Is your cat a southpaw?

IT MIGHT prove useful to know when ducking away from a swiping paw – female cats are more likely to be righthanded than males.

A study by Queen’s University Belfast found the majority of cats showed a preference of paw when reaching for food, walking down stairs or stepping over objects, and that their preference was consistent in most of their tasks.

However, males showed a significant preference for their left, while females were more inclined to use their right. Dr Deborah Wells said: “From a pet owner’s perspective, it might be useful to know if an animal is left or right limb dominant, as it may help them gauge how vulnerable that individual is to stressful situations.

“We have just discovered that leftlimbed dogs, for example, are more pessimistic than right-limbed dogs.”

The reason behind the preference has not yet been established but researchers believe it could be linked to hormones. The research, on 44 cats, was published in the journal Animal Behaviour.