Why Does My Cat’s Tail Shake?

Have you sometimes noticed that your cat, as cute as they are, happens to be standing by the doorway with their tail shaking vigorously? Did it alarm you? Did you wonder what was happening?

This particular sight may be perplexing if you’re an inexperienced cat owner. Usually, the cat doesn’t seem to be in any other sort of distress.

First of all, don’t worry. Some of the behavior is learned, some of it is instinctual, and it’s a little bit of both in most cases.

Let’s take a quick look into the causes of that shaky tail and why this is an action cats may be display.

When your cat’s tail is pointed straight up and quivering, it is most likely just excited and happy to see you.

A Straight, Quivering Tail

The very tip of the tail will sometimes twitch when your cat has seen something that it is interested in. It may mean that they have spotted a possible prey or item for play.

Tail Tip Twitching

On occasion, your cat may signal annoyance or anger with a tail movement that can be mistaken for shaking. Twitching and shaking are pretty easily mistaken for one another.

Anger

Cats can easily be irritated by an action they were perfectly fine with just a moment earlier.

Annoyance

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