I recently ran across an article published on Healthy Pets.com featuring a study done several months ago by a research team at the University of Lincoln in the U.K. The study was designed to find out more about how cats react to being petted. The team was interested in examining two aspects of cat petting to ascertain whether there was a difference in how cats react to being stroked by someone they know in contrast to how they react to strangers. They also examined which part of the body cats greatly enjoyed being petted.
The researchers’ plan was to observe and videotape 34 cats between the ages of six months to one year in their own homes. The team allowed the cats to grow accustomed to their presence and the video recording equipment prior to starting the experiment. All the cats were evaluated on two different days. On one of these two days the kitty guardians did the petting and on the other day the cats were petted by the researchers.
In addition to the three scent gland areas, the team also tested five other areas; the top of the head, back and neck, the top and middle of the back and the chest and throat, and the petting was done randomly. The stroking was done using two fingers for precisely 15 seconds at each of the locations on the cats’ bodies.
During the experimental petting sessions, all of the cats were permitted to walk away if they so desired. In fact, many of them did. Only 16 of the 34 cats being observed accepted petting in all of the 8 areas from both their guardian and a researcher.
The team analyzed the videos at the conclusion of the experiment. They first examined how many times the cats responded positively to petting, licking the person petting them, giving slow eye blinks, started grooming, kneading, holding up their tail and rubbing their head against the person.
They next focused on the number of times the cats behaved negatively, swishing or flicking their tails, turning their head away from the person, biting, licking their lips or swiping the person with their paw. The researchers then concluded that kitties do not like being stroked by the tail since the cats displayed more negative behaviors when they were stroked by the tail.
What greatly interested the researchers was how the cats seemed to enjoy the experimenter petting them more than their guardians. The researchers’ theory concerning this unexpected behavior was the experimenter was new to the cats making them more interesting than their guardians. Additionally, the cats were not familiar with or expecting to be stroked with two fingers. They surmised that the cats were more accustomed to initiating interactions with their guardians than having the guardians initiate interactions with them, or that for some reason at the time, the cats may have felt distrustful of the guardian.
A second experiment was done with another group of 20 cats. The guardians stroked the cats in a specific order, from the top of the head, down the back to the tail or the reverse. They petted the cats as usual, not the two-finger method. In this experiment only 3 of the 20 cats walked away. The researchers observed that these cats appeared not to derive pleasure from being stroked near the base of the tail, no matter when it occurred in the petting sequence.
The reason that some kitty guardians stroke their cats near the tail is mysterious. It may be because running their hands over the cat from the kitty’s head down its back to the tail is natural. Cats often arch their back or their rear quarters when stroked around the base of the tail displaying enjoyment. Based on what the researchers’ study however indicates the cat is “telling” the guardian to cease and desist.
I am still puzzled by the researchers’ results, so I performed the same experiments on our kitties. All three enjoyed being stroked on the tail area. Aki, our 6-month-old kitten licked my hand, purred loudly, and kneaded on my leg. Edgar Allen Poe, our 10-month-old kitten rubbed against my legs and head butted me. Sir Hubble Pinkerton, our 15 1/2-year-old OSH rubbed his body against me. When I stopped, he made it clear that he wanted me to continue.
I think it premature to arrive at any results concerning feline petting preferences in only two days with a relatively small study sample; working with cats that are strangers to the researchers. From my miniscule study sample however, I found that there are cats who enjoy having their tail area stroked.
How do your cats react to be stroked around the tail area? Tell us in a comment.
Note: this post was first published in 2016. I think it deserves to be refreshed 😎. My thanks to Jo Singer. I touch and pet my cat’s tail every day but fleetingly and it is done gently. Cats don’t really like it in my experience.
Below are some more articles on petting cats.
I happened upon my half-baked answer here so I’ll try to finish it.
When I first thought of this, I thought they meant the tail, and not the upper part of the butt area, which I distinguish. What they’re talking about is more the back than the tail. I do take it further to the tail whereby I apply a little squeeze of it between my fingers and them travel, bump by bump, to the end. I’ve found that cats “like” a gentle touch anywhere and everywhere on their body. The more familiar they are with how YOU pet them, the more they can like it, because they know what’s coming. I’m very tactile with them and they really do respond to it, in measured doses. I always look and feel for a point where their body is saying, “okay, that’s just enough for now.” and “Okay, do that again.” I let them tell me what they like. They do like a bit of pressure pressing on their upper behind in the direction of their feet. The do not appreciate being pushed or knocked off balance (to the sides). I used to be a ballroom dancer so I appreciate that dynamic, and they (either a dance partner or a cat) remember who a good partner is. This seemed to be a fair “test” of their theories, but again too clinical.
I’ve rarely found any cat that welcomed having their tail petted or caressed. And, I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of cats in my lifetime.
Their tail is a very sensitive and well guarded appendage. In my experience, if it is petted, they may be tolerant but not pleased.