Cat Shaking Tail But Not Spraying? Here’s Why

If you notice your cat shaking its tail but not spraying, then there is nothing to worry about. It is normal for you to feel weird about it. But in reality, it is a way of expressing happiness.

There is a lot that a cat can do using his tail. It is one of their strongest weapons of communication. A cat can perform various types of movement using its tail. 

Thus, if you find your cat shaking their tail but not spraying, it is a healthy sign.

Your cat might be feeling happy to see you back. Most of the cats display various emotions through its tail and are a means for them to communicate with you.

Why Does My Cat Shaking Tail but Not Spraying?

If your cat is shaking its tail but not spraying, then it means your cat is conveying you something. It is also a good gesture that indicates your cat is overwhelmed by something, probably by seeing you.

It can also mean your cat is excited to meet you after a long time. Thus, it is a friendly greeting from your cat whether you are back from somewhere or in the morning. So, there is nothing to feel worried about.

This phenomenon of your cat shaking its tail but not spraying is called cat phantom spraying.

You do not have to feel tense about cleaning its urine or about other things. But there may be some other meaning to shaking its tails as your cat could be communicating with you about feeling stressed.

There are a variety of emotions attached to the shaking of a cat’s tail and not spraying. And so, today in this article, you will find all the relevant details about your cat shaking its tail and not spraying. So, let us find out.

1. Your cat is feeling Excited

The first reason your cat is shaking its tail but not spraying could be that he is excited. If you carefully notice your cat will shake and start vibrating its tail when he is feeling delighted during the time:

  • When you are going to feed him
  • When you or your family members come home
  • When you wake up
  • When they found some prey

In the above situations, you will find your cat is shaking its tail in small, fast, and vibrating movements. However, they can do this in any way while sitting on the window side and quivering their tail by watching birds or animals.

Also, cats can keep their tail shaking straightway and even walk behind into a vertical exterior that may seem he is spraying.

Perhaps, you could deeply understand the nature of your cat if you pay attention to their behavior.

With this, you can easily understand whether your cat is happy or stressed about something. You could also find any of the three reasons mentioned above.


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2. Your Cat Feels Stressed and Anxious

Sometimes your cat shaking its tail can be a bit complicated for you to understand. When your pet is shaking its tail, it might mean they are happy, excited, stressed, or anxious.

Perhaps when your furry friend is stressed, you will find that they are only moving the head of its tail. However, it can also shake its whole tail and phantom spray to indicate its stress.

A Cat can use its tail to indicate various emotions and change behavior over little things. A cat has a strong sense of smell and hearing.

So, they can react to changes that are difficult to understand. Some of the reasons that there are changing behavior in your pet can be due to:

  • Listening to harsh sounds like the sound of a vacuum cleaner or other disturbing noise
  • Smells due to the presence of an animal or a new person in the house
  • Appetite or food changing
  • A mess in the cat litter
  • Traveling to a place
  • Visiting a vet

There could be many reasons associated with why your pet is phantom spraying. It could be due to your little one being in a stressful situation or feeling anxious.

If your furry friend has lost interest in food or stopped being social, it can also be a symptom of phantom spraying. Stress in a cat can make them feel angry or change their attitude, such as avoiding litter boxes usage.

However, at times, if you find your cat phantom spraying and thinking to be a sign of stress, there is nothing to worry about.

You could either erase the stressful stimuli to make your pet feel easy. You could even

provide your furry one with an adequate space to control their emotions all by themselves.

Lastly, if you find your pet is shaking its tail and not spraying for stress, you can take him to a vet. It could be that your pet is having anxiety issues. Thus, taking him to a vet could provide him with some

treatment to relieve him from living a stressful life. 


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3. Your pet does not know how to Spray

Every cat knows how to mark with urine. But few cats are not skilled in doing so, as when they were kittens. Such behaviors they inherit from their mother’s teaching or an outside cat.

So, it could be that your cat is spraying and not urinating. It is because they have never developed the skill of spraying appropriately. A few reasons that could be the result of your cat having such behavior are:

  • If the mother of your cat was not the best at phantom spraying, it could be that they have developed this character from watching their mother’s behavior.
  • It could be possible that the mother of the cat never sprayed. Most female cats do not know how to spray, more common within the male community.
  • They have learned from an outside cat and have never learned the urine marking, but only the shaking of its tails.

Overall, if your cat has never learned to spray, their phantom spraying is similar to common spraying, similar to marking their land.

Why Do Cats Phantom Spray?

It is believed cats spray to mark their area by discharging urine that contains pheromones. The pheromones are a signal to tell other cats about the area belonging to your pet.

However, you should not feel irritated about your cat’s spraying behavior, as it is their impulsive behavior.

On the other hand, you may regard your cat shaking its tail but not spraying as baseless. When your cat is not urinating, you can think of it as strange behavior.


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Final Words

So we can conclude, a cat shaking its tail aside cat phantom spraying is a way of expressing its emotions, like the dogs. Thus, as a cat lover, you should keep an eye on your cat’s movements.

However, paying close observation to your cat’s behavior, such as their tail movement, could provide you with many insights into your cat’s behavior. Apart from this, it could also mean that your cat is suffering from a specific illness.

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