Is Your Cat Left-Pawed or Right-Pawed? How to Tell

One thing we learn when we are very young is our handedness. It's a seemingly minor preference, but it affects the whole of our lives, from the way we write to the hand we use to handle common tasks every single day.

Maybe in your idle time, while hanging out on the couch with your furry companion, you've wondered: does your cat also have a "handedness"? Are they left-pawed or right-pawed? How would you even tell?

This is definitely something I've thought about. One of my fur babies is very "touchy" and likes to reach out with a paw to rest it on my hand or knee when we're cuddling, or reach out to touch me when she wants something, and it got me wondering about paw preferences.

Well, like many deep thoughts, you aren't alone in having them. Also like much such thoughts, science has done some looking, and has come up with some surprising answers.

Want to know the truth? Want to find out whether or not your cat follows the trends, and find out what their handedness is? I have all the info you'll need, so read on to learn this fascinating quirk of feline preference.

Do Cats Have Handedness?

When you think about it, the answer is kind of obvious; of course they would. Just like we don't consciously think about our handedness, cats don't consciously think about their paw-ed-ness, but they have it. It would honestly be weirder if they somehow maintained a perfect 50/50!

Pretty much anything that has bilateral symmetry (that is, a mirroring of limbs from left to right) is going to have some kind of preference for which side is used first, just by a quirk of biology.

The interesting thing is, for pretty much all animals except we humans, it kind of doesn't matter all that much. Humans are unique in that we've developed an immense number of tasks we do that rely on our hands, and handedness in particular. We've created tools with ergonomics to fit one hand or the other, like scissors. We've developed writing, not to mention drawing, not to mention music, all of which are affected by handedness.

Our adorable feline friends sure will sing us the song of their people, but they don't need an instrument played with one paw or the other to do it.

How Scientists Tested Cats for Left-Pawed or Right-Pawed Preferences

I mentioned that scientists studied this, because of course they would. But how did they do it?

First off, the landmark study about cat paw preferences came out in 2018 in the Journal of Animal Behavior, and was performed by Louise J. McDowell, Deborah L. Wells, and Peter G. Hepper. If you want to read it for yourself, you can find it here.

First up: they tested 44 cats. It's not a huge sample, but it's good enough to show preferences.

Secondly, they tested these cats all in their own homes. This way, preferences weren't skewed by unfamiliar environments, stress, or other confounding factors. We wouldn't want to bias the results by freaking out our feline friends, would we?

The cats they tested spanned a bunch of characteristics. They were all mixed breeds (so no purebred cats. That could be a really interesting study!) and all neutered. All ages, at least from 1 to 17, and both genders, with 24 male and 20 female felines participating.

Basically, the study asked pet parents to watch their cats and monitor the first paw they use to do several tasks in their day-to-day lives.

• Stepping down the stairs. The paw they use to step down first is a strong preference.

• Stepping into their litter box. Again, the first step is a big one.

• Lying down. Does paw-ed-ness affect which side they like to lie on?

There was also what is called a "forced test", which is something they actively get the cats to do instead of just watching their normal behavior. The forced test used a three-tier box with small holes and treats inside. Basically, it was designed to require a cat to reach through a hole to get at a treat, and the choice of paw used to do it was recorded.

What We Learned About Cats Being Left-Pawed or Right-Pawed

So, what were the results? There were actually a few very interesting findings.

First of all: the side they lay on didn't correlate to anything. Cats will lay on whichever side is most comfortable to them at the time, and they have zero trouble rolling over when they want to shift. It didn't match their displayed handedness at all… or in science terms, "was not found to be lateralized."

Second, all of the other behaviors were lateralized. Food reaching showed a strong preference 73% of the time, stepping down the stairs had a strong preference 70% of the time, and stepping over an obstacle (into the litter box) was 66% of the time. These are numbers big enough to declare a preference. Just like how you can grab something out of the fridge with either hand, but you're more likely to use your dominant hand, cats have preferences just like that too.

Now here's where things get interesting.

In humans, somewhere around 90% of people are right-handed. We don't know exactly why this is the case, but evidence from literally millions of years ago shows it has been true for a very, very long time, and is likely deeply ingrained in our biology. It's further reinforced by culture and mechanical decisions made throughout society.

Cats don't have any of that, nor do other animals, which is why just about every animal other than humans has a broad 50/50 split in preference. Some cats will be left-pawed, some will be right-pawed, but overall across the whole population of cats, it will be about half and half.

What's actually really interesting is that, in cats specifically, this divide runs along gender lines. Male cats are significantly more likely to be left-pawed, while female cats are significantly more likely to be right-pawed. It's not 100% (there can be right-pawed males and left-pawed females), but it's a strong preference.

