Showing posts with label cat petting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cat petting. Show all posts

Tuesday, 9 April 2024

Touch your cat and let them touch you for health benefits both ways

A study is out on the Internet at the moment which probably states the obvious but it's always useful to restate the obvious and it might not be so obvious to some people. 😉😎

The conclusion of the study is that people benefit from touch. Yes, a simple act. Touching is part and parcel of the way of life of animals and people. People are animals. The human animal. Let's not kid ourselves that we are any different at a fundamental level which includes experiencing the benefits of touch.

Touch on the face and head is more beneficial than touch on the arm. We can be touched by a professional medical person or a non-medical person but someone we know and the benefits are going to be similar both mental and physical.

People who are ill benefit more than those who are not. Hugging people is touching people. The same benefits. Cuddling your cat is like hugging a person. The same benefits. It cuts both ways by which I mean the cat benefits from your touching and you benefit from touching your cat. Note: hug cats respectfully.



To stress the point, the study states that, "It is widely known that many animal species benefit from touch interactions and that engaging in touch promotes their well-being as well."

You can't really touch your cat enough. You can't overdo it but caregivers should respect the feelings of their cat. Petting your cat is good for both person and cat but different cats have different wishes and people shouldn't overdo petting. Sometimes cats have a limit to the amount of petting they wish to receive.

Notwithstanding that observation, cats enjoy petting and of course people enjoy petting their cats. This is a form of touching obviously and therefore both benefit from it.

Touching can help reduce pain, depression and anxiety in adults and children. In terms of newborn babies, touching helps them gain weight. This is a reflection of the general well-being incurred by the baby when being touched.

The study is titled: A systematic review and multivariate meta-analysis of the physical and mental health benefits of touch interventions. It is published on the Nature Human Behaviour website and the citation at the base of the article provides a link to it.
Overall, touch interventions were beneficial for both physical and mental health, with a medium effect size. Our work illustrates that touch interventions are best suited for reducing pain, depression and anxiety in adults and children as well as for increasing weight gain in newborns. 
The lesson to be learned from the study (if we need to learn a lesson on this topic) is that we should enjoy touching our cat. And our cat will enjoy it. It just needs to be done in a respectful way which means gently and up to the limits allowed by our cat companions. 

You will learn those limits as your cat will complain if you overdo it. Gentleness is a key. Sometimes people can handle their cats too roughly and forgetting that we are bigger and generally stronger. It's a two-way process at all times and interacting with our cat.

And don't treat your cat as a human baby but as a feline, a fine domesticated predator.


Citation


Packheiser, J., Hartmann, H., Fredriksen, K. et al. A systematic review and multivariate meta-analysis of the physical and mental health benefits of touch interventions. Nat Hum Behav (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-01841-8
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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Friday, 2 June 2023

Try feather-light petting to see if it pleases your cat more

I'll try and explain what I mean in the title. My belief is that many cat owners apply too much downforce with their hands and fingers when petting/stroking their cat. I'd like to see more try a different method in which a feather-light touch is applied. The petting is very delicately applied. Much more delicately than one imagines. And it should be carried out very slowly too.

Try feather-light petting to see if it pleases your cat more

Slow and delicate is an alternative style of petting which particularly applies to men I would suggest. I think an experiment using this technique is worth trying to see your cat's reaction.

I sense that many cat caregivers have never really given much thought to the amount of downforce that their petting should deliver. We pet our cats in an instinctive way which suits us. It is as we are doing it to a fury little human and therefore the downforce is correct for humans.

But is it correct for domestic cats? I sense not. I think cats can sometimes find their human caregiver a little too heavy-handed. And if that is correct it slightly undermines the relationship.

The feather-light handling should be accompanied by a quiet melodious and friendly voice too. The sound should project friendliness and gentleness.

I am simply questioning the status quo. Is the default pressure applied when petting your cat companion entirely pleasant from your cat's perspective? 

The primary objective of petting is to please the cat. Is that forgotten sometimes? Do some people only think about pleasing themselves?

