curled tails

Question
Hi..
When my grandma raises kittens.... she raises them in wired cages... and i noticed that when the are full grown and out of the cage their tails are curled over their back. Why is this?
Thanks let me know

Answer
Apologies for the delay in response, I've been having some health issues.

You don't say how big the wired cages are but it sounds as though you think they are too small. And if they are, it is certainly possible that these poor cats are very cramped and this has led to curled tails.

But you also don't say what breed this is, or whether it is a mixed breed. Tail abnormalities are common in many breeds and also in the mixed-breed population. Years ago I had a Turkish Angora female whose used to curl her tail just the way you describe and she had free run of the house so it wasn't from a cage. Her tail appeared to be normal in structure but a number of her kittens had tail kinks or short tails.

So I'm afraid I don't really have enough information to either fully answer your question or to research it. But I suspect that it may have more to do with the cats being related and passing on such a tendency than the size of the cages, and I hope so too!

Hope this is of some use

iris