{"id":3652,"date":"2019-08-26T03:51:32","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T11:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/?p=3652"},"modified":"2019-08-26T03:51:32","modified_gmt":"2019-08-26T11:51:32","slug":"mindful-monday-are-you-rubbing-your-cat-the-wrong-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/?p=3652","title":{"rendered":"Mindful Monday \u2013 Are You Rubbing Your Cat the Wrong Way?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-3653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_6593-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_6593-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_6593-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/IMG_6593-500x333.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Everyone knows how to pet a cat, right? You just dive in there and start running your hand over the cat\u2019s fur. Wrong! Well, wrong for some cats, maybe right for others. The thing is, not all cats come from the same cloth\u2014or fur. Different cats have different tolerance levels for being touched. While some will practically turn themselves inside out begging for more petting, others will duck and squirm and dive avoiding the hand.<\/p>\n<p>In our household we have one cat who can\u2019t seem to get enough of the human touch and <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2344\" src=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MomSmokey4-1-e1510750351564-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MomSmokey4-1-e1510750351564-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MomSmokey4-1-e1510750351564-375x500.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/MomSmokey4-1-e1510750351564.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>another one that is very particular about who, when, where, and under what circumstances she will or will not be petted. And she\u2019s the one with the yummy fur you want to dig your fingers into and the adorable cheeks you want to kiss. That\u2019s Lily.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Sophie has rather coarse short fur and a wet nose that she\u2019s always eager to rub against your cheek. She also loves to be combed, whereas Lily can\u2019t stand it. She will tolerate a gentle brushing with a rubber brush only once in a while.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1329\" src=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/pennyholdpaw-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" \/>Can a shy, untouchable cat become a cuddly love bug? Yes. Sophie was one aloof kitten when we rescued her. Petting? Uh-uh\u2014not on her watch. She avoided the hand at all cost. I guess the cost of avoidance became too high for Sophie because eventually she began to allow brief petting, then an occasional fur-ruffling. Now Sophie is often in our face begging for petting and even belly rubs.<\/p>\n<p>Have you ever met a cat that seemed to eagerly invite<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1266\" src=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/KittenFullSizeRender-300x259.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/KittenFullSizeRender-300x259.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/KittenFullSizeRender.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> your petting, then suddenly turn on you and even bite and scratch? Why does he do that? Well, probably because you\u2019re doing something wrong\u2014at least where the cat\u2019s concerned. So what\u2019s the answer? How can you enjoy cuddling with your sweet kitty when she shuns you and even attacks you? I found a site that might help. It offers some great ideas for approaching the timid or reluctant cat\u2014the cat who, perhaps, is more in touch with his wild side or who maybe had a bad experience with a human that caused her to become overly cautious. Keep in mind that your cat might also have pain issues that you\u2019re not aware of.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-997\" src=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/MaxKitten-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/MaxKitten-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/MaxKitten-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/MaxKitten.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Lily has kidney disease and I have to wonder if a full-body petting-massage is actually uncomfortable for her. Is her body ultra-sensitive to the touch? But all is not lost. Lily has taught me how to express my affection for her so that she can accept and enjoy it. Lily prefers a nice scratching around the neck as opposed to stroking. Her response to my gentle neck scratches is almost equal to Sophie\u2019s exuberance over any sort of touching you might offer. She loves it\u2014most of the time.<\/p>\n<p>Do you have a touchy cat who often walks away from your attempts to pet her? Do you wonder why she does that? It might boil down to your approach. Perhaps you need to pay more attention to her mood. It could be she\u2019s dealing with pain that you aren\u2019t aware of. Or maybe there\u2019s something in her history that causes her standoffishness. Study this guide and see if you can find a happy medium with your cat so you can both enjoy some cozy togetherness time. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/66013-best-way-to-pet-your-cat.html\">https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/66013-best-way-to-pet-your-cat.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everyone knows how to pet a cat, right? You just dive in there and start running your hand over the cat\u2019s fur. Wrong! Well, wrong for some cats, maybe right for others. The thing is, not all cats come from &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/?p=3652\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3652"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3654,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3652\/revisions\/3654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/catscapades\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}