The tail is an extension of the spine: while the human spine stops at our pelvis, in animals, including cats, the spine continues backwards for another 18 to 23 small bones, or 20 to 30cm.

The average female cat’s tail measures 25cm (10 inches), and the average male cat’s tail measures 28cm (11 inches), with larger breeds like Maine Coons having tails up to 40cm (16 inches) long. The tail can be narrow (in smaller, short-haired cats) or it can be thicker (in larger, long-haired cats like Persians).

The bones of the tail are covered in layers of connective tissue, blood vessels, muscle, skin, and fur. The tail has a rich supply of nerves, giving cats the ability to make their tail move in small and large ways. A cat’s tail can twitch or quiver almost invisibly, or it can move like a whip to strike with strength.

Domestic cats use their tails in a range of different ways to communicate with other cats and with humans.

Cat tail language can tell you about a cat’s moods, emotions, and intentions, allowing you to understand and predict a cat’s behaviour. The movement of the tail can tell you as much as a purr, a meow or a yowl.

A tail can move in an almost infinite range of combinations of movements, but the following tail positions are the most common ways that a cat may use their tail to communicate.

What does it mean when a cat’s tail is up? When a cat holds their tail straight up vertically, this is a friendly invitation to engage: anatomically speaking, the cat is exposing their anal sac region, inviting other cats to sniff this area as a type of intimate social engagement.

Sometimes the tip of the tail may be curled, creating a characteristic question-mark appearance.

Pet owners can relax when cats approach them with their tail high in this position: it’s a friendly greeting. Your cat is saying, “I’m your feline friend”. A question mark tail may be accompanied by purring.

If a cat uses their tail to wrap around your leg, or perhaps another cat’s tail, this is a sign of close affection.

At a biological level, a cat’s tail includes scent glands, so the tail is used to swap scents with other creatures. This is similar to head-pressing and cheek-rubbing, and it’s as if the cat is petting you, in the same way as you pet them when you want to engage.

Flicking the tip of the tail is a sign that a cat is feeling irritated or fascinated by something. Cat owners should scan the cat’s environment to see if they can spot the source of the cat’s attention. This can be a sign of early annoyance if there is a threat to a cat in the vicinity, or a sign of playfulness if there is a toy close by.

When a cat wags their tail (moving the tail rhythmically from side to side), they are expressing ambivalence about what to do. If they could talk, they would be saying, “I am not sure about this”.

So if a cat is in confrontation with another cat, the tail wags as if to say “will I attack or will I run away?” If a cat is stalking prey, their tail will switch from side to side before they pounce: the message is “will I keep moving slowly or will I leap on them now?”. A tail wag can be a prelude to pouncing, or a cat may back away after due consideration.

A lashing or swishing tail is similar to a wagging tail, but with more speed and strength, like a whip. This indicates a higher level of emotion and a prelude to more dramatic action.

It also acts as a warning to other cats (and people) not to come any closer. If a cat lashing their tail is approached, or if other cats (or people) do not back off from a cat that is lashing their tail, the cat is likely to attack. The cat will often use vocalisation to reinforce the lashing tail, with a yowl or a loud meow to add to the warning.

When a cat is crouched with their tail wrapped around themselves, this is like humans standing with their arms folded. The message is “I am contented here by myself, and I don’t need any engagement”.

It’s always upsetting when you notice your cat vomiting, never mind the mess that needs to be cleaned up. But how can you know if your cat’s vomiting is harmless or something to be concerned about?

Vomiting, also called throwing up, is the emptying of a cat’s stomach contents. Cats vomit for many different reasons. Some causes of vomiting are extremely serious, and others are less worrisome. It pays to know a little bit about vomiting in cats, so you know what to do if your cat ever throws up.

Although the two occurrences look similar, vomiting is different from regurgitation. Vomiting empties the stomach, while regurgitation empties the oesophagus (the long tube that delivers food to the stomach).

Regurgitation happens immediately after the cat swallows food. Rather than the heaving and stomach contractions you will see just preceding a vomiting episode, regurgitation happens fast and looks almost effortless.

Vomit may or may not contain pieces of partially digested food or even undigested food. In contrast, with regurgitation, you will always see food, which often comes out in one long tube shape that matches the shape of the cat’s oesophagus. Regurgitation can be caused by congenital factors (something the cat is born with), or it can develop in response to a disease. If you suspect your cat is regurgitating, it’s important to seek out veterinary care.

Any time your cat coughs up a hairball, she is vomiting. However, once the hairball is out, the vomiting should stop. This is not to say that hairballs are never a serious matter.

Sometimes, a cat may vomit repeatedly in an attempt to eliminate a large hairball in the stomach. If the vomiting is not productive and the hairball is not expelled, the hairball can become lodged in the digestive tract, causing potentially life-threatening problems.

Why do cats throw up? Vomiting is a sign that something is upsetting your cat’s digestive system. Some causes of vomiting in cats, like hairballs, are less serious.

But others, like poisoning and pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), can be deadly. Certain health issues may also cause vomiting and other symptoms.
If your cat is vomiting and you suspect she might have eaten something she shouldn’t have, seek urgent care.

