What is a cat's tail for?

A long and luxurious tail can be confidently called one of the main advantages of a cat. Returning home from work, it is nice to see that you are greeted on the doorstep by a pet with an affectionate and quiet purr and a tail raised high for joy. Nature gave these incredibly affectionate animals a tail, not only for a luxurious appearance. The point here is that a long or short tail is a rather multifunctional element of the feline body.

The tail is a completely natural extension of the cat's spine. The tail of an animal consists of three parts, such as:

• the root is from 4 to 6 complete vertebrae;
• the stem is not fully developed parts of the spine, it has the shape of a cylinder;
• the tip is the thinner vertebrae with a sharp shape.

The cartilages and joints, located between all the vertebrae, are essential for excellent flexibility and increased mobility of the animal. The average length of the tail can be up to 27 cm, but in a number of well-known and expensive breeds, for example, Maine Coons, it can grow up to 40 cm. In bobtails, on the contrary, the tail is very small, barely noticeable, only 3-4 cm. The tail of males is usually 2–3 cm longer than that of a female of the same breed.

Cats use their tail quite actively throughout their lives. Sometimes a cat's tail can play just as much of a role for your cat as its main pride - a mustache. The entire tail is almost pierced with the finest nerve endings, which are directly related to the central nervous system and allow your pet to feel better in the environment... With the help of such an important part of the body, the animal seems to "feel" all the space next to it, which significantly improves its accurate movement, even in a state of complete darkness.

Quite often you can hear stories that the cat fell from a great height, while remaining completely unharmed. One of the reasons for this amazing ability is tail balancing. During a jump or when falling, the pet's body completely maintains its balance, which just allows the animal to calmly land on all four legs.

When hunting, the tail, almost like a rudder, allows the animal to make various kinds of turns. The tail rotates very actively during all body movements of the animal, giving his body a certain direction.

During the summer heat, a cat uses its tail like a fan - few people in the street know about this interesting fact. Thus, the animal lowers its own body temperature and saves its body from possible overheating. And if the cat's body does not have enough heat, the pet will begin to curl into a compact ball, while its tail will cover its nose and eyes - this is done to reduce heat loss.

When a cat is seriously frightened, its fur immediately stands on end, and its maximally fluffed tail will be raised high and ridiculously arched in the form of an arc. With this pose, the pet tries to appear much larger than it really is. Many representatives of the animal kingdom resort to a similar trick (to create the visual illusion of an increased body size) in order to avoid potential collisions and intimidate enemies.

In the wild, any bite can, in principle, become fatal, for this reason, even among close relatives, there are special rituals that allow you to determine who is in charge without a fight. For example, many cats will prefer to whine and whirl around each other insolently for long periods of time before actually grappling with each other. A luxurious, large fluffy ponytail in such a situation will help its owner gain a much-needed advantage.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that cats use their tail as one of the devices actively used for full-fledged communication. Remember how your pet, in moments of serious irritation, suddenly begins to shake its tail or it twitches strongly to the sides, how it fluffs up its pride in the form of a tail and lifts it up if something unfamiliar scares the animal.

During its hunt, the cat lowers its tail as low as possible and tries to keep it parallel to the ground. In certain cases, you can even see a slight twitching of the tip of the tail - in such a simple way, the animal tries to restrain its growing excitement.

It is worth explaining how, without such an important element as a tail, those pets that are born completely without tails or are left without their tail due to misfortune or by the stupid will of the owners do without. Those who accidentally lose their tail may for a long time lose their gracefulness in movement and confidence in their gait, and they will have to learn to live on without such a convenient balancing tool.

According to the condition of the coat on the tail, you can find out about those diseases that a particular pet has. If a cat loses fur in the region of the sacrum at the very base of the tail, then the pet clearly lacks vitamins and various microelements in the body, which can be corrected with a fortified diet. Hair loss on this part of the body may also indicate the presence of lichens, fungus, lice or allergies on the animal's body.

Cats also need a tail for comfort and play. An animal that wants to warm up and have fun, in those moments when nothing in its reach is able to attract its attention, can fully focus on its own tail. After all, he is actively moving all the time, and this perfectly imitates a potential victim, which you can hunt for.

