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your cat might be left or right "pawed"
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Is your cat left or right pawed?

By Ashley Murphy Content Writer

Published on the Updated on the

A recent study into paw preference has shown that cats can be left or right "pawed."

The meta-analysis included 32 different studies that tested 1484 cats. It showed that 75% of cats have a preference for one paw, while the remaining 25% are happy to use either. Of the cats who showed a preference, 39% were right pawed; the remaining 39% were natural lefties.

Researchers also compared the results of male and female cats. Overall, female cats are much more likely to go with their right paw. The study showed that 52% were right pawed compared to 30% of male cats.

A difference between boys and girls

The observation confirmed earlier findings that suggested a strong connection between sex and paw preference. The same bias can be found in humans. Men have a slightly higher chance of being left-handed than women.

No one has figured out why this is, although some experts believe it relates to the different levels of hormones found in male and female bodies.  

Left-handed people are right brain dominant. The right side of the brain is responsible for the "feeling" side human nature. It's linked to thoughtfulness, intuition, and creativity. The left side is the “thinking part.” It's more associated with logic, cause and effect, and analytical subjects like maths and science.

And why there's no reason why a right-brained person can’t be a mathematics professor, or why a left-brained person can't be a world-famous painter, brain side preference can be linked to a person's career choices, interests, and personality. For example, right-brained people gravitate toward creative jobs like writer and musician, while the left-brains tend to prefer practical pursuits like engineering.

What does paw preference say about your cat?

Unlike cats, only around 10% of humans are left-handed. Then again, cats spend most of their time playing, eating, or sleeping. The long-term survival of a human being is much more dependent on its problem-solving abilities. In other words, while every society needs a few dreamers, it’s much more reliant on its bridge builders, road planners, and technicians.

So the next time you see your cat playing, check out which paw it prefers to use. It might tell you a lot about its personality.

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