well, my two female cats are both right pawed.
Female Cats Are Right-Pawed, Males Are Lefties
July 23, 2009 -- Female domestic cats tend to preferentially use their right front paw while male cats more often rely upon their left front paw, according to a new study that suggests the sex of a cat determines how its brain will be wired.
The findings also add to a growing body of evidence that male animals tend to be left-handed, or in this case left-pawed, more often than females. While 90 percent of all humans are right-handed, of the remaining southpaws, more tend to be men.
The differences are even clearer among cats.
"Our results suggest that there are two distinct populations of paw preference in the cat that cluster very strongly around the animals' sex," Deborah Wells, who led the study, told Discovery News.
Wells, a senior lecturer at Queen's University Belfast School of Psychology, and co-author Sarah Millsopp examined the paw use of 42 domestic cats. Each cat repeatedly completed three play-like tasks while at home with their owners.
For the first task, the researchers placed a bit of tuna at the bottom of an otherwise empty, narrow-mouthed jar. They then observed how the cats attempted to extract the food treat.
Task two involved a fabric mouse on a string that was suspended above each cat's head. The paw that was first used to reach for the toy was recorded.
Female Cats Are Right-Pawed, Males Are Lefties
July 23, 2009 -- Female domestic cats tend to preferentially use their right front paw while male cats more often rely upon their left front paw, according to a new study that suggests the sex of a cat determines how its brain will be wired.
The findings also add to a growing body of evidence that male animals tend to be left-handed, or in this case left-pawed, more often than females. While 90 percent of all humans are right-handed, of the remaining southpaws, more tend to be men.
The differences are even clearer among cats.
"Our results suggest that there are two distinct populations of paw preference in the cat that cluster very strongly around the animals' sex," Deborah Wells, who led the study, told Discovery News.
Wells, a senior lecturer at Queen's University Belfast School of Psychology, and co-author Sarah Millsopp examined the paw use of 42 domestic cats. Each cat repeatedly completed three play-like tasks while at home with their owners.
For the first task, the researchers placed a bit of tuna at the bottom of an otherwise empty, narrow-mouthed jar. They then observed how the cats attempted to extract the food treat.
Task two involved a fabric mouse on a string that was suspended above each cat's head. The paw that was first used to reach for the toy was recorded.
