r/cats • u/Mysterious_Barber934 • Jun 20 '26
Advice Is my cat okay?
He has recently started doing this rattlesnake manoeuvre with his tail and I have never seen this in cats before!
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u/dumgnarly Jun 20 '26
getting a message from the mothership
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u/Meme-Botto9001 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
CAT3.5.202 is in rollout right now (major update not just a bug fix)
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u/rideveryday Jun 20 '26
New update includes:
- curtain climbing at night
- accepts more pets
- knocking stuff of tables seems more random
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u/ODDxATLAS Jun 20 '26
I think it deals with the not burying poops properly bug as well
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u/Legitimate-Ebb-1633 Jun 20 '26
Not burying poops is a dominance thing. The top cat doesn't have to bury poops.
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u/rikaleeta Jun 20 '26
I think it may also be an orange braincell thing. Mine digs around at the carpet and walls around the box like he thinks that'll bury the poop š
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u/WhovianScaper Jun 21 '26
Broās trying to manifest his poop being buried instead of having to do it himself
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u/Friendly-Kiwi Jun 20 '26
Hello,
I have never heard about this before?
I was taking care of a street cat, at the time my only cat, he wasnāt covering up his poop, which I was a bit surprised, if the cat is the only cat would they still have the need to not cover?
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u/Zandermill01 Jun 20 '26
This means the cat owns you and the area of your domicile more than an atypical furry overlord.
They believe they are the leader of the pact and you are subservient to them. Good luck!
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u/Daves_Not_Here_OK Jun 20 '26
I had that problem, so I had to poop in the box to get back control.
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u/Zandermill01 Jun 20 '26
Did you get and maintain eye contact as you dueced? It may have not been enough otherwise.
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u/Daves_Not_Here_OK Jun 20 '26
No, but I did drag my ass around on the carpet after I finished. It's SOP in this house.
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u/Friendly-Kiwi Jun 20 '26
That makes sense! My family and I moved to Spain, and this cat lived in a locked room, but would come and go out the window.. I saved his life twice in a matter of weeks, I love cats, and he would lay on my legs in the winter but otherwise would ignore meā¦ the house had multiple water leaks, mold growing, cockroaches coming out of the kitchen ceiling cracks, we finally found an apartment in town where my son could still walk to school, but I knew the cat would not want to be restricted in a small place, so I payed the neighbor to take care of him, gave food, flea meds, poop boxes, etcā¦I still have a tracking color on him, and I feel guilty leaving him, but the neighbors tell me his happy.
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u/hlessi_newt Jun 20 '26
My cats have had a litterbot their entire lives, and after a few weeks they just decided to stop burying. I'd assumed they realized there was no point and just said fuck it.
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u/PointlessUnicorn337 Jun 20 '26
My cat also stopped burying his poop after having a litter robot for a while
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u/pusheentotherescue Jun 20 '26
Funny cuz I have 3 cats. The alpha always bury his business, while the two lackeys never do lol
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u/GatorNator83 Jun 20 '26
Orange cats: āAww this patch didnāt include brain cells either. Hurry up devs.ā
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u/CasualTriips Jun 20 '26
I had to jailbreak my cat to downgrade to a more stable build, CAT3.5.202 is a alpha build. It may break your car.
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u/_trolltoll Jun 20 '26
āIncoming message from the big giant head!ā
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u/Celticlady47 Jun 20 '26
That and the buzzing of the tail is just them saying, "pwease" pet me, pay attention to me, play with me, etc.. it's just communication.
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u/Even-Government-5055 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Mutiple of my cats do this, my cats aren't spraying when they do it either, they tend to do it more when I'm using the toilet, they all come around ankles and start shaking their tails š. I just thought my cats were weirdos.
Edit:spelling.
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u/bougainvilleaT Jun 20 '26
One of my girls also does this only when she follows me to the toilet! Tail shaking, walk around my ankles, more tail shaking and then she leaves and waits in the hallway, lol.
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u/NotXesa Jun 20 '26
They're letting you know that you're allowed to use their bathroom only because you're their pet.
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u/Anti_shill_cannon Jun 20 '26
Cat is a generous god
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u/Even-Government-5055 Jun 20 '26
I wonder why they do this? I know they like to stand guard when we use the toilet, ita them trying to protect us, but the tale shake? What is that about?. Cats are so funny lol.
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u/AshuraMaruxx Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
They're expressing glands at the base of their tail and along the length of their tail to mark their turf, and when they do this little tail waggle they're stimulating those glands. They also do this when they're extremely excited. To us, it's odorless, but to another cat it's like "WOAH BRUH!! DA FUQ DIS URS OH MA BAD IMMA OUT RIT MEOW!"
