Reader Helen Farmer Kowalchuk is the owner of a literal cat burglar. The rest of the time they sleep or doze, storing up energy to confuse you with. Our homes are safer but not very stimulating, or the stimulation may not be pleasant-like being chased by children.Ĭats are hunters and “speed merchants,” says Nick Dodman, author of The Cat Who Cried for Help.īoth experts agree that these bursts of speed could be pent-up energy that might have been used for catching prey in the wild.Ĭats are also crepuscular, meaning they are most active at dawn and dusk. These bursts of energy, sometimes called “the zoomies,” are “probably outlets for accumulated arousal,” frustration, fear, or pent-up energy, says Siracusa.Ĭats “need a lot of stimulation and enrichment,” and would be climbing trees and chasing prey if they were outside. The Science of Meow: Study to Look at How Cats Talk A fearful “Halloween” cat will have an arched back and “its tail up and puffed.” On a calm cat a straight-up tail with a hooked tip is a friendly greeting, while an aggressive cat may just have its tail straight up. (Related: " Do Animals Dream?")Ī whipping tale on an alert cat can mean nervousness, potential aggression, and “Do not touch!” says Siracusa. If he really is sleeping, Siracusa adds, a moving tail could mean he’s dreaming. The napping cat with the tapping tail, for example, is “relaxed overall but paying attention to something happening around him, a sound or movement,” so he’s peaceful but hardly asleep on the job.
You have to take the whole body into account when reading tail signals, says Carlo Siracusa, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. So how do you decode a cat’s tail? (Read " Surprising Things You Never Knew About Your Cat.") Tail Tips
While watching our cat snooze, we noticed his tail was tapping away like he was enjoying a disco medley we couldn’t hear, sending quite a mixed signal. Cat owners are keenly tuned in to their pets’ body language, but once in a while the felines will throw a curve.
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