You can see the same tail carriage when a domestic cat is stalking a mouse. The cat will crouch with its tail held very low, then lash the tail back and forth (possible to supply momentum), just before springing.
A bit of trivia: About 10% of a cat's bones are in its tail. A cat's tail is a wondrous feat of engineering and the cat depends on it for balance.
Cats' tails are marvelous instruments to behold, and they often signal the emotion of the cat. You can tell a lot about a cat's mood by watching her tail. A happy cat will walk with tail held high. An angry cat will signal her mood by lashing and twisting her tail. Pity the poor human who ignores a cat's lashing tail while petting him - she's apt to get scratched hands as a result of her ignorance. The accompanying picture is a good example of mild annoyance. Billy was trying to sleep in the top of the tower, while I was taking pictures of his tail hanging down below. You can see the slight blur at the tip of his tail, because he resented the camera's intrusion.
A kitty will greet you or another cat by raising his tail high. A very happy cat will demonstrate her joy with a quiver at the tip of her raised tail.
However, if you see a male cat backed up against a vertical surface with tail a-quiver, he's spraying, or marking his territory with urine. A whole (unspayed) female cat will hold her tail to the side of her body to accomodate mating.
That the cat values this amazing appendage is evident by the way she carefully wraps it around her body while sitting.
You don't ever want to step on a cat's tail. (That integer of time between contact by your foot and the ear-shattering screech is called a "nanosecond.")