Thursday, 4 May 2023

Sing to your cat while you are petting her?

Here's a thought. It is no more than a thought but it is something that I do these days. I sing to my cat while I pet him. I pet him in a certain way which I know he particularly likes (put pressure on the back of his neck). It is our solemn duty to make our cats happy after ensuring that they are safe.

And I think that if you sing to your cat while you pet them in a way that they particularly like they will associate your singing voice with something very pleasurable.

The advantage of that is that if you sing without petting him it should please him. It's a form of training. Of conditioning.

I think this tip would be very useful for somebody who likes to sing around the house. I don't particularly do that. I only sing when I pet my cat (sometimes). However, I do know a lot of people like to sing occasionally because they've got nice voices.

You can link that nice voice to something nice for your cat by petting them at the same time. Just a thought.

The concept is based upon reward training i.e. positive reinforcement. If you want to train a cat to do something new, get them incrementally to do certain things and at each stage you reward them with a food treat. They link the food treat with doing a certain action which you want them to do. This encourages them to do the thing that you want them to do. That's training through reward.

It is the link between doing something and the reward which makes it work. It is the link between singing and petting which makes singing an enjoyable experience for a cat. That's my theory.

Having written this, I have just noticed that quite a a lot of people sing to their cats. Or, they sing to the four walls of their home and their cat likes it. So clearly, cats are making a link between the human caregiver that they have learnt to love and singing by that person. 

It's an association. I'm pleased because I didn't know this when I dreamt up the idea for the article. It seems that I am not alone.

For example, one person says that when she sings her cat comes up to her for a cuddle. That's the point I'm making.

Tuesday, 11 April 2023

Petting your cat with a wet toothbrush. Worth doing?

There is a group of people who believe that petting your cat with a wet toothbrush is a good idea because it replicates the kind of sensation in an adult cat that they experienced when they were newborn kittens being licked around the head by their mother.

Petting a cat with a wet toothbrush
Petting a cat with a wet toothbrush. Image: Reddit.com

I'm sure this is true. It is probable that the toothbrush more accurately replicates the sensation of being licked by a mother than petting with the fingers on the forehead. But I don't think it is significantly better.

Personally, I don't see a great advantage in petting with a toothbrush. I think a cat companion will enjoy a very similar sensation if you pet their forehead with two or three fingers. This is what I do also

I actually use three fingers on the part of the head you see in the photograph because it avoids touching the ears when you pet at that position. I don't want to disturb his ears. I also do the same thing with a flea comb.

I believe that cats don't particularly like it if you use the entire hand to pet their forehead and squash their ear flaps down. I don't think it's a big issue but it is not quite as good as doing it with three fingers.

Sometimes if you pet a cat's forehead with the entire hand, they shake their head afterwards as if to adjust their ear flaps and return them to their natural, neutral position.

The conclusion for me, is that you should pet their forehead with two or three fingers and then the entire hand can be used to stroke the back of their neck which by the way my cat loves and then down the body.

The sides of the face i.e. the cheeks can be petted with a couple of fingers as well. I usually use the back of my fingers to do this as it is more convenient and actually it is gentler because the positioning of the fingers means that the muscles of the fingers act as a kind of spring system and allows the fingers to follow the contours of the cheeks more reliably.

Pet your cat with a flea comb
Flea comb as an alternative tool to pet your cat.  It does two things at the same time. Image: MikeB

As mentioned, I also pet my cat's head and cheeks with a flea comb. This provides a very similar sensation for the cat as a toothbrush and has the added advantage of checking for fleas.

Monday, 7 November 2022

Cats are NATURALLY aggressive. Discuss.

Dr Bruce Fogle in his book 'Complete Cat Care' makes a statement which caught my attention: "Cats are naturally aggressive". We don't think of it like that very often. But it is true. And it is a source of potential trouble in the human-to-cat relationship. 

Despite the beautifully relationships between cats and their caregivers all over the world, the domestic cat is a top predator armed with weapons: claws and teeth. 

