by Janet Farricelli CPDT-KA

Created on: January 21, 2009

Because cats will never be found writing a letter or golfing, not many studies have been conducted on right pawed and left pawed cats. However, the topic is surely interesting and deserves a more in depth understanding.

What studies have revealed so far, is that cats indeed have a paw preference. A relevant study was conducted by a professor, named J. Cole. In his study "Paw Preference in Cats Related to Hand Preference in Animals and Man" by University Laboratory of Physiology, Oxford, England, J. Cole was able to study 60 cats and attentively record his findings.

The 60 felines were set in front of a glass tube which contained some tasty rabbit meat. Each cat was carefully observed for paw preference. After repeated attempts of getting the rabbit meat out of the glass tube, it was noticed that out of the 60 cats, 35 of them (58%) showed a paw preference over the other, with the majority (38.3%) of them in particular showing a preference for their left paw. The remaining cats appeared instead to be ambidextrous (using both paws alternatively).

Professor Cole was also able to identify another interesting feature. Most cats that had a dominant paw showed a quicker response to finding a way to get the meat out of the tube when compared to its ambidextrous partners. It appears as if using a particular paw frequently allows to develop better manual dexterity when compared to using two paws.

At home owners may allow their cats to undergo similar tests. It is important however to have the tests done at home in a quiet environment with no distractions and at the same times during the day. The most accurate results are obtained through various repetitive tests being conducted.

Owners at home may use a similar test by using a long plastic tube (a tube containing tennis balls or plastic bottle with one side cut off may work well) and by inserting a treat inside. The tube is then placed directly in front of the cat ensuring it is right in front and not more to the right or the left. Other variant tests can be conducted by putting a string visibly in front of the cat and observing which paw is used to swat at or smudging the cat's nose with some tuna oil and watching which paw is used to wipe it off.

It would be interesting to further know if a cat's brain is also influenced by the choice of the paw just as humans are. Whether your cat is right pawed, left pawed or ambidextrous, cats surely remain a fascinating species to study.

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