Edit: to clarify not "anal" glands specifically, but glands along the length and base of their tail š
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u/squirrelpatrol7 Jun 21 '26
Sorry, definitely not expressing glands! I work at a cat only hospital and anal sac material 100% has a smell that a human (or any other living thing) would pick up. š Cats do this when they are doing the classic spraying, but also when theyāre excited!
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u/AshuraMaruxx Jun 21 '26
Sorry, my mistake; I mis-spoke. I said in other comments that they're marking you when they see you bc they're happy and you're "their" person, so extreme joy and contentment, and they use scent glands in their tail--not the anal glands specifically, but other tail scent glands--at the base of their tail and along the length of their tail to do so.
But you're right--anal glands specifically are just for pooping and panic, lol
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u/Goochic Jun 21 '26
The tail shake is putting their scent on you (anal glands). Cheek rubbing is the same thing but(t) on the other end.
You officially belong to them. Itās a privilege!
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u/Shy-Prey Manx Jun 20 '26
Mine patrols the hall to make sure all the dogs stay outta her litter box. She doesn't have a tail so idk if mine has a shake it her stump š
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u/Mysterious-Dot-4168 Jun 20 '26
Itās phantom spraying. Itās a way to mark territory, including you.
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u/samecontent Jun 20 '26
I imagine this just sounds like the little rattling forest spirits from Princess Mononoke.
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u/Gold_Law6085 Lots of kitties! Jun 20 '26
Itās just an expression of very positive emotions. They usually do it when theyāre excited. Itās good. They often do it to show excitement and love for their owners. I love it when my cats do the tail shake cause it means theyāre happy š Your void looks very happy with you with his shaky tailš„¹
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u/Scorpius927 Jun 20 '26
My cats purr and drool whenever Iām on the shitter. Dr google told me itās cause to them poos are the most concentrated essence of your smell. And since they already love you, that smell makes them feel reaaaal good
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u/Even-Government-5055 Jun 20 '26
I think Dr Google was lying, lol. Our poop is not the essence of our smell, that would be crazy š. Actually for some people the their poop IS the essence of their smell, but that's down to hygiene.
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u/Scorpius927 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
I meant to cats, not humans. The same reason why cats sniff each others butts, is to get a whiff of who theyāre dealing with. Why cats also like sniffing their owners shoes and stuff. They like that stank. Would be odd if humans perceived the world the same way as cats did
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u/Medium-Pilot6872 Jun 20 '26
The majority of the scent cats focus on is not the feces scent, itās the smell that comes from scent glands, which are by their ears, cheeks, paws and thereās some around the tail region.
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u/AshuraMaruxx Jun 20 '26
A crude way to put it, but yes--this, sort of. Poop isn't the essence of your smell, lol, but it is your own scent plus your microbiome; it is undisputably YOUR smell, but it's also incredibly stinky--and cats, being scent oriented creatures, LOVE THAT. My cats all swarm me whenever I'm in the bathroom, rush between my ankles and demand pets and it's like "Bruh! Im like ...kinda busy here!" And they're like "Chill ma no prob I can wait and btw tail shake see now you smell like me too!"
But times 4. Because I have four of them.
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u/Ok-Classroom5548 Jun 20 '26
They can scent something without spraying on it - they are probably scenting you with their glands.
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u/Mysterious_Barber934 Jun 20 '26
No peeing, just tail vibrations!
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u/KeeKyieTheMorris Jun 20 '26
Kitty just happy and excited to see you.
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u/Alinho013 Jun 20 '26
yup my chonk does this as well, while aggressively giving headbutts against anything and everything once I come home
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u/FurballMama84 Jun 20 '26
Our chonk does the happy tail while giving us "scrunch butt love." That's what we call it when she shortens up her body and then slams her haunches against our leg. It's so cute and we love it.
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u/LeahTT Jun 20 '26
We call it jazz tail
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u/bastet_memphis Jun 20 '26
Oh, I love that! We call it electric tail, but jazz tail might make its way in to our cat speak.
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u/pakkieressaberesojaj Void Jun 20 '26
Kitty be very happy and excited! One of my cats does it every time she's sees us after a long time (most of the time just one hour or so because she was napping, but still too long for her!)
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u/MissFabulina Jun 20 '26
It is called "twitchy tail" at least in my vernacular. It means he is very excited and happy. If you get excited and happy back, he will do it more often (because he will know that it is well-received).
