"Hey, Fluff, grab one for me!" Photo: StephenMitchell/Flickr
Psychologists at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland gave cats small jars with bits of tuna tucked inside. They found that female cats tend to be righties, while the boy cats fell to the left. The gender divide was clear: Among 21 lady kitties, 20 nabbed the fish with their right paws. On the flip side, 20 of 21 males proved left-handed. One nimble-fingered male turned out to be ambidextrous, reports New Scientist magazine.
Hormone levels might be responsible for the difference between the sexes, the researchers say. Other studies have linked testosterone to left-handedness in people; men are more likely to be left-handed than women, notes the Daily Mail. Similar gender differences have also shown up in dogs and horses.
Want to find out whether your cat is a lefty? You'll need to devise a tricky-fingered test to get to the truth. Cats' preferences for the left or right don't show up in less complicated tasks, like batting at a dangling toy. The true nature of cat handedness is only revealed during more complex manipulations -- like fishing tuna or treats from a jar too small for the kitty's head.
If setting up a feline experiment isn't your thing, it's probably a safe bet that your cat falls into the left or right camp depending on its gender. Just something to keep in mind if you're teaching your kitty to high five.
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Interesting, I just may have to try this experiment with my Randy.
I knew it! In our house, all three of us--my wife, my daughter and I--are lefties. So is our cat, Louis T. Butterscotch, the "T" stands for trouble.
That's funny! Our cat's name is Nelson T. Chumley.
that is extremely cute!
CoCo Chanel is too sophisticated to be subjected to such menial tasks. She'll just wait until a treat is presented to her.
MY CoCo Chanel (She's a littile tortise shell long hair) is way too important to try a test. She is too used to being waited on ,too.
there can be only one
This is so funny! My oldest cat Tsunami, a male, is still trying to adjust to our new Puppy, PeeWee. Tsunami is declawed in the front, so he hits instead. My Husband and I were just commenting that he had a mean left hook!!
Actually I hope my cat is a righty or maybe a conservative but have not asked Melvin lately.
I found this article quite interesting, b/c as I glanced over at my cat, who was Twittering, and I actually noticed for the first time, that my cat Roger, actually holds his left paw on the mouse!!
So what is the deal? Everyone says this is crap, but I will try anything once. LIFE is BEAUTIFUL and sure beats the alternative. Take me away, FATE or is that Calgon?
A psychological study??? Why??? Don't these people have any real work to do? I'm just amazed that this "study" was conducted in Ireland and not here in the good ole USA with taxpayer money. It does make me curious though. I'll have to test the theory on my two cats.
Who cares? She's a cat.
First of all, cats don't have hands.......they maybe are right or left pawed but that's it.
Censhorship on this site? As in Censored By Simpletons or Censored for the helluvit? Don't bother, indeed. Kismet, my cat, just flipped this site off. Now, I'm a doin' it. Later, on. Got real stuff to do, so people, WAKE UP!
You know I never thought about it before. My aunt's got several cats and the majority of them are male. I never thought about it til now, but when most of them would jump up, they'd land with their left forepaw forward. HUH!
I never fails. There's always got to be some jerk who brings politics into an otherwise lighthearted piece of fluff journalism. This is not the way I want to start my day, and it's sad to think some people are so obsessed.
I tried it andThis doesn't work, I have two male cats (one a lefty, one a righty) and a female (a lefty).
you just happened to get the outlires
My male cat Otis is a righty! Maybe he's a little gender confused since he was neutered at a very young age!