\u201cWhen it comes to petting, it\u2019s best to remember that cats as a species aren\u2019t inherently social or tactile.\u201d<\/p>\n
In short: if you suspect your cat only puts up with your fondling to nab another bite of dinner, you\u2019re probably completely right. Particularly if you\u2019re consistently touching their back end.<\/p>\n
\u201cGranted, we know limited amounts about this from a scientific perspective. Although people often think cats like being stroked at the base of their tail, research suggests that this can actually produce the most negative behavioural responses from cats<\/a>,\u201d says Finka.<\/p>\n Alongside the lower back, Finka advises staying away from the belly, with your cat having evolved to keep this area protected. A cat\u2019s vital organs are exposed at their navel, so they\u2019re likely to see touching in this area as a threat.<\/p>\n Read more about the science of cats:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWith this said, there is a lot of variability in what cats enjoy. This is based on their personality, but also their early experiences. Cats that are well handled and socialised by humans from a young age \u00ad\u2013 particularly during the \u2018sensitive\u2019 period of two to eight weeks of age \u2013 are usually more likely to enjoy handling,\u201d says Finka.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, just because you have a friendly cat doesn\u2019t mean they love being mollycoddled and squished. Even if a cat is meowing and rubbing against you, it doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re fine with any sort of handling. You need to pay attention to their body language.\u201d<\/p>\n So, what subtle signs of annoyance \u2013 or, as feline behavioural experts call it, \u201cnegative arousal\u201d \u2013 should you look out for? \u201cWhen annoyed, cats might very sharply turn their head towards our hands. Or they may turn their heads to look at us. They might also simply freeze or stop actively encouraging the interaction (such as stop purring)\u201d says Finka.<\/p>\n \u201cNormally, when they\u2019re doing this, they\u2019re going to have ears that are not pointing directly forward \u2013 they might be slightly rotated or flattened.<\/p>\n \u201cYou may also notice nose licking, head shaking, alongside a sudden burst of grooming or rippled fur. A moving tail (either thrashing or twitching) held horizontally or close to the ground is also usually a negative sign (while a vertically raised tail is normally associated with \u2018positive arousal\u2019).\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese relatively subtle indicators are happening quite often in many cats I observe being touched, but people usually tend to not focus on them \u2013 or misinterpret what they actually mean.\u201d<\/p>\n As you might have guessed by now, there\u2019s a lot you can do wrong when stroking a cat. However, there are areas where friendly cats may be most likely to enjoy being petted: around the face \u2013 predominantly, the cheeks, the base of the ears and under the chin.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is probably because these areas of the face contain a lot of skin glands that produce scent,\u201d says Finka. \u201cCats are very motivated to use these areas to spread their scent, so these regions probably intrinsically feel quite nice to be stimulated.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, your cat, being the absolute weirdo it is, may also enjoy being stroked in other areas. If in doubt, looking for \u201cpositive arousal\u201d signals: purring, rubbing against you, kneading and gentle tail waving side-to-side are all good signs.<\/p>\n Overall, when it comes to stroking your cat, it may be best to consider Finka\u2019s petting guidelines (currently being researched for the benefit of felines at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home).<\/p>\n And you\u2019re not going to believe the acronym it follows\u2026<\/p>\n C: Provide the cat with choice and control during the interaction.<\/strong><\/p>\n A: Pay attention to the cat\u2019s behaviour and body language;<\/strong>\u00a0the following are also signs that the cat may need a little break:<\/p>\n T: Think about where you\u2019re touching the cat.<\/strong><\/p>\n Follow this guidance and, who knows, your cat may come to truly love you. Well, enough to cross your off their lengthy \u2018humans that must be destroyed\u2019 list anyway.<\/p>\n About Dr Lauren Finka<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr Lauren Finka is a cat behavioural expert from Nottingham Trent University. She has over a decade\u2019s experience working academically with felines.<\/p>\n Finka is also a specialist consultant for Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and also works with International Cat Care (ICatCare) and International Society for Feline Medicine (ISFM) on various behaviour and welfare projects.<\/p>\n Read more about the science of cats<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <\/body><\/html>\n Fun fact: your cat probably hates the way you’re currently petting them. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25493,"template":"","categories":[30],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/why-youre-stroking-your-cat-completely-wrong-and-how-to-do-it-right.jpg",940,530,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/why-youre-stroking-your-cat-completely-wrong-and-how-to-do-it-right-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/why-youre-stroking-your-cat-completely-wrong-and-how-to-do-it-right-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/why-youre-stroking-your-cat-completely-wrong-and-how-to-do-it-right-768x433.jpg",768,433,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/why-youre-stroking-your-cat-completely-wrong-and-how-to-do-it-right.jpg",800,451,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/why-youre-stroking-your-cat-completely-wrong-and-how-to-do-it-right.jpg",940,530,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/42\/2023\/03\/why-youre-stroking-your-cat-completely-wrong-and-how-to-do-it-right.jpg",940,530,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Fun fact: your cat probably hates the way you're currently petting them.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/25492"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/cat-stroking-78ed33e.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C396"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What is the best way to stroke a cat?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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