by Team WellJoy
“I love coming home from work and seeing my cat’s question-mark tail greeting me at the door. When I’m also rewarded with a nice long, slow blink, then I know we’re really speaking each other’s language."
Once you become a seasoned translator, you’ll realize your cat is telling you things all day long.
Consider the big picture
Fun fact: kittens vocalize to their mothers, but adult cats generally don’t meow at one another. This is reserved for cat-to-human communication. They know that meowing at their Pet Loyalist gets dinner served, doors opened and laptops closed.
In fact, when a cat’s vocalizing at their human it’s often because you’ve missed all the other subtle bits of body language they already directed at you.
Understanding what they’re saying means looking at the individual parts, but interpreting them as a whole. Treat the tails, eyes and ears as if they’re individual words in a sentence, and as you learn what each part is saying the bigger picture gets clearer.
The tail: the universal communicator
A cat’s tail is the first place many people look, when they’re trying to work out how they’re feeling:
Puffed tail
This is another attempt to make a cat appear bigger, and is often combined with an arched back, stiffened legs and puffed out body fur. If you’re noticing this, it’s time to give the cat some space.
Translation: “This situation feels threatening.”
Bottle brush tail
Cats puff out their tails to make themselves appear bigger and more intimidating, but a bottle brush tail doesn’t always mean an aggressive cat. Sometimes it’s a reaction to being startled, or it’s a sign of a lot of excitement.
Translation: “I’m highly aroused and trying to look bigger.”
Lashing tail
Generally, this kind of movement suggests a cat is becoming increasingly irritated, frustrated or aroused. If it happens when you’re petting a cat it can be a clue that they’ve had enough – and if it goes ignored, the lashing tail can lead to escalation.
Translation: “I’m getting a bit worked up – pay attention.”
Wagging tail
People often assume this means happiness or excitement, but a swishing tail more often expresses arousal, frustration, irritation or conflict. Watch for how quickly the tail is moving, and if that’s intensifying then it’s time to look at the accompanying body language.
Translation: “I’m potentially feeling quite annoyed and frustrated right now.”
Slowly swishing tail
If your cat loves to watch birds or stalk toys, you’ve probably seen this tail. It often shows up when a pet’s feeling mildly stimulated because they’re hunting, evaluating, or even just enjoying a good pet.
Translation: “I’m really focused right now, and thinking about what happens next.”
Low or tucked tail
This might indicate anxiety or caution, and is a cat’s way of making themselves appear smaller. This tail usually means a cat would like some space.
Translation: “I’m feeling unsure at the moment. I don’t know if I’m safe.”
Wrapped tail
If the tail is comfortably wrapped around a resting cat, this conveys comfort. However if the rest of the body language is tense, and they’re crouched, this might suggest uncertainty or fear.
Translation: “I’m keeping myself contained.”
Relaxed tail behind the body
This is a fairly neutral position that suggests a cat is feeling relaxed, and not particularly emotionally aroused.
Translation: “Everything is normal at the moment.”
Straight-out tail
When a cat holds their tail straight out from their body, it’s often a neutral position. They could be exploring a new place or cautiously approaching something, and looking at the eyes, ears and body will tell you if a cat’s curious or unsure.
Translation: “I’m assessing the situation.”
Tip-twitching tail
This motion can occur in a few different settings – sometimes when a cat is hunting or feeling particularly excited or focused, but also when they’re being given affection.
Translation: “Something has my attention.” or “That’s enough.”
Question-mark tail
If your cat’s tail is up but has a little curve at the tip, this is a more relaxed version of the friendly straight-up-tail greeting.
Translation: “Hello, I’m interested and comfortable.”
Straight-up tail
This is usually a positive, friendly signal – especially if the rest of the cat’s body is loose and relaxed. You’ll probably see this when a cat is approaching a familiar person.
Translation: “Hello there, I feel happy saying hi to you.”