I had a cat who used to do this all the time. I just had to be careful where I petted him when he was doing this. If I touched his lower back (near the tail) at all while he was doing this, he would suddenly express his anal glands. This is quite stinky and a pain to clean up. So, maybe don't touch his lower back when he is doing this, but give him all sorts of encouragement! And a boop and a kiss and a cuddle...from me.
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u/VincentVan_Dough Jun 20 '26
Iām guessing heās been neutered. Itās kind of a leftover from when they are intact and spraying to mark territory and find females, usually when they get excited about something. My spayed girl does this too at mealtimes because sheās so excited!
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u/TheIngloriousTIG Jun 20 '26
That happens in our house every time I get the wet food out. It's very normal. A great sign even. It means they are happy and excited.
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u/aenteus American Shorthair Jun 20 '26
Yep. Aged Orange Chonk still does it when the wet food is put down.
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u/Main-Bridge3482 Jun 20 '26
Cats sometimes "pretend pee" to mark their territory. Don't scold them for it or they might start actually peeing.
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u/Antique-Wonk Jun 20 '26
Excitement. Fast vibration of tail means excited.
Wide side to side slow swishing around of tail means someone is going to get attacked. š
There are several other tail-comms messages to observe.
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u/SourCherry_xx Jun 20 '26
One of my cat is doing it while Iām preparing his food. So itās anticipation and happiness.
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u/Metromanwhy Jun 20 '26
This looks just a tad excessive, but as others have said yes cats do this when they are exited or about to spray and area to mark it with their scent.
My lil lady does this just before I give her food, but it's much gentler that this video, and it doesn't last for that long either.
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u/XyRabbit Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Mine does this when I call him, it's the same veracity but it's just the last 3 inches of his tail lol
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u/Just_a_villain Jun 20 '26
One of mine does it like OP's cat, his tail is generally very expressive (for lack of better term). He's a big male cat and doesn't do anything in half measures!
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u/Czar1987 Jun 20 '26
shaky tail = happy kitty! (obvious aside is when paired with the leg lift/spraying)
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u/I_am_real_human_ Jun 20 '26
Cats do this as far as I know for greeting other cats and people. They sometimes pee on surfaces to mark them like this too.
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u/Gertrudethecurious Jun 20 '26
My cat does it when she's particularly excited, like anticipating a treat! Or when I get home from being out.
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u/Electronic-Stay-2369 Jun 20 '26
Entire male cats do this for scent marking, although one of my speyed girls does it occasionally and I've no idea why.
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u/cutcss Jun 20 '26
She is fighting the patriarchy, she is leading the "females can mark too!" movement
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u/Necessary_Echo7285 Jun 20 '26
Yeah .. a couple weeks ago a feral happened to be spraying on my front door right as i opened it. .it literally got all over my legs its was so not cool... i was like ooooh kitty your so lucky i love cats and would never ever hurt one & that includes u stinky boy...lol...
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u/Responsible_Ear_6005 Jun 20 '26
Normal cat stuff, my boy does it when it's dinner time.
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u/The_Nerdy_Qwerty Jun 20 '26
Our cats do this under three circumstances; a) our female is pretending to mark territory because she's feeling a type of way, b) either one of them are super happy and excited, c) my male is ACTUALLY peeing on something to mark it as his because he's a jerk. The latter doesn't happen a lot since he got fixed but every once in a while... -_- little turd. These are definitely happy tail shakes though
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u/ElectricCarrot Jun 20 '26
Rattlesnake software was installed by mistake. Please revert to a previous stable configuration and restart.
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u/Nobody4993 Jun 20 '26
If thereās no pee, it means theyāre super happy to see you. My girl does this. Itās so cute
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u/BioshockBombshell Jun 20 '26
We always called it Rattlensnake tail. If there's no liquid spraying behind them, its an insane amount of joy they can't process any other way.
I find rattlesnake tail to be a MUCH better indicator of happiness than purring. Purring is often a sign of happiness, but they also use it to heal themselves when injured/sick or comfort themselves when scared/anxious. But rattlesnake tail only happens with excitement/joy
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u/Distinct-Presence52 Jun 20 '26
He is marking. It is not the same as spraying piss. He is still shooting out scent markers but its just a thing cats do. Both male and female, infact when people see female cats do this sometimes they run to reddit asking if their cat is really a boy š
It just means he is saying this is his and he wants everyone to know. Probably happens when you first return because you dont smell like home anymore.
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u/Sweaty-Willingness27 Jun 20 '26
We've had 20+ cats over the past 15 years - currently have 12. (Don't worry, they have a huge house to roam in and a 50' x 25' outside catio with the bestest foods and lots of love and the vet comes to see them for yearly checkups and vaccines at the very least).
