Female domestic cats are much more likely to use their right paw than males, according to a new study published in the journal Animal Behaviour.
In the study, male cats showed a left-side bias for natural behaviors, females a right-side bias. Image credit: Jan Mallander.
Until now, most studies on limb preference of animals have focused on forced experimental challenges.
However, in the new study, 44 cats (24 male and 20 female) were studied in their own homes so that information could be gathered as they went about their everyday tasks.
The cat owners collected ‘spontaneous’ 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 ‘forced’ test was also carried out where the cats had to reach for food inside a three-tier feeding tower.
The majority of cats showed a paw preference when reaching for food (73%), stepping down (70%) and stepping over (66%) and their preference for right and left was consistent for the majority of the tasks, both spontaneous and forced.
In all cases, male cats showed a significant preference for using their left paw, while females were more inclined to use their right paw.
However, when sleeping the cats did not appear to have a side preference.
“While there is further research needed to investigate why there is a gender preference, it could be down to hormones,” said study co-author Dr. Deborah Wells, from the School of Psychology at Queen’s University Belfast.
“The findings point more and more strongly to underlying differences in the neural architecture of male and female animal.”
“The results could help cat owners to understand how their pet deals with stress.”
“Beyond mere curiosity, there may be value to knowing the motor preference of one’s pet,” she added.
“There is some suggestion that limb preference might be a useful indicator of vulnerability to stress.”
“Ambilateral animals with no preference for one side or the other, and those that are more inclined to left-limb dominance, for example, seem more flighty and susceptible to poor welfare than those who lean more heavily towards right limb use.”
“We have just discovered that left-limbed dogs, for example, are more pessimistic in their outlook than right-limbed dogs,” she said.
“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.”
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Louise J. McDowell et al. Lateralization of spontaneous behaviours in the domestic cat, Felis silvestris. Animal Behaviour 135: 37-43; doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.11.002