And they like to use them in play because play for domestic cats is play-hunting. All play is centred around hunting and hunting employs sharp canine teeth and even sharper claws on their forepaws.

They are programmed to hunt and kill. It is their major activity in life. And we know how cats act on instinct. This makes their genetic programming more effective as it is not tempered by rational thought.

Man used hand as a cat toy. Bad idea.
Man used hand as a cat toy. Bad idea. Image in public domain and modified by MikeB.

Sometimes a cat caregiver can become annoyed and emotionally hurt by their cat as they feel that they've been respectful and gentle with them only to be scratched or bitten in return. 

Perceived behavioural problems can lead to a breakdown in the relationship and the surrender of the cat at a rescue centre or to a neighbour. Aggressive behaviour is in the top 10 reasons for giving up a cat. Understanding the deep emotional need to be aggressive for cats helps to restore the relationship.

The classic form of feline aggression that pops up from time to time is the 'love bite'. It sounds innocent and loving but the cat love bite is not the same as the human version. We know that.

Another description of 'love bites' is 'petting aggression'. Your cat is relaxed and enjoying your company. You gently pet your cat without thinking too much about how you are doing it and wham, your darling cat companion crunches down on your hand with her sharp canine teeth while holding on with the forepaws.

To release from this uncomfortable situation, distract your cat with the free hand and in that window of opportunity release the trapped hand slowly. Or use the free hand to scruff your cat's neck and then release the other.

RELATED: 11 types of domestic cat aggression and how to resolve them.

Cats' teeth are designed to pierce the skin and break the spinal cord of prey animals. Stroking triggers mixed emotions. Domestic cats enjoy touching their human caregiver and other pets normally.

My cat likes to reach out with his paw to touch my hand when he is with me. They like to be physically connected with their human companion, but they can become worried by it because the domestic cat's adult wildcat ancestor does not make physical contact with others except to mate and fight (normally). 

Although community cats and domestic cats form friendships and can rest together in close contact. But there is a different relationship between cat and human. And there is a big size difference which can work against the relationship. Humans can be intimidating to cats.

When a domestic cat becomes 'emotionally confused' during petting, as Bruce Fogle describes it, they may start to become instinctively aggressive. 

Human caregivers need to spot the signs of feline irritation such as a flicking tail and a tenseness developing in the cat's face and general demeanour. Your cat is warming up for an aggressive act by our standards. Not hers. It is play but all cat play is aggressive.

For people it is all about understanding cat behaviour and respecting it. All feline aggression in the home towards humans can be avoided and should be avoided by reading cat body language and understanding feline behaviour and their deep-seated instincts inherited from their wild cat ancestor which are just below the surface.

Friday, 12 August 2022

Scientists say that experienced cat owners don't pet their cats correctly

Scientists say that experienced cat owners don't pet their cats correctly but I believe that their study is flawed in a couple of areas which I discuss below. Although their overall conclusion as stated by Dr. Lauren Finka is probably correct. This is slightly tricky topic and I am sorry the article is not straightforward but I hope it is reasonably interesting.

There is a very lengthy report on the Scientific Reports website (largely unintelligible) which looked at how experienced cat owners pet cats. They found that some self-proclaimed "cat people" don't know how to pet their cats. They looked at a range of people types and assessed how they interacted and petted domestic cats. The study was carried out at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

News media reports state that it was surprising to the researchers that the people who participated and self-rated themselves as having knowledge and experience of cats were more likely to touch areas of the cat's body that the researchers believed that cats found uncomfortable. They also found that people described as having a personality trait of neuroticism and older people tended to hold and restrain cats more (and incorrectly).

People who were extroverts were more likely to want to make contact with cats more and touch areas of the cat's body that were generally less preferred to be touched by the cat.

People with personalities scoring high in "agreeableness" were less likely to touch those parts of the cat's body that cats prefer not to be touched. So agreeable people did best. 

