Cats don’t enjoy having their bellies touched.
OK so tell that to this one cat I have who will randomly flop down on his side next to my head when I’m in bed and then reach out for my head with his front paws to then try and shove my face into his belly. If I don’t cooperate there that’s claws in my head.
The little guy is highly food motivated but also highly cuddle motivated and he’s definitely letting you know which of the two he currently wants from you more. He also knows that he can just get up and walk away from any cuddle session whenever he so pleases. Question just is whether he does so after 4 strokes or 4hours. Yes hours, he’s semi frequently demanding 3h to 4h of belly rubs.
He also cuddles a lot with my other cat, so uh… Clearly he must actually despise being touched and just put up with it. Or something…
And said other cat will also (albeit rarely) let me rub his belly. He used to be a stray and was super used to letting humans do almost whatever petting to him at the beginning but oh boy did he learn fast that he doesn’t have to endure anything he doesn’t want to. Cuddle amounts with him dropped off hard really early but over time actually started to climb again. Belly rubs are a newer development because those were the one thing he did not want to in the beginning. I’m taking them as a sign of trust and affection whenever he offers them.
Isn’t it part of meeting a new cat, is figuring out what weird random way they like to be pet? It’s so fun! They all love different things!
I am so disappointed in lemmy. Not a single masturbation joke in the comments
Does this count?
I missed it!
My faith in the internet is restored!
kind of a weirdly hostile and presumptuous headline lol i read the whole thing and it’s like, “don’t rub the base of the tail, don’t rub their tummy, don’t do another commonly known thing to avoid.” and it goes on to say body language will demonstrate if they are happy. …yeah thanks. then i’m not stroking my cat completely wrong, appreciate the clickbait-designed judgement tho.
articles like this remind me, a person of average intelligence, why it’s called average intelligence, and that 50% of humanity must by definition score below it.
Just slap that butt like a pair of bongos. 🤷♂️
i will listen to my cat thank you very much
I had a cat who absolutely loved being scratched between the pads of his rear feet. It’s all about paying attention to how they react
I know how to stroke my cat. We’ve had 22 years together to practice.
I got some bad news about tomorrow, kiddo…
We had a family of 5 Cats, father, mother, and three kittens. Every one of them had petting preferences that we learned. Mama Bear loved full body rubs, the rougher the better. The Big Daddy cat liked a few light scratches, but he felt that affection was humiliating, especially in front of other cats. The kittens always loved lots of pets, their ears, their chins, their backs, etc.
Two of the cats loved their tummies rubbed, one was indifferent, and two disliked it intensely.
Everybody loved to get scratched on their backs at the base of their tail.
My longhair absolutely loves getting her belly brushed. She’ll purr and make air biscuits while I do it.
Careful with the bellys. Some cats really like being pet on their bellys, until SUDDENLY THEY DON’T.
We definitely knew which ones loved it. I was walking past the bed, where Kitty Bear was dozing, as as I passed, she let out a little “Brrrrp!” I stopped and looked at her, and said “Well, Hello!” And she flipped over on her back and showed me her belly for a rub.
And you could rub Mama Bear as hard as you wanted, for as long as you wanted, anywhere on her body, and when you’d stop, she’d demand more.
Charlie was cool with it, for a while, but he wouldn’t get snarly about it, he’d just walk away.
The others didn’t like it, at all, and let you know it. Again, not with claws or teeth, but it was clear.
They were all very sweet, and were never mean to their human family.
Straight up stroking it. and by “it”, haha, well. let’s just say my cat.
I just stick my hand out and the cat rubs against it. If they don’t like that, that’s on them. 🤷♂️
You need to pay attention to their body language.
Exactly!
Once the face-biting starts, that body language indicates you may want to stop squeezing him and rubbing his soft pink belly.
How would I get by without expert opinion on correct way to pet a cat, especially when they state that cat actually doesn’t like petting and just likes to suffer apparently.
As Dr Lauren Finka, cat behavioural expert from Nottingham Trent University, explains: “Although some cats certainly do like a lot of petting, lots of them probably don’t want to be stroked the way that we would usually prefer to do it. They’re probably just very tolerant of it because of the benefits a relationship with you bring – think of all the food, treats and attention you give them.
“When it comes to petting, it’s best to remember that cats as a species aren’t inherently social or tactile.”
In short: if you suspect your cat only puts up with your fondling to nab another bite of dinner, you’re probably completely right. Particularly if you’re consistently touching their back end.
“Granted, 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,” says Finka.
Alongside the lower back, Finka advises staying away from the belly, with your cat having evolved to keep this area protected. A cat’s vital organs are exposed at their navel, so they’re likely to see touching in this area as a threat.
As you might have guessed by now, there’s 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 – predominantly, the cheeks, the base of the ears and under the chin.
“When it comes to petting, it’s best to remember that cats as a species aren’t inherently social or tactile.”
I don’t find that to be true at all. I find each individual cat to be varying levels of social. Some cats will never leave your side. Some cats you see like once a month, despite living with you.
I also find it a bit disturbing that the word he used to describe how he touches his cat is “fondling”. I assure you, you’re the only one fondling your cat.
The face being preferrable kind of makes sense to me, since cats will often socialize by rubbing their heads against each other…
