Recently, my meowmmy has been looking quite inquiringly at me at random times. To be quite frank, it was a tad bit uncomfortable, so I asked her WHAT WAS UP!

She replied with, “Kernel, why are you standing on your tail?” I looked down at my front paws, and … meowmmy was right! I WAS standing on my tail! It was a surprise, to be honest, because I have never really thought about it before, and her question took me into some self-reflection and self-inquiry. 

“Why do cats sit on their tails?”

“Why do I sit on my tail?”

“Why do I sit on my tail?”

“WHY?”

“WHY? WHY? WHY?”

I don’t know why cats overall sit on their tails, because I am merely one cat amongst many, but I will definitely let you know why I like to place my left paw on my tail. I have also consulted with some of my cat furriends (read: Instagram friends) to let you know why some others sit on theirs.

• Have you seen the long attachment to my bottom, human friends? The tail? When my meowwmy and daddy say my name, or when I hear their voices, I get really excited and happy, so my tail twitches! My meowmmy likes to talk – A LOT – so the amount of happy tail twitching can get somewhat annoying, and THAT IS WHY I SIT ON IT – TO CONTROL THAT TAIL!
• As many of you humans with children know, lots of young humans like to have a comfort object, like a blanket or a stuffed animal. When humans are really young – “babies” – they often suck on their thumbs. Likewise, many cats, especially those who were strays when they were mere kittens resort to “holding” on to their tails with their paws when sitting.
• Warmth: My friend Frankie informed me that he sits on his tail to keep his paws warm. While I live in sunny California, my other furriends in other parts of the world, like Frankie in Finland, use their tails as a kind of “carpet” to separate our precious underpaws from the cold of the floor.

These are the 3 answers I came up with for my meowmmy, but if any of you readers – human or feline – have any other ideas, please comment below!

Meow,

Kernel