# Why do cats tend to love having the underside of their chin stroked? (includes kitty pics)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-tend-to-love-having-the-underside-of-their-chin-stroked-includes-kitty-pics/636883>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 6, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-tend-to-love-having-the-underside-of-their-chin-stroked-includes-kitty-pics/636883 "2012-10-06T06:51:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-tend-to-love-having-the-underside-of-their-chin-stroked-includes-kitty-pics/636883/21 "2012-10-08T06:06:34Z")

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_The Domestic Cat: The Biology of its Behaviour_,edited by Dennis C. Turner, Patrick Bateson.

Specifically, [here](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&pg=PA67&dq=cat+rubbing&ots=c3DDAuV7eN&sig=Mh4uB4fiYldUVDjEYf41-NR8-tY&q=cat%20rubbing&sa=N&tab=pw), on rubbing.

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**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-tend-to-love-having-the-underside-of-their-chin-stroked-includes-kitty-pics/636883/22 "2012-10-08T06:23:46Z")

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Previous post has wrong URL. Doesn’t matter, book isn’t nearly hard-core enough.

But I did find this:

[Responses of cats to petting by humans](http://www.ingentaconnect.com/search/article?option1=tka&value1=ALLOMONES&pageSize=10&index=4)  
Authors: Soennichsen, Susan;Chamove, Arnold S.  
Source: Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, Volume 15,Number 3, 2002 , pp. 258-265(8)

Abstract:  
There is evidence that different gland areas in animals of the cat family have different functions. This study showed that nine cats gave more positive and fewer negative responses to petting by their owners in the temporal region (between the eyes and ears), the reverse to petting in the caudal region (around the tail), with the perioral (chin and lips) and non-gland areas intermediate. This suggests that cats prefer being petted in certain body areas.

So now you know. Ars longa, vita brevis.

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-cats-tend-to-love-having-the-underside-of-their-chin-stroked-includes-kitty-pics/636883/23 "2012-10-09T20:26:54Z")

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Be careful stroking a guinea pig under the chin. I had one that would snap at me if I did this (stroking back fur elicited rodent purrs).

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