How to pet a cat
Petting a cat might seem simple, but understanding their preferences can make the experience more enjoyable for both of you. Cat Behavior Expert Samantha Bell shares helpful tips on how to properly pet a cat and build a stronger bond with your feline friend.
Samantha explains how to read your cat’s body language to determine if they’re in the mood for affection, the best spots to pet, and areas to avoid. By learning to approach your cat in a way that respects their boundaries, you can help them feel safe, relaxed, and more connected to you.
Whether you're meeting a new cat or bonding with your own, these tips will help you create positive experiences that strengthen your relationship.
Disclaimer alert: This information is just for educational purposes! Every pet is different, so always talk with your vet or trainer for specific advice on your pet's situation. We don’t accept any liability for any loss or injury that occurs as a result of watching videos on Kinship's channel. (Fyi: We also don’t accept any liability for extra treats given…but we doubt your pet will mind.)
(C) Kinship Partners, Inc. All rights reserved.
TRANSCRIPT
Looking for some pointers on how to pet a cat without getting scratched you've come to the right place I'm Samantha and this is Mace and we're going to give you some wonderful tips rule number one never force a cat to accept any physical contact this guideline actually applies to all animals but this advice is especially helpful with feline the most important thing to a cat the one thing they want most in their life is choices you see cats are so similar to their wild cat ancestors that our cats today still live in a world of predator and prey in their minds and if they could choose which they wanted to feel like it would be Predator predators are in control while prey aren't so when interacting with your cat giving them choices helps them feel in control they feel safe and they feel confident with you in their environment this is why petting must be done on their terms give them that choice let them approach you cats tend to approach people who are down on the ground down on their level think about how much bigger we are than them so making ourselves smaller can make us less scary to them so by sitting down and remaining calm you can make yourself more appealing to that adorable cat that you're hoping will walk up to you cats like to make contact with people by rubbing up against them sometimes with their face and sometimes with the sides of their body these are the places where they have a high concentration of pheromones and rubbing deposits their pheromones on you so you have the group scent they're marking you so you fit in with them and if you'd like to interact with a cat you can reach out with your hand and see if they approach and if they nudge your hand with their head that's usually a pretty clear invitation to pet them or you can sit cross-legged like this so that your knee is out and it's available to be rubbed on if a cat has decided to physically make contact with you they're far more likely to accept petting than if you're the one making the initial contact most cats prefer to be pet on