you can make it go to the cat that is getting less play time. When you have 2 cats there will always be one that is a bit more dominant.
Love Jackson's glasses 🕶️ in this video.
I don't even have a cat (hubby is too allergic) but I appreciate being educated. Keep up the good work Cat Daddy!
I missed the flat tail on the ground with only the tip lifted. It's a sign of a happy cat :-) Also, the tail can get puffed when cats are happy, not only when they get scared. A bit like purring, they do it when they are happy, but also when they are in a lot of pain. Love your videos, greetz from Holland !
1) The tail consists of a varying number of vertebrae (called “caudal” vertebrae) and voluntary muscles with ligaments and tendons holding it all together. Cats have bones in their tails-in fact, 10 percent of your cat's bones are in the tail. The Tail is full of blood supply, nerves, cartilage, bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles. in the tail play an important role in your cat's movement, balance, bowel control, scent distribution, communication and more.
A Cat's tail is an extension of their spine, and is important in many ways
Cats use their tails to balance, both when walking on narrow footing and when hunting prey,
The tail helps to serve as a counterbalance when cats walk on narrow spaces such as fences or shelves. The tail also aids in balance when a cat is running after or jumping on prey.
The lack of a tail is usually caused by a genetic defect and this can have serious consequences. Cats with no tail may have a deformed spine which can affect the spinal cord and nerve supply to important organs. Other possible health issues could include early arthritis and bowel blockages.
2) Used as communication Device, with other animals, prey , predators and humans.
A tail that is straight up acts as a greeting. When cats put their tail in the air around other cats, it can be seen as an invite for the other cat to smell them.
a curve at the tip can mean your cat is relaxed,
while a puffed up tall tail is a sign of dominance or confrontation.
Fast flicks can mean kitty is preparing to pounce, or is peeved or is agitated..
Your cat may quiver their tail when they are especially excited to see you or another cat, or prey.
When your cat thrashes their tail, or is thumping it on the ground, they are irritated, annoyed, or angry. This tells you that something is bothering your cat. This is a distance-increasing behavior. In other words, if you are petting your cat and they start thrashing their tail, they are trying to tell you to stop.
The Slowly Swaying: Cat's move their tails this way, often with some twitching, when they are planning to pounce. It's believed that the sway is enacted to mesmerize their prey.
The Domestic cat is the only feline that can hold its tail in a vertical position while walking. Wild cats hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs.
3) Cat's Tails help them stay warm...similar to how humans cross their arms to stay warm..but a Cat's tail Ex: Maine Coon, will wrap their tails completely around their body and face to keep them warm. Other breeds, like the Siamese, will also do the same to help trap body heat during a cold day. It helps conserve body heat.
A tail can provide an extra layer of warmth , wind barrier and sensor..for a cat that is sleeping, which is why you will often see a recumbent feline curled up with its tail wrapped around its face and body.
Even with all that fur, cats are most comfortable when the temperature is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit / 10 celcius.
4) One thing many people don't know , is the TAIL Is similar to a memory stick....Cats have a strong body memory, ...the tail will touch objects around them as they pass by them , to measure distances, and place scent on them. A cat's tail is a very sensitive and an essential part of their body.
When in battle with other cats..the tail becomes important for many reasons. It will urinate sometimes in battle and leave the scent on the tail. Like a brush , it will rub against places to avoid. (like predators, no go zones etc)
Cats generally bite each other around the head, neck, ears, and front legs when they are going mano a mano, but they aren't above throwing in a cheap shot and chomping down around the base of the tail of another cat, who is running away.
Cats have scent glands around their cheeks, chin, top of their head, and *base of their tail* . These scent glands contain pheromones. When cats rub their face or tail against humans, other animals, or household items, they are leaving behind this pheromone that they can identify.
Some cats do PHANTOM SPRAYING.. Phantom spraying looks like true urine spraying (urine marking), but no urine comes out. The Cat is anxious or might be territorial and is expressing that. Phantom spraying may progress to actual urine marking so it would be important to identify any possible stressors in her environment and remove those. Enriching the environment is almost always helpful when treating cats with behavioral disorders.
5) Cats with normal anatomy and physiology are able to control their tails from the base to the tip and know how to do so instinctually.
