Many Cat Lovers Are Giving Their Cats Unwanted Affection, Study Suggests

People who consider themselves knowledgeable and experienced cat parents may be giving their felines too much affection, according to a new study.

Understanding how cats should be handled to put them at ease, or at least less hostile, has been done by previous research. Areas of the body where the animals like to be petted and when they prefer to be picked up are included.

Cat people tend to pet the animals in areas that they aren't so comfortable with, and give the felines less choice over how they are handled.

Lauren Finka is a researcher in animal behavior and welfare at Trent University in the UK.

There are some good general principles to follow in order to ensure that every cat is comfortable and that their specific needs are being met.

120 people were given five minutes each in Battersea Dogs and Cats Home with three cats they didn't know. The volunteers were asked to fill out a survey to assess their personality and experience with cats.

The people involved in the experiment were encouraged to interact with the cats as they would at home, even though they were told to let the cats approach them.

The researchers found that people who rated themselves as more experienced and savvy with cats were more likely to touch the animals where cats don't like to be petted.

Participants who reported having more cats at home and having had cats for longer were less likely to give cats as much control as they should have.

According to our findings, certain characteristics we might assume would make someone good at interacting with cats are not always reliable indicators of a person's suitability to adopt certain cats.

The volunteers were more likely to hold and restrain the cats if they were older and more neurotic than if they were less neurotic.

The more sensitive areas of the cats were less likely to be touched by people who were more agreeable. The people who had formal experience working with cats were shown to be more cat friendly.

The thinking behind the study is not to shame anyone because of the way they handle cats, but to encourage interactions that are beneficial to felines. Battersea has created an animation on the topic of cat care.

The message is that people who are new to befriending cats can learn to be good caretakers as long as they have experience.

"We should not discriminate against potential adopters with no previous cat ownership experience, because with the right support, they may make fantastic cat guardians," says Finka.

The research was published in a scientific journal.