Cats have a scent gland at the base of their tail along with sebaceous glands dispersed along the length of the tail which together produce fatty secretions that are believed to be involved in chemical communication. Cats may be seen to walk alongside another cat, animal, or person, and direct their tail towards the other individual so that as they move, their tail wraps against the individual. If this individual is another cat, the tail will therefore often make contact with the scent gland at the base of the tail of the recipient. It is also common for the recipient cat to reciprocate the behaviour, leading to the two tails intertwining. When such a behaviour is directed towards human, the tail is often wrapped, to a certain extent, around the leg of the recipient person. The tail wrap sometimes follows the body rub with sniffing of the recipient sometimes taking place before or after the wrap action.
As with other types of rubbing between cats, the tail wrap is often initiated by a cat which has their tail held up high and straight as they approach the recipient. If the recipient also has their tail up, it can indicate that the recipient is more likely to reciprocate by allo-rubbing and tail wrapping the initiator.