All of the action begins in the brain with your cat determining what the tail should do. Nerves then act like cables, delivering the command via electrical signals from the brain to the muscles that manipulate your cat's tail.
6) Cats slap their tails against people to show affection, irritation or because they want attention.
7) Cats puff out their tails and arch their backs when they're frightened in an effort to make themselves seem bigger than they are.
Cats sometimes make their tails puffy when they're feeling especially happy and playful. It's most often seen in kittens, but even older cats make the base of their tails look extra fluffy when they're having fun.
8) Motion triggers instinctive hunting behavior. Kittens especially target their own (or other cats') tails during play. Usually, the youngster outgrows this type of behavior although some older cats will continue to play with their own tails from time to time.
9) Does the Color of the cats tail , affect the personality of the cat ??
When comparing the cats by coat color, gray cats had the highest scores for shyness, aloofness and intolerance,
while orange cats had the highest scores for trainability, friendliness and calmness.
Tabby cats had the highest scores for bold and active, tricolor cats for stubborn,
and bicolor cats for tolerant.
10) Both male and female cats can spray. Unneutered male cats are the most likely to mark. They also have the strongest smelling urine. About 5% of neutered females and 10% of neutered males continue urine marking after they've been fixed.
11) It is cruel to pull a cats tail. Tail injuries can cause permanent damage. The tail, houses nerves that can affect the tail's muscles as well as their control of urination and defecation. Pulling on the tail can cause nerve damage. Nerve damage may heal over time, but can often be permanent.
12) Docking a cat's tail for other purposes other than medically necessary removal is uncalled for. Tail docking became a common practice for breeders to conform cats to the rest of a litter born without tails for certain breeds. There are occasions that docking a tail is necessary, which then becomes an amputation.
Even though cats use their tails for balance, if a cat’s tail needs to be amputated due to an injury, the cat will soon learn to compensate for the loss of their tail. In fact, Manx cats are born without tails and are not any less agile than their tailed friends.
14)
Good summary. You are right about the amputated tail, I unfortunately had to have a paralyzed tail amputated, but he adjusted to life without a tail. With the paralyzed tail, other cats saw it as a sign of potential aggression, so he was getting beaten up.
Thanks for this video! I have a cat with feline hyperesthesia and she’s always had her tail going, even when she’s happy and affectionate. She was rescued from the streets at six weeks, and she hardly ever walks around tail upright. She will usually walk around with it kind of level in the trust but verify position. Just wanted to bring some awareness to feline hyperesthesia and tails, because it took me a while to figure out what her condition was. Now that I know, I’ve been able to treat her with medication and her quality of life has gone up a lot. 😊
Hi JG, We have the distinct privilege of adopting and socializing ourselves WITH a former feral cat. She is a tortiseshell and has taught us SO MUCH about cat-dom (or cat-ness?). One special thing that our former feral does is that when she is playing, especially when she might be just a tad between curiosity, puzzling something out, and happy excitement, she will 'bottle brush' her tail. It's not because of fright, it's a thrill more like. Do you know of any other cats that do this? It's an endearing feature of her many cool aspects. She is SUPER quiet. In her first few months in the house if she accidently knocked something over, she was PETRIFIED!! (OOPS, I made a noise . . something out there will come and GET ME now, it KNOWS I am here . . .).
I was wondering the same thing, my kitten will also "bottle brush" her tail when playing, but I never felt like she was scared, just being super playful and excited, but now I'm thinking maybe I should worry about it...
My Tabby's tail often gets puffed when he gets excited playing. You know when they get the zoomies? Well, it's as if, sometimes, running full speed around the house wasn't enough to channel all that sudden burst of energy, so some of it goes through the tail and puffs it - that's the impression it gives.
None of my previous cats did that. I'd always thought puffy tail meant frightened or upset, but it turns out it's quite common for kittens to do it when they're playing.
My daughter posted a video of her newly adopted kitten the other day and I just checked the position of his tail in the video. I was pleased to see that his tail was straight up.
Hey there I’m really impressed with your comment, please if you don’t mind me asking where are you from?
When my 4 months old kitten and I play sometimes he’ll puff up (Halloween kitty style) and gallop sideways at me like he’s trying scare me 😂
That's the cutest thing
A lot of kittens will do that in play mode. Just super energetic and excited, possibly some role play.
