Letting your cat pick when it wants to be petted may improve your relationship — and also save you from getting bitten or scratched — a study has concluded.
Feline behaviour experts from the Nottingham Trent University have developed a set of set of interaction guidelines to aid pet owners — which they have dubbed ‘CAT’.
They advise their cat owners to allow their cat choice (C), to pay attention (A), to their pet’s body language (B), and to think about what they touch (T).
The team discovered that cats behave less aggressively toward humans when these rules are observed. They also tend to be more affectionate.
Letting your cat pick when it wants to be petted may improve your relationship — and also save you from getting bitten or scratched — a study has concluded. Image: A can bunts with a man
According to study leader Lauren Finka — a feline behaviour expert from Nottingham Trent University — the key to making sure your cat is happy and comfortable when you are together lies in ensuring that it is control of the interactions.
A good place to start, she explained, is by offering your hand to your cat and letting it decide if it wants to interact — if it is willing, it will most likely rub itself against you.
The researchers advised owners to allow their cat to leave if it wants to, but not to chase the cat around or grab it. It will lose its sense of control.
Petting cats is a common way to overstimulate them. Signs a cat may want you to stop petting it can include it thrashing its tail, turning its head away, rotating or flattening its ears, shaking its head, licking its nose, trying to move away, or rippling the fur on it back.
Other behaviours may include if the cat goes still, stops purring, stops rubbing itself back against you, suddenly start to groom itself or rapidly turns its head to face you.
Cats are easily over-stimulated by petting. You may notice signs that a cat is not interested in being petted. These include thrashing their tails, rotating its head or flattening it’s ears, shaking its heads, and licking its face. Continuing to pet a cat at this point may force it to resort to less subtle messages — like scratching (pictured)
Continuing to pet a cat at this point may force it to resort to less subtle messages of its discomfort — including scratching, hissing or biting you.
As part of their study, Dr Finka and colleagues also looked at where cats most like to be stroked — with the base of their ears, around their cheeks and under the chin being prime petting positions.
According to the team, avoiding touching the tummy and the base of a cat’s tail — as well as being careful when stroking their backs — is often wise, especially with an unfamiliar feline, although there are some cats which will enjoy being petted here.
Dr Finka stated that the results showed that cats prefer a less hands-on approach to pet care, which eventually allows them to make most of their decisions.
“Cats do not tend to be overly expressive about how they feel.”
‘This can often cause issues during petting because many cats may feel a little uncomfortable at times, but this isn’t something that is always easy for us to pick up on,’ she concluded.
Dr Finka stated that the results showed that cats prefer a less hands-on approach to pet care. This ultimately allows them to make most decisions.
‘While every cat has a wonderfully unique personality, they do often share fundamental similarities, as this new study shows,’ said Battersea Dogs & Cats Home’s feline welfare manager, JoAnna Puzzo.
“Cats are incredibly sensitive when they express their dislikes or likes. This can lead to their behavior being misunderstood, ignored or completely ignored.”
Owners will learn how to understand and interact with their cat to help them feel happy and relaxed.
To help them refine the CAT guidelines, the team monitored brief interactions between human participants and 100 felines in Battersea’s London cattery.
Each participant interacted with six cats — three before receiving training on the CAT guidelines and then three after.
Researchers found that aggressive behavior in cats was less common when the rules were followed.
Team members noted that the same cats showed more friendly behavior towards participants after training and were more relaxed during interactions.
The full findings of the study were published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.