Thinking like a cat: Petting & grooming

A big part of connection with our kitties is knowing how they think. For example, I've come across some pet owners who haven't yet developed a "petting rapport" with their cats. No matter where they stroke their kitty, it seems to irritate rather than soothe. So how do you create or improve your "petting connection" with your cat?

Think about a cat's earliest experiences with contact--it came in the form of being groomed by his mamma. Most cats love quick, firm strokes all over their body, which remind them of their mother's tongue cleaning them. My little calico, Emily, loves it when I use a jagged motion down her back with my nails. My long-haired Nebelung, Vespers, likes it when I gently pull on tufts of his thick coat--it feels like mamma's tongue lifting his fur with her licks.

If you have a hard time brushing your long-haired cat, it may be because you are using long strokes that feel foreign to her. Instead, try using very short brush strokes all over her body with a slicker brush (a brush with dozens of very thin wire bristles). Likely you will hear her start purring as she is taken back to her experiences of being cared for as a kitten.

Now let's talk about your kitty's favorite spots to be rubbed or scratched. Again, begin by thinking like a cat...in the wild, a cat marks its territory and its cat-friends with its scent. A kitty's pheremones are concentrated around his lips, cheeks, neck and tail. This is why you may often see your cat rubbing her face on your carpet or door frames. And, since you are undoubtedly her property as well, she wants to smell her familiar scent on you!

Most cats love being rubbed about the neck and cheeks. Some love it when you draw a line with your finger on the fur above their upper lip, nose to ear. Whenever I stroke my kitties' backs, the pressure of my hand gets firmer as I reach the place their back meets their tails. You can tell kitty loves his when she lifts her rear to make the pressure even firmer.