My 8 year old kitten will do this to me when I walk into a room and she's in play mode!
Ohh, the sideways camel!
@@cindyshirreffs2099 THE SIDE WAYS CAMEL! IS THAT WHAT ITS CALLED! I LOVE IT!
Every morning when I wake up and meet my cat she miaows at me and does Mock-spraying and since Jackson taught me what it means I get happy everytime I see it
I've had cats all my life, but the kitty my wife and I got about two years ago is hilarious. She will walk in front of us with her tail straight up in the air and mew to have us stroke the length of her tail, almost pulling it. She also likes to have her tail pulled like that while she's eating, almost like pull-starting a lawn mower.
My cats constantly have the vibrating tail going when they see me- it’s the greatest compliment of my life. 🥹
One Love!
Always forward, never ever backward!!
☀☀☀
💚💛❤
🙏🏿🙏🙏🏼
When we took in our stray kitten, her tail tip was burnt. We took her to a vet and he said it would soon fall off, and it did. Her tail is perfect now and since it happened when was a small kitten she adapted. She is named Sierra Brialle.❤❤❤
Hey there I’m really impressed with your comment, please if you don’t mind me asking where are you from?
My cat Mango does the vibrating tail when I get home from work but doesn't pee when he does it. Delighted to learn he's happy I'm home 🩷🩷
Jackson- I think you should make a video about grieving the loss of a cat. How it impacts the other cats in the household, tips on how we can help ourselves through it, and their cat companions through it as well. ❤
These videos have helped me so much in befriending a stray cat that I then found a home for. On to our second one now and slowly gaining trust
I have 7 cats and I see all kinds of tail activity. Thanks for clarifying…
I was watching KeeKee's tail while watching this video. It was fun and interesting to be able to read him as he moved around the room. Thanks
My boy will do the mock spraying whenever he sees me! He also sometimes will just sit and stare at me, and if I say hi to him, he’ll swish his tail aggressively and give me slow blinks 🥰
My cat was really patient with me, he was really chill. Whenever i started to go over the top he started growling and then i knew "time to let go". He taught me so well, i learned his pre-growling signs and then after a while i just knew how much pets and hugs and snuggles he has patience for at all.
He was a good cat, i miss you Happy.
I’m watching even though my sweet baby girl doesn’t even have a tail 😊 she just turned 17 ❤
Same. I have 2 tail-less, one knubby, and then one tail. Haha
As someone with a blind cat, this was a pretty interesting video. Whenever my cat is walking around the house, his tail will be straight out or at a low 45° angle, denoting caution, which makes sense. Also, when I call him or speak to him as he's walking around, his tail will usually shoot straight up.
Love this video!!! Understanding more about their bodies is fascinating!!! You rock! 🎉
Just watched my new kitten walk into the room with that tail down and popped it up once I started talking to him. This is fascinating. Going to watch my older cats now!
Looking at my tailless (rescue) cat right now... so many secrets in such a little package 👀
Our Pip psychs herself up so much sometimes, her tail puffs up. This is where the context really matters! It usually happens when the treats come out or at the end of a long pet session. It looks slightly different from the scared tail, it happens very slowly, doesnt go to full glory and stays on longer. My only cat ever to do this!
❤ yes Jackson I have experienced the tail language! 😅 Especially with my last baby girl. If I happened to walk down the hall and she was in front of me; her tail was always straight up. If she wanted to make a point her ears would go back, more to listen, and her gait would quicken. But her tail was still the same; I called it her "I'm on a mission walk!" LOL 😅 Also when petting, grooming or playing, she would use her tail a lot to talk to me! When she was serene she liked to pet me with her tail. But as you said, when she was over it ... that pet turned into a slap!! LOL I had about 2 slaps to get my body parts out of range of her claws!! LOL Luv you Jackson!! 😊❤❤
We took a cat from the streets some six months ago, her tail is always in a question mark position and she sleeps with her belly totally exposed, I'm very happy to know she's felling happy and safe in my home
I can't thank you enough for your videos! My very first kitten has me wrapped around her tiny paws due to your awesome video's! I'm obsessed with her that I may need an intervention 😅
My Honey had a vibrating tale when she’s very excited, like when she sees me starting meal time ! It’s so cute.