Dr. Lauren Finka said: 
"Our findings suggest that certain characteristics we might assume would make someone good at interacting with cats—how knowledgeable they say they are, their cat ownership experiences and being older—should not always be considered as reliable indicators of a person's suitability to adopt certain cats, particularly those with specific handling or behavioural needs."

Areas where a cat likes and dislikes to be petted according to scientists
Areas where a cat likes and dislikes to be petted according to scientists. They are incorrect as the base of the tail is an acceptable area from the cat's standpoint and they miss out areas such as behind the head and shoulders as areas where cats like to be petted. Image: the study.

Comment

It seems to me that the basic conclusion is that experienced cat people often don't pet cats properly. That might be true to a certain extent as experienced cat people can become a little arrogant about their knowledge and become complacent and careless about doing what their cat likes and not what they like.

I would like to comment further. Firstly, the researchers decided that domestic cats like to be petted around the face but not on the stomach and the base of the tail. I think they are wrong because the base of the tail is not out of bounds in my experience. The stomach is a sensitive area certainly but an experienced cat owner living with their cat for a long time can pet their cat's stomach.

Secondly, "cat people" who've lived with cats for a long time can pet their cats in a way which would not be allowed (by the cat) when petting a cat that did not live with them.

And this study entails experience cat people petting cats that are not their own. 

"Participants interacted separately with three unfamiliar cats from a healthy population of predominantly non-pedigree, neutered adult cats."

There is a difference between petting your cat, the cat with whom you have lived for many years, and petting a strange cat. You certainly have to be far gentler and let a strange cat lead the way. Perhaps this is the crux of the matter.

You can't impose your will on a cat you don't know (and sometimes with a cat you know!). Conversely, with a cat you've lived with for a long time, you both know each other and the cat knows what their owner will be doing to them. 

And they have learned to accept it. Even if is not entirely right and even if the things that the owner does might not be necessarily pleasant for the cat, they will accept it because within that context there are a lot of things that the cat will like.

The study is flawed in my opinion because very often scientists who do cat studies are not cat people. They rely on somebody else to give them some leads on cat behaviour but this isn't enough. And pure science can be too dry to assess the human-to-cat relationship properly.

For example, I can gently pet my cat's stomach. I can kiss his stomach. I certainly pet down his back and at the base of his tail. I flea comb the base of his tail. I also pet him around the face and the back of his head and shoulders.

This study does not highlight the shoulders and the back of the head as areas which they describe as "green" areas by which they mean those areas that a cat likes to be petted - see the image above.

The study is called "Investigation of humans individual differences as predictors of their animal interaction styles, focused on the domestic cat". 

I don't rate the study highly as useful although clearly a lot of effort has gone into it. It seems to be fundamentally flawed to me. 

What they've concluded is that experienced cat owners are sometimes not good at interacting with cats they don't know because they've let their belief that they know best get in the way of a good interaction. Experienced cat owners may tend to lose their way and do as they please rather than please their pet.

There may be one useful aspect of it which is this: when people become very used to interacting with cats, they can forget about what a cat likes and enjoys and instead do what they want to do. They become a bit careless and perhaps a bit arrogant about they are knowledge of cats. 

They think they can handle cat in the slightly disrespectful way or slightly too roughly. Perhaps familiarity breeds complacency. And if a cat owner is very familiar with cats, they can become complacent about a cat's requirements and their particular needs and likes and dislikes.

Friday, 21 January 2022

Cat body language 101 - exposing the belly is not an invitation to be petted

The video covers a number of domestic cat body language signals. I will let you explore them (Galaxy is good) but one of them is always important. It is when a domestic cat goes 'belly-up' and presents their belly to their human caregiver. How do you interpret it? And I think the answer actually is not a black-and-white one. And it is also difficult to generalise. Different cats respond in different ways.


But you'll find that Jackson Galaxy makes one essential point. He says that when a dog presents their belly to the human caregiver it is a request to be petted in that vulnerable area. This is not the case with domestic cats, however. It is not an invitation to pet their belly but more a signal that they trust you and even love you if you believe that there can be love from a cat to a person.

