CHENNAI: I know this diligent gent who counts to a hundred as he scratches his cat under the chin. This brown kitty of his can’t just get enough!
Me on the other hand, I can. I’ve been scratched a few times. Once, it was a particularly deep one on my wrist, just before a trip — I ended up putting turmeric on it as a disinfectant, and proceeded to feel sorry for myself. The cat, a cousin of the aforementioned feline, seemed to move on much faster though. My affectionate rub on the head that ‘surprised’ her into ‘scratch mode’ was quickly forgotten. She settled down on a black laptop that served as a heated bed in the middle of this living room and drifted off to peaceful slumber...
Needless to say my throbbing wrist did not help me sleep that evening. However, instead of steering clear of cats whom I don’t understand as well as I do my dogs — I have a new rule of rub.
Find a sweet spot: So these days, I don’t eagerly reach out to pet every new feline I meet. I let the owner and every other guest take their turn, and watch the kitty respond. When I hear an audible pur — I make note. And here’s a big clue as to why some spots work better than others.
Cats enjoy being petted in areas where their scent glands are concentrated. So if your cat rubs up against your leg — in effect he’s leaving his scent on you, making his environment smell familiar.
Don’t get too familiar though. Believe it or not, the one place that cats absolutely hate to be touched is the belly. This is just the opposite of dogs if you think about it. A little reading to change my cat-titude on the subject taught me why. Always knowing they are both predator and prey, a cat just isn’t comfortable with a larger predator near his or her abdomen (the source to vital organs). Prepare for the claws to come out if you try. Keep the scratches at bay with these three kitty approved zones — that we promise you won’t need gloves to try.
3 purr-fect spots to indulge