Why Do Cats Tails Puff Up Suddenly?
Although cats can’t speak and are not necessarily the most vocal animals around, they still have tons of ways to communicate with their surroundings whether it’s humans or other cats. These include purring, meowing, and other sounds as well as certain poses and moves, such as puffing up their tails and holding them tense.
But why do cats’ tails puff up suddenly? There are a wide variety of reasons for cats to do that. The primary factor is usually a response to fight and fright situations where the cats are scared, confused, or ready to attack. Other reasons include being submissive or happy during playtime.
The best way to tell which one is the reason for the behavior is by keeping an eye on the rest of the body. So, let’s take an in-depth look at this behavior, so you’re able to communicate more with your feline friend. Let’s dive in!
The key to understanding your cat in this situation is to keep an eye on the rest of its body as well as facial expressions.
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Why Do Cats Puff Up Their Tails Suddenly?
Puffing the tails up is one of the most commonly used methods of communication among cats. They use it for various reasons and, to your surprise, some of them can be quite the opposite.
Let’s take a deeper look at each one of them to understand why and how your cat might have a puffy tail.
1. They’re Frightened or Startled
Let’s start with the primary and most common reason for cats to puff up their tails. Cats can hold their puffed-up tail whether it’s directed straight up or straight down.
In both cases, your cat is signaling that it’s scared of something or has found something that it generally dislikes.
In that case, the cat is trying to look as big as possible in hopes of keeping whatever is scaring him or her at bay.
For that reason, most scared or spooked cats will puff up their entire hair coat and not just their tail.
Another sign that your cat is afraid of something is by noticing its hind limbs. In that situation, you’ll notice slight crouching along with a noticeable arch in its back.
Other signs that some scared kitties might display include yowling, hissing, spitting, growling, or flattening their ears backward.
2. They’re Angry and Ready to Pounce
If a cat has been in the spooked phase for long enough, it’ll eventually transition into the angry attack mode. Some cats might cut off the frightened phase and automatically skip to the attack mode.
Even when the cat is angry they’re still predisposed to avoid fighting and attacking as much as possible.
In that case, the puffed-up tail will help the cat look big and intimidating but is essentially a warning sign to “back off”.
Various signs separate a frightened cat and an angry cat. One of these signs is the tail itself.
A cat that is playing the aggressive bluff will usually arch the tail as opposed to the straight one in scared cats. You’ll also hear a lot of hissing while keeping its ears held back against its head.
3. They’re Happy and Being Playful
It’s often thought that a puffed-up tail is necessarily a negative thing. However, some cats might do it to be playful or to express happiness.
It’s most commonly seen in kittens but older cats might continue to do this throughout their life. The tail is usually noticed while playing active games that involve pouncing and biting, in which the cats puff up the tail involuntarily.
In that case, there will be little to no signs of distress or hissing sounds associated with both angry and scared cats.
4. They’re Being Submissive
If your household has more than one pet, you might notice that some cats might puff their tail as a sign of submission and avoidance of more dominant cats or dogs. In that case, the tail is usually straight and lowered to the ground.
In some cases, this might be mixed with signs of fear, such as the arched back. Also, the cat might tuck the puffed tail between its hind legs.
How Do Cats Manage to Puff Up Their Tails Quickly?
The phenomenon of hair puff is scientifically known as piloerection. This happens in almost all mammals to some extent.
Cat’s hair puffs up extremely quickly as a response to the release of fight and fright hormone, which is adrenaline.
Just like us, the hormone is released when the cat is stressed, super excited, or angry. This hormone stimulates the muscles in the skin to contract, which pulls the hair up straight up giving the puffy appearance.
What to Do When Your Cat’s Tail is Puffed Up?
The best way to manage a scared cat is by allowing them to leave the zone of discomfort or stop the source of fear, such as turning off the vacuum cleaner or taking larger pets out of the room.
Unlike scared cats, you shouldn’t allow an angry cat to do what it wants, whether it’s showing aggression towards humans, other cats, or other pets in general.
A study by the Journal of Abnormal Psychology warns against ignoring the cat when it’s angry because it’ll encourage them to behave more aggressively.
Always discourage the cat from attacking by deterring the behavior using loud noises and breaking the fight, and letting the cat know that it must stop and leave.
If a cat starts showing these signs while petting them, they’re not thrilled to be petted at the moment. Avoid provoking the cat too much because this will only trigger them to attack.
Do All Cats Puff Up Their Tail?
Although puffing their tail up is quite common among many cats, it’s not necessarily a feature that all types and breeds of cats share.
For instance, it’s quite common for cats with short hair to puff up their tail whether they’re afraid or excited. However, for the same reasons, a long-haired cat won’t necessarily show a lot of difference.
Scientifically speaking, all cats will generally have a fight-or-flight response to certain situations, so a long-haired cat doesn’t lack the response. Instead, their fur coat might be too heavy for them to push or puff straight up.
The reason why they didn’t develop enough piloerection power to do it is basically that they don’t need it as much as short-haired cats.
As previously mentioned, the main reason for the piloerection phenomenon is to look bigger and scare off opponents and potential predators. However, since these cats already look big, they didn’t need to further develop their ability to puff up more.
One last thing you need to know is that piloerection is more common than you think. Other animals, as well as humans, experience it to some extent.
Most wild animals would resort to scaring off enemies rather than fight to avoid the injuries that could be fatal even for the winner. For example, many birds will use the same response to ward off potential enemies and threats.
Final Thoughts
Understanding your cat’s feelings and emotions goes a long way in improving your relationship and keeping them happy and relaxed. This is why you should always be vigilant for different signs, poses, and sounds while communicating with your kitty.
As you can see, your cat won’t only puff up his or her tail whenever it’s scared, confused, or angry but also when it’s being playful or submissive.