I just love petting my cats. My cats just love being petted by me. What’s not to love?
When you bring a cat into your life you expect lots of things: grooming, feeding, safeguarding. One of the main things we buy our cats for, though, is companionship and love.
Part of that equation is petting your cat.
You might think that petting your cat is quite a simple, straightforward task, but I have found that the way you pet your cat depends very much on their mood and how long you wat to pet them for (and they want to be petted).
Here’s seven different ways I like to pet my cats:
The petting stroke
This is perhaps the most basic cat stroke. You use the palm of your hand to smooth the fur on your cat’s back along the length of the back in line with the grain of the fur.
Our cats just love this, and in the morning I spend ten minutes stroking our oldest cat this way when I get up. He asks me to do it by curling himself between my legs and rubbing his cheek against mine once I have lain down on the floor.
Depending on your cat’s mood, he or she will either settle in for a longer pet, or let you deliver the petting stroke for a few moments before wandering off to do something else.
The dog pat
Some cats hate this, but ours love it. If you just want to give your cat a momentary pet, or gauge whether they want more, just pat your cat assertively along his or her flank much as you would a dog.
When I do this, I like to take joy in the nice hollow sound the dog pat creates, almost like a drum.
My cats stand mesmerized while I do this, delightedly participating in the brazen joy of the dog pat.
The tummy tickle
Let’s face it, who can’t resist tickling the tummy of a cat that rolls over on his or her back and asks for it?
Quite often, this manoeuvre will be a follow-on from a petting stroke or a dog pat, and often it is the cat that will initiate the exchange.
When your cat rolls over on his or her back, just give a tummy tickle, working your fingers up and down the length of the body and tweaking the fur as you do so.
The hind leg massage
This is a difficult one, because many cats won’t let you touch their hind legs unless you know them well.
With my cats, however, I often transfer from a tummy tickle to a brief hind leg massage.
Typically, even though they know me exceptionally well, they might only let me massage their hind legs for half a minute or so.
But it is a very special moment, because it is so trusting.
Always be careful to ensure, however, that your cat is enjoying the hind leg massage.
The rhythmical tail tweak
Moving on from the hind leg massage, I often move to the tail.
I run my cats’ tails slowly through my palms, and then let go with a flourish.
Typically my cats will beat their tails rhythmically in the air, and after three beats I will grab their tails again and re-run their tails through my palm for three beats before letting go again.
This rhythmical process can continue for half an hour if you’re lucky, and the cats just love it.
The two cat double pet
Often when my cats are grooming each other, I will interrupt them and pet them both at the same time in a combination of any or all of the systems mentioned above. Typically they scoot off after a minute or two, but for that minute we have a wonderful combined bonding session.
The basic groom
It’s important to groom your cats regularly if you can. Our older cat refuses to be groomed, so we have to take him to the vet regularly to do the heavy lifting.
Our younger cat, however, just loves being groomed, and our sessions with the brush are always laden with bonding moments.
It is, I suppose, a form of petting.
Takeaway
Petting your cat is a wonderful way for you to bond with each other.
I have highlighted above some of the ways I pet and bond with my cats.
There may be many others.
What are your favourites?
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