When a cat runs after its tail, and then catches it, she begins to understand that this is just a part of her own body, and not an enemy or a victim. After realizing this fact, as a rule, the animal begins to intensively groom its tail. When playing, the cat will never harm itself, so do not interfere with her playing with her tail.

Very often, stray cats lose their tails as a result of some kind of injury, with pets of this kind, accidents happen much less often, especially if they do not go outside at all and do not climb trees for this reason. A number of breeds have no tail at all from birth, or it is so small that it is practically invisible. Many animal owners ask themselves a completely rational question - is it possible for cats to do without this organ at all.

If the tail is absent in a thoroughbred animal and is a characteristic feature of its breed, then the tail is not of great importance for such pets as for pets that have lost their tail due to injury or serious illness. In principle, an ordinary cat can live the same good life without a tail as with a tail.... Perhaps part of this life will no longer become so comfortable, but the pet will be able to convey all its feelings with its eyes, meows, paws.

The importance of a large or small tail for a pet is difficult to overestimate. If you take a close look at how the cat's tail moves, you can easily understand what mood your furry friend has, how he feels, whether your pet has a desire to communicate or, on the contrary, wants to be left completely alone. ... Tail movement can mean a lot.

• Comfort... When the animal is comfortable, its tail is in a position of complete rest - that is, it does not move at all. Sometimes the pet can lazily twist the tip of the tail, if the tail hangs in a completely normal way. If he is as relaxed as possible, this will also indicate that your beloved animal is in a state of calm. The fact that the tail lies neatly around the sitting or lying cat can also speak of the excellent mood of the animal.
• Joy. In this case, the tail will be friendly upward or slightly bent in an arc.
• Curiosity. It seems that the cat is listening carefully to something, while slowly wagging its tail.
• Playful attitude. When a person wants to pet a cat, and his tail seems to be straining and trembling a little, the pet is already ready for an aggressive game, which means it can seriously scratch. Often, an animal's playful attitude can be expressed in its strong rocking.
• Irritation... By the cat, this state is immediately visible - he begins to rush nervously, bypassing his master.
• Rage... The animal's fur suddenly stands on end all over its body. The tail moves to the side and fluffs up. The back arches sharply, furious meows and snorts are heard. In this case, you need to be as careful as possible, since the mood of your furry pet is very combative and aggressive.

If you see tousled fur on the back and tail of your cat, it means that your pet is seriously excited. This kind of state can arise from fright or from overly active play. You can quickly calm your cat down with a light stroke. If a cat holds its tail at an angle of 45 degrees, this 100% indicates that it treats others with distrust.

It often happens that when there are too many people in the house, the cat's tail rises and begins to twitch. This means that the cat is happy, but only for the presence of its owners. If the cat is extremely interested or passionate about something, then the tip of its tail will actively twitch. If the cat wags its tail strongly from side to side, it means that there is a conflict inside your pet. The animal must make some choice, but cannot quickly decide how to act correctly.

The tail is an extremely important organ of the cat's body, as it contains many nerve endings. Exactly because of this reason it should not be tugged too hard, as such careless handling of the pet can lead to the loss of the functionality of this special part of the body. And his injury, strange as it may sound, can significantly negatively affect the functioning of the kidneys and intestines, the reproductive system and even the hind legs.

If your animal suddenly fell extremely unsuccessfully, then its unnatural appearance will tell you about the dislocation of the tail. In this case, you will need to see a doctor. At home, you should not try to treat the cat yourself. In addition to the X-ray, in the veterinary clinic, the animal will be given a special splint or a tight bandage on the tail.

Your furry friend's overall health will also be reflected in the density of his ponytail. Often the tail begins to go bald. This can be associated with the presence of dermatitis or eczema, as well as stomach problems and the presence of many other diseases. Sometimes we can even talk about serious stress. In any case, you need to find the cause as soon as possible before starting treatment, so you still have to go to the veterinarian. He will carefully examine your pet and prescribe the right treatment.

About why a cat needs a tail, see below.