RELATED: ‘Cat love bites’ – what do they mean and why do they happen?

It is a signal that a cat is relaxed in the company of their human caregiver and in the home. And to take that as an invitation and pet the belly may result in the cat doing what Jackson Galaxy calls the "wraparound". This is when your cat grabs your hand and arm by the hindlegs and forelegs and then bites the hand, all at the same time. And it can be quite difficult to extricate your arm from that sort of clamp! This is due to overstimulation. It can happen when petting too much in any situation.

RELATED: ‘Cat Whisperers’ don’t just read cats’ facial expressions but body language too (plus a quiz).

However, if you pet very gently when your cat does this it may work out okay or even well. It depends on the cat's character, which is why I have to say that, sometimes, domestic cats do invite their human caregiver to rub their belly albeit gently. My cat does this. It seems to be instinctive to them. Perhaps it is a natural extension of the signal that the cat feels reassured. 

Provided you do it very gently and with great respect, I believe a cat can take pleasure from having their belly rubbed. Once again this points to different circumstances and different reactions from different individual cats. 

Jackson Galaxy talks cat behavior
Jackson Galaxy talks cat behavior. Screenshot. In this still image Jackson is talking about cats' pent-up energy like a balloon expanding.

Some people think that when a cat presents their belly to a person or another animal it is an act of submission. I think that you will find this argument no longer holds water. However, you will see cats who are friendly to each other and playing when one rolls over onto their back to invite more play.

However, it cannot be denied that the one sure signal that a domestic cat sends to their caregiver when they lie on their back with their belly up is that they feel confident enough to do it i.e. present a vulnerable part of their body to others. They need to feel reassured in their own home to do it. They need to be sure that the people they are living with won't harm them. This all comes about because of a great relationship between person and cat and a calm, agreeable home.

And it is not too uncommon that domestic cats roll onto their back when they are very warm i.e. on their human caregiver's lap. Or on the bed next to them. This combination of warmth plus being in contact with the owner creates a feeling of great reassurance which sometimes results in the cat having enough confidence to present their belly.

Friday, 26 November 2021

Berkeley cat has sudden aversion to being petted

I have taken the title from The Mercury News. The reason why I am writing this note is because a reader of that online newspaper asked a question of their resident expert, Joan. They said that their nine-year-old beloved indoor cat had suddenly taken to clawing at her after she petted him for more than a minute. She found it very odd because he is usually very docile. She wanted to know the cause. I'd like to throw my hat into the ring.

Cat being petted
Cat being petted. Image: Getty.

Joan suggested two possible causes: that the cat was feeling pain for some reason and petting him exacerbated the pain causing the inadvertently provoked aggression in response. And secondly she thought that he might be feeling stressed because of a change to his lifestyle as a result of the pandemic.

It's a good question which implies that for many years this woman has been petting her cat in a completely acceptable way. Therefore nothing has changed in the way that she is petting her cat. Therefore the change must come within the cat i.e. there is pain or the environment has changed.

The most likely cause would be that this middle-aged cat has developed sensitivity to petting. This could be quite easily investigated. It may be a certain area of his body which is tender. The owner could do what veterinarians do namely palpate her cat which means to feel her cat and apply a bit of gentle pressure. She can then observe her cat's response. An aggressive response after palpitating a certain area would clearly indicate pain in that area. She could then telephone her vet is there was no external injury.

Cats perceive these circumstances as the person being aggressive towards them. They don't rationalise the fact that they are injured and the person is trying to find the injury. They just feel pain and the pain is being caused by a person so they think that person is deliberately causing them pain. And this would apply even if they have lived with that person for many years in a very good relationship. It's instinctive.

