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Did you know that right-handed and left-handed preferences do not only apply to the human race, but also to the feline world? Believe it or not, cats can be either right-pawed or left-pawed, with or without any political affiliation. Approximately forty out of every hundred cats are left-pawed, twenty are right-pawed and forty are ambidextrous. With humans, the percentages are different; usually ten out of every hundred people are left-handed for every ninety who are right-handed.

For years scientists believed that only human beings had hand preferences because only humans have brains whose right and left "hemispheres" are specialized. This means that each side of the brain exercises control over specific functions, such as speech and motor activity. But, according to "Science World Magazine," it has been discovered that primates, specifically monkeys, depend upon one hand more than the other for certain specific tasks, leading one to speculate that perhaps other animals do as well.

Does this mean that animals too have specialized brains? Maybe, maybe not. If they do, then why don't they have to pay taxes like we do, you may ask, for which, alas, there is no answer. Observe your own animals and watch which paw they use more often for scratching, swatting and so on. Write down your observations in a notebook, including as much detail as possible. For example, "Cat scoops litter with paw three times." Test the cat several times and you will come up with the determination of whether your cat is right-pawed left-pawed or middle-of-the-road pawed.

Good luck with your testing. Don't get too excited though. Right, left or ambidextrous results will never mean that the cat will ever vote or demonstrate any preference for any candidate running for office!

Learn more about this author, M Dee Dubroff.
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