A Tale of Tail - by Inez Kelly

With animal shifters, specifically cat shifters, you cannot ignore the tail. True there are more aesthetically appealing things to write about. Cat eyes are mesmerizing in shape and color, the slanted mysterious glow, the unblinking stare. The purr lends itself to all sorts of romantic and sexual connotations. The hiss of a feline leaves no room for confusion- Hiss = fury. Glossy coats, the sensual gait, the sleek muscles all are feline images that add well to the sexual verve of a cat shifter.

Then you have the tail, an appendage that humans don’t have. So how can you enliven it with human characteristics? One way is to translate tail = ass which does work in some instances. But not all. Any time spent watching a feline, whether house cat or big cat, and you will discover the tail is much more than an extension of the rump. It is a warning system. The minute flickering of the tail tip, the quiver of a stiff tail, the puffed fur when agitated are all clues into the cat’s mindset.

Long leisurely swipes of a tail when a cat is stretched into the sun are kind of like a human, relaxing, idly fingering a blanket or other object. It is a sign of contentment. When preparing to pounce, the cat’s tail will sway, jerking in readiness to balance those powerful haunches to give the most lift, the most grace. Tail held high when passing another cat is a way of saying ‘hey, how are you, I am not threat, smell my butt, no aggressiveness here’. A tail curled tight to the body means ‘I don’t feel comfortable here and you better be wary’.

It would be a mistake for writers to just stick a tail on a cat shifter without thought. What is the tail doing at that minute, what is the cat’s mood, how is it communicating with us in that silent language? Those are things one must ask to adequately convey the emotion of the nonverbal animal. The tail talks. You just have to listen to hear what it is saying.

In my fantasy romance MYLA BY MOONLIGHT, Myla is a jaguar shifter. Her jag’s tail is a warning. At one point specifically, the prince realizes her tail is twitching, waiting to balance a leap. When combined with her flattened ears and snarling growl…Myla is a miffed kitty about to attack. He calls her down. He read the signs. Another time, when she is in human form, she mimics her jag by presenting and shaking her tail at him, a sexual ‘hey big boy, wanna play?’ Of course he does. Most romance heroes, and most human men are not going to pass up a prime opportunity to get a little tail.

Tails, like tales, carry meaning. So what’s your tail saying?

MYLA BY MOONLIGHT is available now from Samhain Publishing.  INEZ KELLEY writes romantic fantasy and romantic comedy. Visit Inez Kelley at http://inezkelley.com/