If that doesn't produce any results then you need to look to the environment. I don't believe the coronavirus is the problem (but see below). There may be something else in the environment which is upsetting him. For example, there may be a cat outside which he has noticed which is irritating him because that cat is invading his territory. He wants to attack the cat but can't because he's an indoor cat. Therefore he redirects his aggression at his owner. Petting can irritate under these circumstances and therefore he claws the owner. This, I believe, is the most likely kind of environmental issue causing this abnormal response to petting.

There might be someone else in the home which is upsetting them. Or the owner might be away a lot more than before. On reflection Covid might be a factor on this basis because if the owner was home all the time and then it suddenly away from home the cat might be upset. However the aggressive reaction under these circumstances is unlikely.

The first thing to do is to check health as Joan said (the most likely cause) and then to go through the environmental tick box possibilities until you hit the right answer. The problem might subside naturally with patience.

Tuesday, 27 July 2021

Let your cat train you to pet her the way she likes it and when she likes it

Let your cat guide you as to when and how you can pet her. This is all about that phrase that I constantly use "respect the cat". Part of the process of respecting the cat is to understand when she would like to be petted and how she would like it done. Each cat is an individual and their owner should be in tune with their cat's rhythms, routines, likes and dislikes. This is learned through intelligent observation. There are some basic rules in any case about petting a cat which I'm sure you know about.

Let your cat guide you as to when and how you can pet her
Let your cat guide you as to when and how you can pet her. Pic: Pixabay.

Domestic cats like to be petted on the head, on the side of the face i.e. the cheeks, over the shoulders and down the back of the head and also down the spine. They also like to be stroked underneath the chin because all these places are either inaccessible or hard to get to. This makes grooming of these areas by their human companion more enjoyable to the cat and more functional. Beware of overstimulation which can lead to a bite as the cat reads this as play-fighting.

It is quite easy to let your cat train you on what they like in terms of petting. The owner should use common sense and then fine tune the petting of their cat through observing the response to arrive at the style or method which suits the cat. Although, of course, most domestic cats are very similar in this respect. But some might be more sensitive than others. You can detect irritation in a cat's body language if there is too much petting.

The question as to when you to pet your cat will normally become clear to an owner because there are moments within the daily rhythms and routines of a cat which obviously become a time when petting should be carried out. So, for example, if I'm watching television in winter and I'm wearing a thick dressing gown my cat likes to jump onto my lap to keep warm. That's a natural moment for me to pet my cat. Indeed, my cat will request it, not overtly or through a meow but in a subtle but obvious way to an owner who is fully in tune with their cat's behaviour and character.

The bottom line is that the cat calls the tunes in the best interactions between cat and person. The interaction will last longer if the cat initiates it. A person should not foist their desire to pet their cat on their cat. Before you start you should know that your cat will like it because they liked it under similar circumstances before. You can't presume, though, that domestic cats always like to be petted because they don't. It's up to the owner to know when they are receptive to it and how it can be done.

I referred to being 'trained' by your cat in the title. This is effectively what it is. Cats train their human owners in a very subtle way because the person concerned wants to please their cat so they do what their cat wants. The cat gets what they want which is, in effect, 'training' the human. So, for example, my cat has learned that when I come back from the shops in the morning to buy a newspaper, I sometimes bring back food and within that food there might be some prawns for my cat as a treat.

He expects this treat when I return from the shops and I am aware of this. My cat goes to the fridge after I have returned expecting me to dish out three or four of large prawns. I know what he wants and he vocally asks for it. I want to deliver to him what he wants; he has trained me.

Wednesday, 30 June 2021

Do cats recognise laughter?

Do cats recognise laughter? No, but they recognise friendship and affection. I take that from first-hand experience with my cat. I often laugh with him and, of course, I love him. We interact in a happy way. When I laugh in his company it is clear to me that he does not understand the meaning of it. It doesn't help him to create a stronger bond. He doesn't laugh back or even smile back. His face is deadpan. We know that cats don't really smile and they certainly don't laugh. Laughing is not in their vocabulary. It is not a part of feline behaviour. It is not part of their culture in any shape or form.

