Why does a cat have a tail?

Answer 1

Well, one of the reason cats have long tails is because of balance. When cats climb up things, and then when they jump down, they use their tails to make sure they land on all four paws. It is really useful to know and it is also quite amazing how cats' bodies are different than ours.

--Plus--

Consider, "Why should a cat not have a long tail."

Answer 2

Cats have tails for balance. That is why they can walk on such thin objects and don't fall on their heads or side. It's also what helps cats land on their feet.

Also geese can sense you coming from 50 feet away! This makes scubba diving dangerous!

Answer 3

There are several reasons for any animal having a tail - health, breeding, attraction to and of mates/partners, etc.

In domestic breeds of dogs we commonly accept it shows an emotional response.

Domestic cats need their tails for balance just as all feline species do (ie wild cats - tigers, lions, cheetahs etc).

Answer 4

Usually a cat's tail will go "poofy" when the cat is startled or afraid. When threatened a cat will arch it's back, stick it's tail straight up, and make it's fur stand on end to make itself look bigger; it will also hiss, bar its teeth and, if approached, will scratch, bite, or both.

Answer 5

Dogs have tails for a special reason that is not exhibited in ordinary dogs much because it is not common to see it. It requires to look at the special method a dog operates mechanically and psychologically in natures ecosystematics that help it survive.

While its tail can easily be seen in motion it is not really for emotional expression or attraction of other animals except in nurture of their own young because dogs have a narrow field of vision though wild dogs can see prey in either night light or day light. Neither is it in any direct exacting for balance as is thought of the mechanics of (e.g. kangaroos' tails) as i will explain. While dogs do demonstrate usages of their tails alike communication or balance, there are other animals that demonstrate it is not required to have a tail at levels of predator ability and sizes that dogs are.

A dog is a carnivorous predator that is thought to have been evolved from the Grey Wolf over the past 10 million years and as the classification predator implies it hunts game for its food.

However, carnivorous predating game for food requires a set of inbuilt drives psychologically that enable the dog to survive called predatory instinct(a primary directivein Canis), of this has a special part of it called "chase instinct".

As you have probably seen both kittens and puppies and even bigger varieties of either Canidae or Felidae chase their own tails and snap their teeth at them and once in a rare time injure their own tail mildly.

This "chase instinct" has an extremely valuable point that it is part of the predatory psychological drive, that being it causes them impulsively to react at sudden movements with a rush of emotion or feeling to attack before it comprehends exactly the cause by recognition of the cause.

This is a major part of their ability as a predator to survive.

Now, "why its tail relates to chase instinct".

Generally predators(quadruped mammal) all point their tail directly out behind them straightened when they start to chase.

When predators form groups or are alone to hunt but particularly in predators that catch prey by chasing these predators must move at immense speeds almost always to catch their prey.

This could be required in a forest at anything from 45 M.p.h / 70 K.m.h. to 55 M.pH. / 90 K.m.h., so a chase lasting twenty seconds could have the dog rush past deadly solid objects such as boulders or tree trunks up to 100 times(during the chase) or more in a fraction of a second at top speed.

This naturally is extremely dangerous but the final most important point is that because they are moving at top speed they "cannot simply stop or adjust course instantly or quickly if wind strikes side on" "unless they are disturbed enough".

Because they are effectively a sail at side on to the wind a strong gust will throw them into a tree if they do not realise to adjust to the sudden mechanical environment change.

Something must hit the safety switch and cause their starter motor instinct(chase instinct) to shift its attention to the problem using enough emotion overpowering the initial chase.

When the tail is struck by the wind at a particular level(e.g. pushing the tail over sideways on its fulcrumat its base while at top speed) it tells the chase instinct to switch its attention to the danger.

This is made easy to cause by wind due to the natural mechanics of the tail being easy to disrupt its position and the fur struck by the wind triggers touch that also assists the chase instinct in being distracted to the problem that it could be thrown off course.

When it has finally identified it as wind it will even have adjusted instinctively toward(into the wind) the side the wind is coming from by bending around at its tail(metaphorically).

It will not do that completely as a grown experienced high speed animal but will have moved somewhat to that position and adjusted its propulsion directions into the wind a little according its natural reactive dexterity.

A contrast of prey chasing technique relating the tail can be found in Bobcats(Lynx Rufus) that have a naturally omitted tail(no tail, or extremely short tail) by their biological mechanics, whereby they take more prey by ambush or stalking(no chase, do not pursue) of requires pouncing(ambush) or prey being inside a circumference of 3 to 6 meters and the prey having less ability to accelerate(ambush, not an actual chase) if it detects the Bobcat before it attempts the attack.

A tail would be disastrous on a predator attempting ambush techniques as its primary method because of the reactive nature chase instinct has and the greater warning any movement would be to prey animals from psychologically triggered disruptions upon the predator that are beyond the predators control e.g. wind striking its tail, young following in proximity.

However alike a rabbit on the point of having no tail(a Bobcat or Lynx), they have ears that mechanically will be sensitive to strong wind gusts.

More about Tails.

In mammals a tail appears physically as, and to be an extension of the backbone, of the backbone("Chordata" zoological classification of animals that have a backbone) is the central upright of centralised balancing hanger of adjoined parts of a creature and make a direct relationship with balance

If you reduce a tail to a Chorddata(animals that have a backbone), the most abstract is an Eel or Snake.

A tail can be thought of as an extra limb that's' mechanics may or may not be particularly dexterous or manipulative by its usage upon objects(except in Possums and Monkeys though they prefer to do much of and any dexterous manipulations of objects using any of the other limbs they have and sometimes but rarely the limbs adjoined to their pelvis' in preference to the limbs adjoining the neck and shoulders).

However, as a primitive simple or poorly functioning limb it only tends to commit protection of the sensitive genital area of creatures in land based animals when used as a limb for a function by the actual direct usage for manipulation of its being.

Definitely in dogs' and cats', emotional expression is abstractly obvious(definitely related to) related their tails manipulation by the tails' manipulator muscles having positioning or posture movements effected upon it deliberately.

Definitely also it is obvious that the backbone is a jarring(adverb) fastening against the shock waves of movement caused by usage of its adjoined limbs during traversal, of the tail will be sending back more shock waves amplified by the tails' position setting muscles' associate nerves and mechanical effect of gravity relating each shock cycle upon the fulcrum of the tail base.

The resulting usage of the resultant traversal shock cycle can indicate anything from fatigue to a forced repositioning of the tail by an external or environmental influence, inclusive, how well balance is being maintained in some situations of movement.

Tails appear to have their best usage in flight(running at top speed) whether as an environmental sensor(wind) or as a defensive sensor when fleeing(enemy touches its tail during running).

Answer 6

cats need tails so that they can keep their balance otherwise they would simply collapse

Answer 7

they dont some have thin(fin 4 u) and others have THICK (fick 4 u) it just depends on the breed

Answer 8

it helps them balance