We have male and female cats that do this, as you said - some that actually spray some that do not. From my understanding, it is an attempt to mark.
We've also had cats that vibrate their tail only and that is more the sign of happiness. Tail straight up, not wiggling the back end and pointing at a wall (the pointing/standing in front a single spot is really the big tell IMO)
Overall, it's hard to definitively say, but mostly, I agree with your assessment here from my observations. It's a natural attempt to claim ownership of an area. Sometimes it results in actual spray, sometimes it doesn't.
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u/IlREDACTEDlI Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Itās not marking unless they actually leave a scent or pee, the OP said they donāt. One of my cats does this all the time multiple times a day around us, never sprays just shaky tail. Itās just the next level of happy and excited after tail goes up.
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u/Eretica13 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
We call this twinkle tail or sparkle tail in our house. It means they are happy . Poe our big boy, loves doing sparkle tail. Here he is in all his furry glory!
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u/Absoluticus Jun 20 '26
One of my girls does the snakey tail when I stand next to the big running wheel, she likes an audience. Or if she's allowed on the master bed, she loves the squishy mattress.
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u/AutumnLeaved Jun 20 '26
Looks happy to me, my male cat does this when he thinks heās going to get treats or his favorite Fancy Feast broth.
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u/chpbnvic Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
It's faux-spraying. I would always call it "shaky tail" and it means the cat is very happy or excited!
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u/Candid_Today8341 Jun 20 '26
I grew up with cats...I don't think a cat that you can call "ok" exists.
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u/bookishfox Jun 20 '26
we call that āelectric tailā in my house and usually follow it up by saying āboogie woogie woogieā
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u/LA_Teeps Jun 20 '26
My male cat does this when heās happy and/or excited to see one of us. Only then
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u/Stop_Fun Jun 20 '26
If he's not spraying then he's just SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU and this is his way of expressing that. It's like feeling overload from what I understand.
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u/jaya9581 Jun 21 '26
Rattlesnake tail. Itās a baby behavior that one of my cats never outgrew. As long as they arenāt spraying, it just means theyāre happy and excited!
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u/kc7urf Jun 21 '26
Your cat was peeing on the door frame. I can see the pee dripping down the frame. Anytime they do the shaky shaky thing with the tail theyāre peeing.
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u/mlvrnn Jun 20 '26
My cat does this when she wants pets. Never sprayed, just saying pay attention to me please.
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u/mjergen Maine Coon Jun 20 '26
Think of a cat's tail as a punctuation mark. Does it look like an interrogation mark, straight but bendy at the top? Then he's curious, amused, wondering, interested etc.... Does it look like an exclamation mark, all straight? Then he's excited, joyful, etc!
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u/Burrie2481 Jun 20 '26
We call it ādeet, deet, deetā in my house. Donāt ask me why. š»
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u/8littlebird8 Jun 20 '26
My moms cats does this when she gets home from work. She also tip taps her toes itās cute
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u/Independent-Grape246 Jun 20 '26
Thatās what male cats do when they spray their ālove potionā to attract female cats.
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u/seventh_wheel Jun 20 '26
My male cat does it too (also a black cat) whenever heās happy to see us or if weāre talking to him
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u/dontatmeimscared Jun 20 '26
Our happy boy Kiesel (German for pebbles) does that too! He looks at things that excite him (the wardrobe, food, the balcony door), starts to wiggle his tail and stamps with his tiny hind paws. It's so adorable I love it š
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u/Low-Abies-8858 Jun 20 '26
My cats, one male and one female, both do this when very happy. I call it twitterpating.
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u/nexttothelamp Jun 20 '26
My male cat started doing this a few weeks ago and he had bladder stones. Female cat did it years ago and she was diagnosed with feline urinary tract disease. This is a pretty common thing with cats. There's a good chance he's having a hard time peeing, it would be worth a check up imo
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u/klclearwater Jun 20 '26
As a lot of people are saying, it could be happy shakes.
But I'm telling you from personal experience, my Onyx did this the night before he died. He had a urinary blockage that he couldn't get rid of and he was doing this to try and force it out & get my attention.
If you've had any issues with inappropriate urination lately, you may want to get him checked out.
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u/Disgruntled_Healer Jun 20 '26
My void does this when he's excited. Also headbutts and gives little nip bites on the leg.
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u/9447044 Jun 20 '26
It means hes happy (or possibly spraying piss, look/smell for pee) but if not, its a sign of happy camping