Do cats recognise laughter? No but they recognise friendship and affection.
 Do cats recognise laughter? No but they recognise friendship and affection. Photo: Axelle Spencer from Pixabay.



Laughing is meant to help with bonding. That is its purpose, apparently. It strengthens connections and indicates that people are comfortable with each other. They say that a woman falls in love with a man when he makes her laugh. It might be the single most important factor in the male-female relationship in terms of attraction from the woman's standpoint.

But for cats, it is not a part of their relationship with their human companions. There are absolutely no signs whatsoever to me that domestic cats comprehend and recognise laughter. It is not on their radar.

There is zero response on his face when I laugh with my cat as I have stated in the first paragraph! Cats don't use laughter as a bonding mechanism. They use grooming to do that job. We pet e.g. stroke our cats which to them is as if they're being licked and they lick us back. Mutual grooming or allogrooming as it is called by the experts is a major way in which cats bond with each other if there is an initial chemistry between the two.

And when humans pet their cats, it is the equivalent of allogrooming in the mind of domestic cats. So that's it, cats don't recognise human laughter and they don't need it to strengthen their connection with their human guardian.

Saturday, 22 May 2021

Cat drooling while purring and asks to be petted

This barn cat is drooling while purring. He likes the attention so much that he asks for more by tapping the man on his face, which is completely understandable. Cats do drool sometimes when purring as they are contented but purring does not uniquely signal contentment.  It is a more complex signal or symptom.

Drooling often means mouth health problems, particularly stomatitis, an inflammation of the mouth. You'll see it in neglected domestic cats or feral cats. Drooling when content has its origin in the nursing kitten who is ready to receive milk from his/her mother's breast. Drooling is preparation for the moment. I guess it is the production of saliva to digest the expected meal. And sometimes cats drool when kneading their owner as it replicates the kitten-mother relationship when feeding. It is an example of adult cats being kept in a permanent state of kittenhood in human-to-cat relationship.

Barn cat taps man on face for more petting please
Barn cat taps man on face for more petting please. Screenshot from video on this page.

Poor oral health is one of the most common cat health problems per insurance claims. It is a particularly common problem as cat owners tend to ignore it. They can't see into their cat's mouth to check except fleetingly when their cat yawns. And wet food can exacerbate, it is believed, tartar on the gum line. Dry cat food does not really help clean teeth although I feed my cat Hills Oral Care which I believe does help somewhat and he likes it (too much actually). It is a large pellet so cats have to chew on them more. I believe that normal sized kibble pellets are too small as some cats swallow them whole. Dry cat food is addictive because it is sprayed with animal digest which is designed to taste great to a cat. The food itself is tasteless.

Try and check your cat's mouth for oral health. It is very important. Gingivitis precedes stomatitis. One sign is bad breath. This may help diagnose stomatitis.

Poor oral health is in the top 10 feline health problems.


Friday, 29 November 2019

The 'cat lean' is a feline sign that your cat likes what you do


I'll be brief. You may have seen it yourself. You should have seen it yourself! You are emotionally close to your cat. She likes it when you stroke her on the side of her body - her shoulder and flank. She likes it so much that she (a) tells you she likes it and (b) encourages you to do it. She does this by leaning towards your hand when you bring it up to her body. It becomes a natural reaction to your action. You can see it very obviously in the video below from Twitter. I call it the 'cat lean'.




I think that it is a quite important example of domestic cat body language because it is a clear signal that your cat likes what you doing. Your cat is communicating with you and, in addition both making a request and giving you feedback on the standard of your petting. Well done. You have done it right.

It is nice to get a 9/10 for petting technique. If you have seen this in your cat please share in a comment. Thanks.

Saturday, 5 May 2012

Petting Your Cat

Our cat guides us as to where we should pet him. It's a kind of reverse training. Cats do that quite a lot actually, if you think about it. A survey indicated that we enter into a sort of unwritten contract regarding social interaction. I think we can see that if we analyse our behavior with.....

Update July 13th 2015. The article has been moved to the main site. Sorry. Please see it here.


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