Wagging tails

When we first brought home our little furry bundle of joy named Gozer she mostly kept her tail curled up over her back. When she wagged her tail she kept it in that curled position and kind of waved it back and forth a bit.

Over time, as she grew more comfortable and happier in the house, she started to straighten her tail when she wagged it. These days when she sees someone she likes - one of us, or the person who cleans for us, or the people at the vet's office - her tail goes straight out and wags back and forth with her (lengthening) tail fur waving.

Yesterday when we went to the vet's office she showed a whole new tail wagging protocol. She saw a cat there, you see... one that was on a leash and not in a carrier. We already knew that she liked cats: she raises her head when she hears a meow on the tv and if we say, "here kitty kitty kitty kitty" she rushes from the patio doors to the windows looking for the cat that we're calling. The other night she got a glimpse of the neighbour's cat and searched for it as long as we were standing there.

Knowing that she likes cats wasn't enough to prepare me for the way she wagged her tail when she saw one and could walk up and sniff it to say hello. Her tail went straight out and instead of going back and forth as in a regular wag, it went around and around in circles. It was hilarious to see her with her inquisitive ears and posture and this tail going around in full circles as wide as possible.

The cat didn't love her nearly as much as she loved it, of course. It hissed at her and crawled up onto food the display shelves to try to hide. Gozer still found the cat and tried to say hello some more (with a calmer tail) while the cat hissed at her and the cat's owner petted Gozer. The staff at the vet's said that people often surrender cats to them and since Gozer clearly loved them so much, maybe we could see if there was one that would accept her and we could bring it home? Oh, I wish that could happen - it would make me and Gozer so happy! Sadly, Ian's allergic to cats and even if he wasn't, he doesn't like them.

While we were at the vet's office Gozer got to play - really, she played! - with a dog who had just been groomed. That dog was so happy to see her that it wagged its whole back end, not just its tail. As cute as it was watching this dog wag its body, it was nothing compared to watching Gozer's tail go around in circles. We took both of them off of their leashes and let them play together and run around and they had a lovely time. I loved watching her play and behave like a real dog.