Very good video Jackson! I really appreciate the differentiation between two quivering upright Tails backed up to anything. My new companion backs up beside me a lot in when I am in"my" chair. 😆 Really appreciate the situation could be something other than simply doesn't have any urine to squirt. 🤣
@@jamespatrick20906 😏from when? 😁 AK, Pacific and Intermountain West, currently way way way out west. 😉
@@theredrover3217 okay how is life with you over there? I’m from San Jose California
My girlfriend and I just got a new 4 month old black kitten and your videos have been so helpful!
Amazing video again Jackson! Thanka for all the information! 😊
Sometimes I look at my boy and I’m like “ur an engineering marvel,” and sometimes I’m like “ur a pillow with legs”
There is something so infinitely adorable about cats having a built in response where they stim with their tails
Love this video, thanks, Jackson. I joke that my cat is part black lab, he sways his tail so forcefully. He regularly smacks me in the face hard and knocks things over with his tail. He's fixed and does the mock spray whenever he sees his favorite toys or when it's time to eat. He's one of the happiest and most confident cats I've ever seen, lots of exclamation point and question mark tails, exposed bellies, and general command over his domain. Nothing much aggravates him (besides the vacuum cleaner). Sometimes I wonder if he had a tail or spinal injury as a kitten before I rescued him though. If he jumps up to play, he has a hard time landing on his feet; same when he jumps on one of his perches. He miscalculates sometimes and tumbles back to the ground. His vets have never seemed concerned. I just find it curious that he seems to have such a muscular tail and so much control over it, but then it doesn't do him many favors to accommodate gravity when he lands.
I just adopted a young cat from the shelter who had multiple pelvic fractures and surgeries 2 months ago. He is healed, but I notice that he is not as adept in jumping up on something like my bed or the sofa. He tends to leap but use his front claws to scrabble onto the bed as his jump isn't high enough. He won't even attempt to jump on anything higher than that. I sometimes help him because I think he is still recovering even though the vet at the shelter said he is healed now. Time will tell.
I'm in shock. Usually I learn something from watching you. Today, you didn't teach me anything new... that's not a complaint. I'm thrilled. I knew all of this from many decades of being a Crittermama. I try to let me fur kids be themselves, only have rules that are for their safety and ours so they can just be who they are. Since i width from June, I'm with them ask the time abs i really feel like i understand what they're trying to tell me. My husband thought i was weird, but he's started realizing he understands them. We have 5 month old, previously feral, kitten with mild Cerebellar Hypoplasia, he doesn't walk, wears a diaper and needs help with eating abs drinking due to poor motorskills, but he's otherwise healthy and happy. Since he's a little differently-abled, i was terrified i could've give him proper care. I was so wrong, he so smart. I try to let him have a much independence as is safe for him and we indeed it as he grows. He sends to understand he needs help with some things, we are learning how to understand his way of communicating and it's great. I bought the talk buttons thinking they might help, but we dint use them because he communicates so well. We have 4 adult cats and an elderly 80lb lab with joint disease, i was really concerned allowing him to roam alone wouldn't be safe. It's fine. The others dint rant want anything to do with the CH kitten so they avoid him. He likes his independence and being able to go where he wants. He had his own little method of flipping, rolling, pushing against things with his legs to propel himself and he does somersaults, the boy can jump so high, he scares me to death. I've caught him in mid-air more than once, he's so fast. He's learning to be more careful, but sometimes the zoomies just can't be helped. Since the big kids went play with him we had to break a few of the typical rules regarding rough play. We allow him to "murder" us. I feel like a a kitten he needs to be able to be as normal as possible despite his CH. Kittens need to learn how to sneak attack and fight and just be furry little ninjas. We let him attack our arms, but we remind him to be gentle, we don't tolerate him beginning toi aggressive, we're trying to teach him how to play so it's a compromise on his part and ours. Thankfully, he's very smart and usually just needs to be asked to be gentle abs a reminder we don't have fur to protect us. In a firm believer that compromise is a must with fur kids. We dint "own" then, they have their own ideas and preferences, we bring them into our homes without their permissions and expect them to follow human rules, it's only fair that we make a hinge that's safe and fun fur then and take the time to find out what they do and don't like and respect that (nail trims,medications, necessary bathing, etc are not things they enjoy, but it has to be done. We can make it as painless as trauma free as possible, then they don't fight as much and it's over quickly and we don't need band-aids and Neosporin.
