Male cats are more likely to be southpaws than females, researchers have found in the first study to produce evidence that domestic cats have a preferred paw.
An academic study of 44 cats found that, unlike in humans, there was a gender difference on which side is preferred, with male cats more often using their left and females their right.
Deborah Wells said that limb preference could be a useful indicator of a cat’s vulnerability to stress as this has been the case in her previous research around domestic dogs.
“From a pet owner’s perspective, it might be useful to know if an animal is left or right limb dominant, as it may help them gauge how vulnerable that individual is to stressful situations,” Dr Wells said.
“We have just discovered that left-limbed dogs, for example, are more pessimistic in their outlook than right-limbed dogs.”
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The study found that the majority of cats showed a paw preference when reaching for a food treat, walking down stairs or stepping over objects, and that their preference was consistent in most of their tasks. The researchers, from Queen’s University Belfast, said that they were surprised by the gender difference because most of the cats in the study were neutered.
In all cases male cats showed a significant preference for using their left paw, while females were more inclined to use their right.
In the study, published in the journal Animal Behaviour, 24 male and 20 female cats were studied in their own homes so that the information could be gathered as they went about their everyday tasks rather than in a laboratory environment.
Owners collected data on whether the cats used their left or right paws when they stepped down the stairs or over objects and whether they slept on the left or right side of their body. A test was also carried out in which the cats had to reach for food inside a three-tier feeding tower.
The reason behind the preference has not yet been established. The team at Queen’s said that further research needed to be conducted, but they believe it may be linked to hormones.
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Dr Wells has previously conducted similar research on the paw preference of dogs and found that left-pawed animals were “more negative or ‘pessimistic’ in their cognitive outlook than right-pawed or ambilateral individuals.”
The research could lead to quicker testing for animal welfare groups and rescue shelters who wish to find out if a pet has been neglected or abused.
“The rescue shelter environment is a highly stressful one for the many thousands of dogs around the globe that find themselves in this situation. Paw preference testing might be of use in this context, allowing kennel staff to identify animals at heightened risk from developing behavioural or physiological symptoms of stress,” Dr Wells wrote in the Journal of Comparative Psychology about her tests on dogs.