Bizzare tail

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Bizzare tail

by Joyce Marble
(West Bridgewater MA)

Bizzare Tail

This is Kippling and I would love to know how one of these cats ended up with a tail like hers.

She always carries her tail curled up over her back. If she is relaxing her super long tail falls normal.

I have looked every where to find another cat who has a tail like this and how they came to be.

Joyce Marble

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Bizzare tail

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Feb 13, 2012

Cat til
by: Anonymous

I've been looking for other cats to do it as well. My cat does it with his tail and I didn't know if it was just him or within his breed. By the way I'm not sure what breed my cat is (I think) a Balinese. Weird.

Nov 26, 2011

curly tale
by: Anonymous

we had a cat in New Zealand in the 1970's that we called Springtail. He was just a moggy but his tail could also relax when he wanted to.

Jun 28, 2011

my cat has curled tqil too
by: tracie kirkrbide

my cat is exactly the same joyce! he is like a turkish van/maine coon but his tail curls right over and lays on his spine!!!!

Dec 23, 2010

ring tailed cats comment
by: Tymbur

Hi,
Someone made a referrence between domestic cats with curley tails as being part ring tailed cats.
A ring tailed cat (also named miners cat) has coloration on the tail that is rings aroung the tail. They are not related to domestic cats that are curley tails.

Dec 11, 2010

Cats with Curly Tails
by: Anonymous

We adopted two cats last year, a brother & sister. The male looks to be maine coon, the female has short hair with long hair mixed through out her body. Their markings are exactly alike as to where they are place. But.......
the female's tail curls under. When she is sleeping she rolls it right up into a roll, like if you were rolling up dough for cinnamon twist rolls.

I have had cats all my life, and so have other family members and friends and none of us has ever seen or heard of cats who can curly their tails in any shape. When she is awake, her tail stands completely straight up like if she had a ruler taped to it, and only the end of her tail moves.

Also the rings on her tail are unusual as well as the connect with a line of darker fur on the top of her tail all the way to the last section of her tail where the end is completely one color, a dark grey.

Both our cats have very soft meows and still sound like very young kittens. They are both 18 months old now and we enjoy everyday with them. They are so much fun. The female will play fetch. She likes for you to throw her toys for her and she will chase them and then bring them back. She also asks for you to play with her and will pick up one of her toys and tosses it around a few times to get your attention and then she will bring it to you and meow for you to play.

The male sits in the window and watches the birds and squirrels outside and barks at them. He also like to nuzzle your head and he purrs very loudly when he does this so that you will scratch him under his chin. He also comes and sits with my son in the morning, picks up his brush and holds it and then nudges it to my son for my son to brush him daily.

I could go on, They are such a joy and a treasure.

Feb 24, 2010

My cats tail does that!
by: Shay

My cat is a mut, tuxedo color. we rescued him from a basement and named him smudge! His tail has always layed on his back. He puts it down when comfortable but when walking or stretching it lays right down his spine!! none of my other cats tails can even do this! I have watched our female and have tried to replicate it with her tail but it won't even bend back that far!! I guess we have cute loving, freaks of the cat world! lol!! your cat is quite cute btw!!

Jul 02, 2009

Kippy's bizzare tail
by: joyce marble

Actually, I thought she may have been a type of bob cat (except for the tail), or a lynx.But when I came across the Maine Coon cat she fits the description to a T. The pic shown on the site is very washed out and I am trying to grab on of her to show the beautiful colors and her tail when relaxed. Oh, and her tail begins the curl at the base falls along the middle of the back and then drapes to the side.

I got lucky with Kip. She and her brother were found in a paper bag on the side of the road. Whoever did that missed their big chance of a very loving and beautiful pet.

Oh I almost forgot, if you stroke her back she will curl her tail firmly around your arm and will do that to either side but it mainly curls the the right.

Thanks for the comment.

Jul 01, 2009

Rare but not that rare it seems
by: Anonymous

Hi Joyce, I think Kippling's tail is a variation on the American Ringtail cat's tail. Although it looks initially as if Kippling's tail just lies on her back.

It is caused by a genetic mutation. Quite a few cat breeds have been developed as a result of a genetic mutation as you probably know.

It is thought several genes are involved that dictate the wide range of variations on the same sort of tail position. Although on the American Ringtail page it says that there are two genes at work.

Here is a picture from Flickr of a curly tailed cat. A very different curl but a curl nonetheless!

You can see lots more on this page of the Messybeast site. Everyone a bit different:

Curly Tailed Cats (opens in a new window).

By the way your cat looks like a Maine Coon but you don't say this. Is your cat a Maine Coon?

Photo published under creative commons license Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic.

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Written material by Michael Broad and Helmi Flick's photos are copyright protected - please respect it. My thanks to all the contributors both in articles and comments for adding interest to this site through personal experience and insights.

Bizzare tail

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Bizzare tail