TOPIC FOR A VIDEO: Institutional cats, cats that are in Long Term Care homes or hospices. Some seem to have good lives but others seem stressed often. Inconsistent care, random dog visits. Should cats get to 'retire' from this life. Thanks for all your cat advocacy Jackson!
Wow, my cats were casually lying around until the bottle brush section. That caught both of their attention and they were watching the tv. The visual of a cat in that pose must communicate to them. They weren’t agitated or anything, just watching.
I never thought about that possibility. 😁
At 2:41 my cat landed on the floor next to me 😹 The fact that his tail works normally is a great sign, since some large unknown species of animal bit him right at the base of the tail a long time ago, and the vet said she thinks the animal shook its head and flung the cat, allowing the cat to escape. The cat was clearly a house cat, but either got lost, was evicted, or abandoned to fend for himself. He came to me begging for help, and when I picked him up, he wrapped his paws around my neck, clinging for dear life. I named him Ombre because he's grey, like a shadow (ombre is French for shadow). Plus, he's one chill hombre. Hardly anything fazes him. I've been watching his tail when different animals are around, to see if that might have been the species that got him, but he hasn't reacted to any of them so far. We were outside last night when a loose dog came running up from between buildings, and Ombre didn't even react. I scooped him up (he was on his leash), but Ombre was just curious. He didn't know that the dog had the predatory thing going on and was hunting him. Just one more sign that Ombre is a house cat, not feral. (And yes, the dog was at a crouched run with his eyes oh Ombre, and when I picked up his target, he stopped dead in his tracks and just stared at me). The bite wound had festered, causing a fistula ("tunnel of infection") in the tail, and systemic infection throughout his body that took 4 months to heal with a combination of antibiotics. He was x-rayed to check the extent of the injury and see if there was any vertebral separation in the tail, but that was all ok. The vet had brought up the possibility of amputation as one of many potential actions that might be needed, because it it would be necessary, she couldn't do that surgery, he would need a specialist, just because the injury was so close to the actual spine. I'm thankful that wasn't necessary. He's such a happy boy now. Every time I come home, he's so happy to see me. He runs to greet me at the door, and tries to get me to pick him up even before I've set my bags down 😹 So I have to drop everything right in front of the door just to pick him up. And then he wraps his paws around my neck so tightly, and kisses my cheek, with his tail whipping back and forth so hard that it hits me in the face 😹 Then he rolls around in my arms rubbing his cheeks all over me. I don't know how anyone could have intentionally booted him outside. Unless it was someone who wouldn't or couldn't get him neutered, because he was intact when he came to me, and he did spray here and there until he was neutered, which was within 2 weeks of coming to live here. I've since learned that the local humane society has a low cost SNAP program, but it fills up fast, and when it's filled, appointment scheduling closes, so you have to wait until it opens, usually within a few weeks, and hope to phone in time before the next month's appointments fill up. If you do get through, you have to drop the animal off by 7am on a Thursday, and pick it back up at a certain time, at an out of the way location that isn't easy for low income people to get to. There's no way I could do that, because of my work schedule, but thankfully I was able to get Ombre into a regular vet.
I love this information. I just adopted an outdoor cat that wondered into my yard months ago. I couldn't really put my finger on how she felt about me, she always looks pretty calm. This helps so much you have no idea how much I appreciate it ❤
Can you include manxes with stubby, nubby tails? 😂 Basically I need to know what it means when my cat is wiggling hers around. She even does it when I call her name.
Wondering about my Manx (mix) also. Also, oddly, she loves when we play with her little bunny tail.
Not only manx cats, but as far as wild cats, lynx and bobcats have little to no tail, so what about them? We may not be able to be watching for their emotional cues on said wild cats, but if the tail is so important for balance, why is it that they have balance that is just as good as a long tailed domestic cat?
@@rachelschwartz8114 I wondering about Manxes, too. Do they move through their world differently from a "standard" cat? Their lack of tail must be doing *something* for them, because my understanding is that they evolved spontaneously, as opposed to being specifically bred.
Hey there I’m really impressed with your comment, please if you don’t mind me asking where are you from?
I am so very owned by my Willow and I've never been happier in my life 💚💚💚💚💚 I love when she hugs me with her tails.