How To Tell If Your Cat Is Left Or Right-Handed

Have you ever watched your adorable feline companion swipe playfully at a piece of string (or an unlucky bird) and wondered if your cat has a paw preference? Well, turns out they most likely do, and a new video posted by Japanese YouTuber mugumogu will show you definitively how to tell if your cat is left or right-handed. All it takes is one simple test using a piece of food and a glass.

Cats, like other animals including dogs, horses and, most notably, us humans, are either right or left dominant. With dogs, you can easily tell which paw they favor by asking them to "shake." The paw that they offer is their dominant paw. For horses, being left-side dominant is important since in all U.S. races, horses must lean to the left to go counterclockwise around the track. When asked to lean the opposite way, they may trip.

While handedness can be quite important for humans, allowing us to perform precise and skillful tasks, cats do not have the same worries. A cat’s handedness doesn’t really alter their abilities (or lack thereof). But still, it is a fun thing to know about your animal!

As cat-lovers know, their pets are often strong-willed and secretive. They will not easily perform tricks like dogs, or obey orders like horses. To make matters more complicated, the Daily Mail explains “When a cat really wants something... tests show [that] it uses its dominant paw, but when it's just fooling around it may use either or both.”

So how do you put your cat to the test? Mugumogu demonstrates with their two feline test subjects: Hana and Maru.

Derp.

Step One: Place A Treat In A Glass

A tasty treat is your only hope to gain a cat's attention. Plant the bait and pray that they are hungry enough stop sunning themselves.

Step Two: Watch What Paw The Cat Chooses

The first paw they use to grab the treat is their dominant paw. In the video demonstration, Hana reached into the glass with her left paw, which would make her left paw dominant. Approximately 10 percent of humans are left handed, but according to a study done by Turkey's Ataturk University up to 40 percent of cats could be left handed, and 10 percent are ambidextrous.

For some cats it may take a few tries. While Hana reached for the treat immediately, Maru took some alternative, rather unorthodox, approaches.

Pushing the treat across the floor with his head...

Going in face first...

And finally, Maru came out as right-handed.

Yay Maru! You did it, buddy!

To watch the entire adorable experiment check out this mugumogu's video:

And if you happen to notice that Maru looks familiar — you're right! Maru was an internet sensation five years ago as a wee kitten, showcasing his love of squeezing into tiny boxes. Watch a Maru classic here:

Images: Mugumogu/YouTube