my cat constantly has her tail down

poozers

i took in an 8 year old cat about 7 months ago. as far as i know, her life beforehand wasnt so bad, but had been shifted around a lot. she is a strange one, but loveable.
anyway, i've been looking up cat behaviour and communication for months! but theres so much info on kittens and training them, its hard to find good info on older adopted cats, so just wondering if anyone knows much about adopted adult cats!
her name is sandy. i live in an apartment and she is (and always has been) an indoor cat. she sleeps all day, doesnt play with anything except hair pins (the very odd time when she thinks im not looking)...i never really expected her to be playful, she is 8! i even have a hamster in a cage, and she never goes at him!!!
she is so hot and cold... she would crawl onto my lap, and absolutely loves the rubs around her ears and cheeks, but after about 15 mins, she would suddenly jump off, like she has gotten a fright... but nothing ever happens to give her a fright! if shes on the couch next to me and im rubbing her, after a while, shed turn around and bite or scratch me!!!
when i get up in the mornings, shes walking around me, tail up high vibrating and lovely big meows... but after shes fed and happy, its back to bed! during the whole day then, if i see her walking around, her head is down, her tail is between her legs and she's wary of me walking near her or in her direction! she's sitting next to me right now, looking at the screen, i'd swear she's reading this! lol!
but is this something i should be worried about really? i know shes happy and cosy with me, and i really do spoil her with cuddles!she never does anything wrong (like jumping on worktops, sniffing food, bullying the hamster etc etc) so ive never really shouted at her for her to be nervous of me! so the tail and head being down, and the wariness when i walk near her, i suppose, i just want to see if anyone has any possible explanation for this?
sorry bout the long post!

anniehoo

poozers wrote: »

she sleeps all day, doesnt play with anything except hair pins (the very odd time when she thinks im not looking)

wrote:

have a hamster in a cage, and she never goes at him!!!
she is so hot and cold

Thats a good thing

wrote:

she would crawl onto my lap, and absolutely loves the rubs around her ears and cheeks, but after about 15 mins, she would suddenly jump off, like she has gotten a fright... but nothing ever happens to give her a fright!

Exact same as my cat. She's basically had enough.

wrote:

when i get up in the mornings, shes walking around me, tail up high vibrating and lovely big meows... but after shes fed and happy, its back to bed!

Yep, again...same as my cat.

wrote:

during the whole day then, if i see her walking around, her head is down, her tail is between her legs and she's wary of me walking near her or in her direction!

Ambivalent and probably bored. My cat all over.:D

wrote:

she's sitting next to me right now, looking at the screen, i'd swear she's reading this! lol!

Not my cat. He's on my bed stretched out snoozing his head off. Couldnt care less where i am and hasnt seen me in 2 hours.

wrote:

is this something i should be worried about really?

Basically...no!!:p Thats cats, moody feckers who "use and abuse" when suits, but make you worry like mad about them because they dont fall over themselves like dogs. They will not act like you are the best thing since sliced bread ever and if they do, blink and you'll miss it lol!!!!!They're brill.

wrote:

i know shes happy and cosy with me, and i really do spoil her with cuddles!she never does anything wrong (like jumping on worktops, sniffing food, bullying the hamster etc

You have a cat and she owns you! GOOD LUCK!!There's nothing to worry about so far...

When you worry is when the lethargy, aggressivess etc is ALL the time not just here and there. Its a fine line and you'll learn the difference.

Dodd

The above post makes it seem like you have no problem but if you have a pet that will harm you (bite/scratch)there is a problem.

Sorry but I can't help with sorting it out.

poozers

@anniehoo thanks a million! obviously worried over nothing, but i'd be reading these cat behaviour articles and they say that if your cat has its tail down, thats it, the cat is miserable!!!!!!
but reading up things like that up on the internet is so dangerous, cos they usually make out the problem to be much worse than it actually is! id say if you googled the side effects of a disprin, there would be at least one article in there that will tell you it can kill you!
i had a cat growing up, but she was an outdoor cat and my mother never let her passed the kitchen (cos of the shedding), so its strange for me to have one that id be cuddling all the time!

@dodd - i wouldnt say shes "harming" me. ive no small children (and dont plan on any yet)! its not something i would consider a problem really. never a serious scratch or bite, never even got a hiss. its not something im worried about really, shes only a cat . Unless, she was standing over while i slept with her claws out ready to pounce, then i should be concerned!

