🐱 Cat behavior · common
Tail Held Straight Up
A cat approaches you with its tail held straight up, tip slightly curved. What is it saying?
Short answer
Friendly hello — initiating social contact
Collectible · common
2–4 tries
Regular stamp
1st try · Perfect
Gold frame
What it actually means
Tail-up is one of the few unambiguously friendly signals cats give. It evolved as a kitten-to-mother greeting and got repurposed for inter-cat and cat-to-human friendly approach.
What to do
Reciprocate by lowering yourself slightly and offering a finger or hand to sniff. Don't grab — let them initiate the touch.
📚 Source: Cameron-Beaumont, 1997 — described tail-up as a learned affiliative signal specific to Felis catus, absent in most wild felids.
Test your knowledge
A cat approaches you with its tail held straight up, tip slightly curved. What is it saying?
- Warning you to back off
- Asking to be picked up
- Friendly hello — initiating social contact✓ correct
- Searching for prey