Some common causes of poisoning in cats include:

Consuming toxic plants, like lilies
Ingesting rodent poison (including eating a dead rat or mouse that consumed the poison)
Using dog flea and tick preventive products on your cat (these preventatives can contain pyrethrins, which are toxic to cats)
Being exposed to garden chemicals and insecticides
Swallowing antifreeze
Eating human foods that are toxic to cats
Ingestion of  human medications

In addition to finding vomit on the floor, some other signs that your cat is feeling nauseous include drooling, gagging, retching, licking her lips, repeatedly swallowing, and acting uncomfortable or restless.

Your cat might vomit food, or she might vomit liquid or bile. The vomit may be thick or foamy. If you see hair, plant material, or anything else in the vomit, make a note of it and tell your veterinarian—it might be a clue to what is causing the vomiting.

If your cat vomits just once and seems to be acting normal otherwise, it’s possible that it was an isolated occurrence of stomach upset or perhaps a hairball (especially if you find a clump of hair in the vomit).

You can take a wait-and-see approach, watching for more vomiting and taking note of your cat’s demeanour. If the vomiting subsides on its own, and your cat is acting fine, the vomiting may have resolved on its own.

On the other hand, if your cat is experiencing repeated vomiting, if you see blood in the vomit, or if your cat is acting very sick, she should be seen by your veterinarian as soon as possible.

Continuous vomiting in and of itself can cause life-threatening dehydration and imbalances of electrolytes like sodium and potassium, so frequent vomiting requires immediate veterinary care.

Consider the following when your cat is vomiting:
Frequency of vomiting: Persistent vomiting (more than once or twice in 24 hours) requires veterinary attention. Vomiting that continues longer than a day or two, even if it’s only once or twice in 24 hours, should also be investigated.

Cat’s demeanor: If your cat is vomiting and also acting very ill (lying around, not wanting to eat or play, vocalizing excessively, having accidents outside the litter box), or if your cat is experiencing diarrhea or constipation along with the vomiting, bring her in for an exam as soon as you can.

Appearance of blood: Vomiting blood is called hematemesis. Blood in cat vomit might look bright red, or it might look dark brown or black, like coffee grounds. Hematemesis indicates that the cat may be experiencing internal bleeding, a medical emergency. Any time a cat is vomiting blood, she should be examined by a veterinary professional.

There are two types of vomiting: acute vomiting and chronic vomiting. Acute vomiting is vomiting that comes on all of a sudden. You might see acute vomiting in cases of cats that have been poisoned, cats that eat spoiled food (food poisoning), and sudden-onset illness.

Chronic vomiting occurs occasionally and somewhat regularly over time. Some cat owners become used to their cat throwing up, but frequent vomiting is not something to write off as something the cat just “does.”

Although it can be normal for a cat to vomit every once in a while, if your cat is throwing up more than once or twice a month, it could mean something is going on that requires intervention. Persistent occasional vomiting doesn’t necessarily have to result in weight loss to be problematic. In the case of chronic vomiting, a visit to the veterinarian is in order.

Treatment for vomiting depends on what is making your cat throw up. For instance, if your cat has ingested something toxic, treatment will be aimed at eliminating the poison and providing supportive care.

If your cat has swallowed a foreign object that is lodged in its intestinal tract, surgery might be necessary to resolve the blockage. If your cat has a medical condition like diabetes, pancreatitis, or IBD, the vet will initiate treatment to address the underlying disease as well as the vomiting.

When you bring your cat to your veterinarian to be examined, the veterinarian will examine your cat and ask you questions about how she’s been acting and whether or not she might have gotten into something like spoiled food or poisonous plants.

The vet might also recommend some tests like blood work, urinalysis, a faecal exam to look for intestinal parasites, or abdominal X-rays or ultrasound. Once the underlying cause of the vomiting has been determined, treatment can be initiated. Sometimes, no cause can be determined.

It’s not uncommon for a cat’s digestive tract to become upset and need a little help settling down.

General treatment of vomiting may include one or more of the following:

Antiemetic (anti-vomiting) medication: An antiemetic drug will calm your cat’s nausea and stop the vomiting.

Fluids: If your cat is dehydrated from repeated vomiting, fluids will be given. Depending on how dehydrated your cat is, fluid therapy may be administered either under the skin (subcutaneous) or intravenously via an IV catheter.

Bland diet: After a vomiting episode, your cat’s digestive system will be very unsettled, so your veterinarian might recommend feeding a bland, easily digestible diet for a few days.

Your vet might send you home with a prescription diet that’s very gentle on the stomach, recommend another type of cat food, or even suggest a home-cooked diet to feed until your cat’s stomach has settled down.

If your cat is vomiting only occasionally, your vet might suggest withholding food for 24 hours to give your cat’s digestive tract a little time to rest.

When your cat is vomiting, don’t wait too long to seek veterinary care. Some causes of vomiting are serious, even life-threatening. Also, the longer you wait, the sicker your cat will become, which can make it more difficult to treat your cat’s condition and lead to more costly treatment.