Lawrence1895

My tom has the same in the moment, he has a problem with his kidneys. Might be related

The Sweeper

poozers wrote: »

during the whole day then, if i see her walking around, her head is down, her tail is between her legs and she's wary of me walking near her or in her direction!

Hey poozers.

Many cats are wary of walking humans. Just remember, we are pretty massive compared to them. Plenty of my cats will scamper when you walk. One of my cats, we've him for five years and my husband has only recently been able to pick him up off the floor - previously he hasn't been able to get close enough. Even then, I'm normally barefoot in my house. If I put shoes on to go to work in the morning and walk around, they all run away.

That's just cats for you.

What you can do is create a positive association using treats. Keep the treats on your person. When you walk about and you see the cat running away, immediately hunker down low and call the cat. If she comes, give her a treat. Most cats love treats - either fish based or liver treats. If you can, buy a treat that's a dried protein e.g. a dried fish fry or piece of dried, pressed liver, as opposed to whiskas treats which are baked with flour and oil and things cats don't need.

The biting - many cats have places they don't like to be touched. It can feel peculiar to them, overstimulating or uncomfortable. Your cat likes to be touched around the head or face and when she has enough she springs away. There will be body language that precedes that spring - ears upright, but one or both turned backwards, tip of tail flicking, paw kneading has stopped, a certain tension in the body. Watch for it, and when it starts, stop stroking.

When she's lying beside you on the couch and you stroke her, stick to her head and face and again watch for body language. Absent-mindedly stroking a cat is a near-guaranteed way to get bitten or scratched unless you've handled the cat since it was a kitten and you know what it likes and doesn't like (and even then some of them are still particular about where they don't want to be touched).

When she's with you on the sofa, do some stroking, offer some treats, and then speak to her in a 'babyish', sweet, high pitched voice. Then just chill out - try yawning broadly and looking away from her. All this will settle and coddle her and make her couch time good.

Cats just don't seem to get it if you try to admonish them when they bite or scratch you for your stroking, so never spray with water or slap the cat - these things just don't work. I've had far more success learning to watch the signals and preventing a bite by ceasing my stroking.

I have a cat - she's a bitch - who I've had since kittenhood but who is just an ornery little cow. She bites and scratches. We've had a lot of success improving her savagings by following these guidelines:

• Learn the no-go zones. Stroke only the top of head, cheeks and chin.
• When the ears start to turn and the tail tip starts to twitch, stop stroking.
• If the tail tip is twitching, don't go in for a belly rub, even if she's turned upside down and flirting. (Claws in the hand will soon follow.)
• Do not, I repeat, do NOT touch the paws.

She does still bite or scratch occasionally - but usually it's husband she goes for, he having not accepted that when she's signalling she's had enough, he needs to stop. In the brain of the cat, you stroke her. She has enough. She starts to signal to get you to ease off - the unsure turned ear, the flicking tail tip, a tensing of posture. You keep going. The cat cannot understand why you're ignoring her communication and continuing undesirable behaviour. She gets very agitated. You continue stroking. So she turns around and snaps/swats with claws.



If you then spray with water, shout at her or do anything other than withdraw, the cat is totally confused. You were the perpetrator, you got the reaction you deserved, and then you retaliated? What's that about? So the cat learns nothing.


I used to think a hand clap and a 'no' would work, until I realised that it really doesn't. That's like pulling your dog's tail, him growling and you giving out to him for growling. If you don't want him to growl, don't pull his tail. If you don't want to be bitten or scratched, watch the body language and stop when the cat tells you.

Rips

My indoor cat requires almost constant interaction (when he is awake - he does sleep for large periods of the day)

So if you are not playing with him, he plays hide and seek with you.

He stalks you. Hides behind things with just his eyes peeking out, peeks out at you from around corners ... ears flat, hunkered down, with big black eyes ... as if you are are some sort of alien (washing the dishes or folding clothes, or simply walking from room to room)

If you approach him when he's in this mood, he runs away growling with his tail in a bush ... but its just a game. That's cats.

I suppose to an outside person, it might look like my cat is afraid of me, that, or he's going to kill me in my sleep! :P

He is a very healthy happy well adjusted cat, loves lap time (at his discretion- he has to choose to sit on you, you can't you pick him up) and never bites or scratches (he's just gentle, but they aren't all like that.)

His favourite thing to do when I'm on the computer, is to walk up on the desk - stretch and yawn, and rest his paw up on your face and do a leg stretch :rolleyes: (if he ever took his claws out, I've have lost an eye by now!)

And if that doesn't get your attention? ...