Quivering, upright tail
You might see this if a cat is approaching you, and it might be combined with relaxed body language and rubbing. It could also accompany marking behavior.
Translation: “I’m very excited to see you.” or “I’m busy marking my territory right now.”
Intertwined tail
Friendly cats like to rub bodies and tails together, or even intertwine tails – as the ultimate sign of friendship.
Translation: “You’re part of my social circle.”
The ears: the feline emotional radar
Tails get the lion’s share of attention, but the ears are a very underrated way of reading their feelings. In fact, research on cat-to-cat interactions suggests that ears can be even more expressive of a cat’s mood.
Pointing forward ears
This ear position is really just letting you know that a cat’s interested, and generally comfortable. If they’re particularly upright, that often means something has caught their eye.
Translation: “I’m comfortable and interested.” or “Something has my attention.”
Swiveling ears
Cats move their ears in this way to gather information – and by the way cats can move each ear independently, and use them to locate sound (as well as let you know how they’re feeling).
Translation: “I’m monitoring things.”
Sideways ears
If these are relaxed and slightly to the side, that usually means your cat is resting. However, be watchful for stiff ears that point outwards (adorably known as airplane ears), which can be a sign your cat’s feeling uncertain.
Translation: “I’m resting.” or “I’m starting to feel unsure.”
Backwards ears
You’ll probably notice these when your cat’s feeling increasingly uncomfortable, and if that’s happening during petting it’s a sign to stop and give some space.
Translation: “I’m uncomfortable, please pay attention.”
Flattened ears
Often these kinds of ears express feelings of fear or overwhelm, or can be your cat’s way of trying to defend themselves – this is because flattened ears can protect them during any physical confrontations.
Translation: “I’m frightened and overwhelmed.” or “I need to defend myself.”
The rest of the body: essential context
Any ear or tail signals should always be read alongside the rest of your cat’s body language, in particular body posture and fur.
The big fluff-up
This often means big emotions. Your cat might be startled or frightened, or they might be very excited about something.
The arched back
If this is combined with puffy fur, it tends to mean a cat feels threatened and is asking for space.
The freeze
If a cat feels overwhelmed, they’ll often remain motionless. If their muscles are tense, ears are back and pupils are dilated, this suggests high fear or stress.
The low crouch
Scared cats will often make themselves small and crouch close to the ground with their legs tucked underneath.
The slither
If your cat is creeping along, low to the ground, that often means they’re trying not to draw attention to themselves – usually if they’re in an unfamiliar or threatening environment.
The loosey-goosey
If your cat’s strutting along like there’s no bones in their body, that’s usually a sign that they feel safe and relaxed.
The look-the-other-way
This is a subtle movement to watch out for. When cats turn their heads and shoulders away people often interpret this as a lack of friendliness – but often it’s because a cat wants to avoid conflict.
The belly flash
Any Cat Loyalist will know how high stakes this move is. If a cat shows you its belly, that often means relaxation and trust or playfulness – but, and we can’t emphasize this enough, it’s not an invitation to pet. A roll onto the back can also be a defensive move to free up paws and teeth.
The stiff walk
You might see this if you’re a multi-cat home. Tension between pets isn’t always obvious – sometimes this stiff movement (combined with blocking hallways, sitting near the litter box or following one another) is a sign that there’s some quiet conflict.
Learning to speak cat
This is by no means an exhaustive guide, and we haven’t even mentioned making biscuits (a sure sign of deep comfort) or the long slow blink that many cats like to use on their human friends.
The truth is that becoming a master cat-human translator means becoming a better observer. The more time we spend watching for tiny changes and signals, the better we’re able to read what our pets are saying to us.
Good communication with cats isn’t about teaching them to speak human (although they probably could if they wanted to), it’s about teaching ourselves to understand what they’ve been saying all along.
We’re proud to say that all of WellJoy’s content is fact-checked and verified by a Pet Loyalist team, including a veterinarian trained in companion animal nutrition and a PhD board-certified companion animal nutritionist.