The Bushy Tailed Cat: A Fluffy Story

Ain't it the truth? The older we get, the more quickly time flies by.

It seems like just the other day, that Hush Puppy, our lilac point Oriental Shorthair joined our family. It was love at first sight for the small enchanting kitten and me the day we visited his breeder. The fur ball instantly jumped in my lap, climbing up onto my shoulder, purring his little heart out with such a deep decibel vibration that he could be heard from the other side of the room. The breeder was thrilled with our chemistry and just two weeks later, carrier in tow, she delivered him to our house.

The kitten immediately made himself at home with not a minute of timidity or apprehension. He gave the house the once over, purring the entire time, meeting up with our resident Siamese, Mousie Tongue, who bopped him on the head just once, letting him know who was boss. But we all knew that Mousie was mistaken in his evaluation of the situation. Hush Puppy had arrived! Boss kitten on the premises!

Having lived with Siamese cats for many years, cognizant of their high degree of intelligence, their affectionate nature, and how they just weave their way into their human's hearts in an eye blink, and also being fairly fluent in feline body language I have to admit that I was stumped when observing Hush Puppy's tail language.

One doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to know that a bushy tail is a signal that a cat is either frightened, or angry. But I was very confused when I saw that his tail was getting "bushy', starting from the base and working its way up to the tip. Since he was obviously "blissed out", purring with delight, on his back, tummy presented vulnerably, I had no idea what he was trying to communicate to me.

And with a sheer stroke of luck, as I "surfed" the internet, "googling" my question about tail talk, I spotted his breeder online. I immediately sent her an instant message asking her if this was "normal" behavior for this kitty. I could almost detect her delighted laughter as she replied. She simply typed, "Happy tail". My brow furled as I said to myself, "Huh?"

As our conversation continued, I was getting a bit embarrassed for not being as knowledgeable as I should have been. Since I had been breeding and showing cats for many years, one might think that I would be familiar with this behavior. But this was completely new to me. To make matters even more dismaying, as I was rubbing his belly, he instantly stretched out both his back legs, parting them, almost like a ballet dancer preparing to leap. The breeder simply typed, "This line has a genetic pre-disposition to respond to pleasure this way."

Hush Puppy, bushing his tail with contentment. Photo credit: Jo Singer So today, while my husband and I were eating lunch, Hush Puppy jumped onto the table, and stretched out on his newspaper.

Of course the minute I began talking to him and petting him, the tail bushing action started almost immediately. Since I have been accused of making up this story, I grabbed my BlackBerry camera to gather the evidence.

Who knows, I might enter this photo into a contest one of these days. I wonder what a good caption might be. Leave a comment and please help me out with something "catchy."