Fun fact: handedness might be an indicator of something deeper, psychologically. A study in dogs found that left-pawed dogs were more pessimistic and negative, and thus reacted more poorly to stress, than right-pawed dogs.

Why the Gender Bias in Left vs Right Pawed Animals?

Why is there such a strong gender association? Well, it might actually have something to do with the biological roles the different genders tend to play.

First of all, paw preference is associated with brain activity on the opposite side of the brain. This is true in most animals; the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa. It's just a quirk of how nerves, brains, spines, and brainstems all developed back when brains were first becoming a thing.

So, male cats prefer their left paws because the right side of their brain is the dominant side, and females have the opposite.

Left-pawed cats show stronger fear and aggression responses. They're more reactive to fear and stress, and are more likely to have stronger fight-or-flight responses. In a way, it kind of makes sense; male cats get into scraps with other males, compete over territory, and are more often out hunting than females.

Females don't benefit as much from fighting, since it could prevent mating and it can get them injured. They also don't benefit as much from fleeing, which can leave their kittens defenseless.

Now, all of this is mostly correlation and theory. Obviously, we can't look back in time and find the specific why any of this is happening. And interestingly, similar effects are observed in other four-legged land animals, including horses and dogs, so it's probably stemming from something very far back in the evolutionary line we all share. Ironically, it's we humans that are the stand-out here, with most other animals having lateralization along gender lines.

How to Tell Which Paw Your Cat Prefers

You're most of the way through this post, and now you're probably wondering, as you eye your sleepy feline, cozy in their sunbeam: which paw do they prefer?

Well, you can make a simple guess. If they're male, they're probably left-pawed. If they're female, they're probably right-pawed. That's only mostly likely to be true, though, and it's entirely possible that your cat is the opposite.

And yes, ambi-paw-strous cats do exist! A small percentage of cats exhibit no clear preference.

There are two things you can do to tell which paw your cat prefers.

The first option is to watch them. Keep an eye on their behavior, especially in three situations:

• When they step into or out of their litter box, which paw do they use first?

• When they step up or down the stairs, which paw do they use first?

• When they reach to start scratching at a scratching post, which paw do they start with?

Carry a notebook or a little note on your phone and make a tally mark each time you see one of these behaviors, tracking which paw they use. You don't need to observe every single time they do any of these behaviors, but you want to watch what they do over the course of days or weeks to track it all. That should give you a pretty good indicator of which paw they prefer.

The second option is to set up one of those "forced" trials. All you really need is a small box with a hole cut in it and a few bits of treat. Put the treat in the box and give it to your cat, and see which paw they use to reach for it. Repeat a few times (preferably on different days), and you'll see which paw they tend to prefer to use for these kinds of tasks.

Remember, too, that preference doesn't mean an absolute. Cat handedness is still really only 60-70% of their actions, and they'll happily use both paws when it's convenient to do so. That's why you want to build enough data over the course of days or weeks to draw a sample. One or two observations won't tell you definitively which paw your cat prefers.

Which paw does your cat use, and is it in line with feline gender norms? Let me know in the comments!

Further Exploration of Left-Pawed and Right-Pawed Cats

There are a few other questions it's worth answering about cat "handedness", so I put them down here. If you have others, let me know, and I'll do some digging to uncover the answers!

Does my cat's dominant paw matter?

Only a little!

Left-pawed cats are more dominantly controlled by their right brain hemispheres, which are more dedicated to negative emotions and the fight-or-flight reflex. This means left-pawed cats are more prone to things like anxiety, fearfulness, or aggression. They may be more likely to be territorial or defensive, or get into conflict with other cats.

Conversely, right-pawed cats are more positive, calmer, and less likely to react to things with fear. They're probably a bit more comfortable at the vet, more likely to enjoy going on car trips, and happier to explore when in a new location.

None of this is a hard and fast rule, though. A lot of this can be tempered by socialization, so a well-raised kitty will have an easier time than a former feral adopted from a shelter, regardless of paw preference.

What if my cat is ambidextrous?

Statistically speaking, ambidextrous cats are more likely to have anxiety and stress problems. Why? We don't really know; we just know that it's a trend.

Again, much like the left-pawed pessimism, a lot of this can be mitigated with socialization. Treat your fur baby with love and care, help them feel comfortable in their environment, and avoid shocking them with big changes, and you'll be fine.

I mean, let's be honest here; we've gone thousands of years with our domesticated fur babies without really knowing about paw preferences, and it didn't really impact how well we care for them or how much they love us. It's just a fun fact to learn!

Do you have any other questions? Let me know, and I'll do my best to answer them!