# Petting a cat "against the grain" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 20, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327 "2011-01-20T15:40:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/1 "2011-01-20T15:40:36Z")
To my surprise recently, a fellow Doper opined that petting a cat the “wrong way” is not a good idea, and that they hate it. This runs very much counter to my experience with cats. Every single one I’ve ever owned (which has been quite a few) has absolutely loved it. Start from the base of the tail and skritch against the grain up the spine, and cats invariably go all cat (ha!)atonic with bliss, stretching out to full length, purring like crazy, and making biscuits on whatever’s available. I currently have three cats, and they all react this way. So what say ye, cat-Dopers? Poll coming. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/2 "2011-01-20T15:55:28Z")
Every single cat I’ve ever petted hates to be petted the wrong way. Some will give you a glare and some will turn on you with a scratch and all of them will move and let you know that type of behaviour toward them is never acceptable again Perhaps because the cats are getting scratched is why they like it. Try just petting the fur against the grain without scratching them ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/3 "2011-01-20T16:09:15Z")
My cat loves a scritch along the spine, especially nearer the base of the tail, filthy minx that she is. But if she’s lying on your lap and you start just random patting her against the grain, you get the LOOK OF DOOM. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/4 "2011-01-20T16:11:05Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Every single cat I’ve ever petted hates to be petted the wrong way. Some will give you a glare and some will turn on you with a scratch and all of them will move and let you know that type of behaviour toward them is never acceptable again > > Perhaps because the cats are getting scratched is why they like it. Try just petting the fur against the grain without scratching them Weird. I’ll even start without a scratch. I’ll lay my hand on their back and simply pet “upward” so that their fur gets ruffled. They LOVE it. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/5 "2011-01-20T16:22:31Z")
My cat is a total moosh so it takes a lot to piss him off. It’s only the mild look of disdain that tells you he does not want. He’ll definitely not hang around for long if you keep it up. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/6 "2011-01-20T16:27:04Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > My cat loves a scritch along the spine, especially nearer the base of the tail, filthy minx that she is. Obviously, she likes her paws shaken. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/7 "2011-01-20T16:36:25Z")
Most cats that I’ve tried it on really hate it, but one of the cats we had when I was a kid absolutely loved being petted against the grain. You could rapidly rub back and forth on her side or back (alternating with and against the grain) and she’d purr up a storm, all the while shedding off so much fur that you could knit up another cat from it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/8 "2011-01-20T16:39:49Z")
Split votes from our Master and Mistresses. Pixel and Brindle hate it, Caelan likes it, Havoc _adores_ it. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/9 "2011-01-20T16:43:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Split votes from our Master and Mistresses. Pixel and Brindle hate it, Caelan likes it, Havoc _adores_ it. Damn it, I wondered if I should have made this a multiple choice poll, but didn’t see a reason to do so at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/10 "2011-01-20T16:55:40Z")
Wow, I am not a cat person but every cat I’ve ever known HATES being petted against the grain and will leave the room if you persist, if not scratch you outright. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/11 "2011-01-20T17:03:06Z")
Just gave it a try on my 2 furry felines. Charlie barely woke up and began purring loudly. He is a burn victim kitty and has large hairless patches along his back and just seems to like having them touched gently under any circumstances. Miss Ruby purred and turned around and began licking my hand. So I’d say it was a hit with both of them. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/12 "2011-01-20T17:05:43Z")
I think I saw that very post the OP is referring to. And then, a few hours later, my cat presented his fat ole belly for me to rub. I obliged. I rubbed that thing every which way, with the grain, against the grain, around in circles. I even tickled his now-empty little sack. Other than he sounded like he’d swallowed a lawnmower, I’d say he was fine with it. Hell of a purr that cat’s got. My conclusion was that it is individual to cats. I’ve had cats that didn’t like to be petted or handled in certain ways, but this one is a total scritchin’ slut. He doesn’t care who rubs him, where he’s rubbed, or how, as long as someone’s rubbing on him. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/13 "2011-01-20T17:05:56Z")
(The Late Great) Lenny: “Thems fighting words!” instant play-combat ensued. Squiggy: “PUUURRRR?” 😕 “PURRRRRR?” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/14 "2011-01-20T17:11:29Z")
Our last cat liked it so much she’d hump her back and stretch out her legs. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/15 "2011-01-20T17:56:53Z")
I can’t even vote here- it varies from cat to cat. If I had to generalize, I’d say that cats with strongly directional fur patterns (usually shorthairs) are usually against it, while cats with less directional fur patterns (longhairs) like it more. But that’s a generalization and I know of counterexamples to both. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/16 "2011-01-20T18:30:33Z")
Fuzy overlord is [sleeping](http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy176/aruvqan/Miscellaneous/sleepyhead.jpg) on the bed next to me, so I started petting her against the grain and she didn’t even wake up. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/17 "2011-01-20T20:06:35Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Fuzy overlord is [sleeping](http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/yy176/aruvqan/Miscellaneous/sleepyhead.jpg) on the bed next to me, so I started petting her against the grain and she didn’t even wake up. Cue the "awwwwwwwwwwww"s 😃 My shorthaired cat lurves to be petted against the grain. He will arch his back and dig in his front paws while purring like a 747 and I only get reproachful looks when I stop. He turns into Razor Kitty of Death of you try to touch his belly or paws, so I’m 100% sure that if he didn’t like the backwards petting he’d let me know. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/18 "2011-01-20T20:17:00Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > If I had to generalize, I’d say that cats with strongly directional fur patterns (usually shorthairs) are usually against it, while cats with less directional fur patterns (longhairs) like it more. That has sort of been my experience as well. In the case of my two shorthairs, they love to have their bellies rubbed any old way ( and their belly fur is much less directional ), but are slightly displeased by reverse petting of their backs. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/19 "2011-01-20T20:51:45Z")
I will name him “George” and hug him and squeeze him and stroke his fur backwards! I usually don’t go against the grain but if I do I immediately smooth the fur back down with the next petting so as not to incur the nasty, pointy cat wrath. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327/20 "2011-01-20T22:04:29Z")
None of my three like being petted against the grain. But! Both the long hair and the tortie like being \*brushed \*against the grain. The other is generally against the concept of brushing altogether, so I can’t say anything for him. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/petting-a-cat-against-the-grain/568327.md?page=2)