Why don t cats like their paws touched

Cats usually don’t like their paws touched or held, but if they are in a mellow mood and they trust you, they may not mind it as much. A cat’s toe beans are cute, squashy, and too cute to resist, but what happens when you give in to the temptation and touch your cat’s paws? When you feel your cat’s paws, there are two possible outcomes. 

The cat can pull back their leg very fast or give you a handful of cat’s claws. Some cats have no problem with their paws being touched, but most of these feline friends hate it when you touch their paws. Handling a cat’s claws at times is unavoidable, especially when you need to moisturize the paw leather, or treat an injury or trim the nails and fur.

What Happens When You Touch Your Cat’s Paws?

The cat’s paws are often exposed, especially when a cat is relaxing, which can be tempting to touch as you walk past. When it comes to these feline friends, ear rubs and butt scratches are okay, but when your hand moves towards the paws, something changes. 

Cats react to their feet being touched by being mildly unhappy or vehemently opposing through immediate aggression, depending on who is doing it. Cats paws are very sensitive, and they pick up every type of sensory input from the earth using vibrations to complement other senses. Also, a cat’s paws are host to the cat’s claws, so by touching the paws, you are merely neutralizing the cat’s primary form of self-defense against predators.

Reasons Why Cats Don’t Like Their Paws Touched

Cats are very fickle, and sometimes they don’t seem to get enough of your affection. Touching or holding a cat’s paws mostly ends up badly, especially if you are a stranger to the cat. It can sometimes get confusing, especially if you have been scratched or nibbed by a cat you were trying to pet. 

In truth, all cats are different, but certain things irritate all cats, depending on how and where you touch them. When you feel a cat’s paws without permission, it can react defensively and leave you with a scratch to nurse. Cats don’t like this form of interaction, especially with humans they don’t have a strong bond with as a result of the following reasons;

Cats’ Paws Are Sensitive

In addition to the cat’s paws being incredibly adorable and tempting to touch, they are also significantly functional. Cats have a refined sense of touch, which makes their paws extremely sensitive. The paws of a cat have many nerve receptors, enabling the cat to detect vibrations emanating from the ground and specific texture changes. This concentration of nerve receptors is what turns the cute paws of your cat into finely tuned sensory organs. 

The nerve receptors on the feline’s paws allow cats to recognize alterations in temperature, pressure, and texture, making the cats hearing and sensory abilities very impressive. Cats claws are also packed with nerve endings, which tell a cat exactly how each claw extends and the claw’s amount of resistance. 

The paws also serve as shock absorbers and the only place for your feline friend to sweat. The cat’s paw pads are the only place on their body with sweat glands, which help them regulate their body temperatures and prevent overheating. If your cat leaves a trail of wet paw prints, the cat is probably scared or frightened.

Touching your cat’s paws can make the cat very uncomfortable, and even a simple touch, pinch, or squeeze can be painful. Cats creep on their toes to hinder a sensory overload, especially when they move because the paws aid with speed and stealth. When you touch a cat’s paws unexpectedly, or if you squeeze or pinch them, there is likely to be a very unpleasant sensation and even pain for the cat. This, however, doesn’t mean that you should never touch your cat’s paw pads, as long as you do it carefully and at your pet’s behest to prevent a sensory overload.

Cats Use Their Paws for Protection, Touching Them Prevents Cats From Defending Themselves

It is not a good idea to surprise your cat with heavy petting, especially if there is no familiarity between you two yet. Cats’ paws have extraordinary sensory abilities, but they also have claws on them. Despite cats not being at the top of the food chain, they are wired to think like predators and like preys as well. 

Cats have prey like instincts that can’t be ignored, together with an ingrained need always to be ready to protect themselves. When cats hunt, their claws and paw pads send information to their brains on their prey’s effort to escape.

Felines are aware that other animals are much stronger and bigger, humans included, which is why they delight in having sharp claws. The underlying anxiety between cats and humans, resulting from the big difference in size can make cats cautious when you touch their paws. It doesn’t matter if you and your feline are best friends. You cannot easily negate the instinctual reaction of a cat to being always on guard. In order to make your cat comfortable for petting sessions, you can try extending your fingers in her face to give her a good sniff. This helps the cat determine whether or not you are a threat.

Claws give the cat confidence that it can fight back in case of an adversary or turn tail and flee. Either way, the paws give these feline friends a fight or flee instinct, and by grabbing or handling a cat’s wrong paws, you are denying it both and making them feel trapped, which can be distressful.

Touching a cat’s paws feels like handcuffing and rooting the cat to that specific spot, which causes a lot of distress and agitation, and the cat starts biting as the only recourse left. 

As such, it is essential to build trust with your cat because even though you might mean your cat no harm, survival instinct is very powerful. Your cat needs to know that paw handling does not necessarily equate to danger, mainly because cats don’t like feeling vulnerable even if they are safe in your arms. I find that cats like it better when their paws are touched on the paw pads rather than on the top of the paw. Cats need constant alertness and the freedom to react quickly to predators, and your finger on their paws doesn’t precisely help give them a sense of freedom.

Past Experiences Can Make a Cat Scared of Their Paws Being Touched

Cats can remember or not remember certain things depending on a number of factors, but they lack the mental capabilities to remember certain details about specific events. However, cats can associate their past experiences with certain strong emotions, such as trauma caused by trimming your feline friend’s nails. 

Even if they don’t remember the day’s exact happenings, cats will not forget the pain, fear, and stress caused by the experience. In turn, cats link these painful and traumatic past experiences with the physical act of touching or holding their paws. Cats are smart, and they are not really interested in reliving the situation, and so they get scared because of past experiences. The situation is direr for cats that have been declawed.

It is different when you grab your cat’s paws to when your cat extends his paw to touch you as his human companion. The latter is a more gentle and welcome touch, mainly because it is a familiar touch. Having their paws held or handled seems instinctively dangerous and wrong to cats, and they can even see it as a threat of limitation to their mobility.

Handling Your Cat’s Paws

I have established that cats generally loathe having their paws handled or touched by anyone or anything. As much as cats don’t like their paws handled, they are not independent, and there are situations that necessitate it, and you find you can’t avoid touching the cute paws. Cleaning the paws and trimming nails, and also treating injuries will require you to brush your cat’s paws, so ensure that you are gentle and that your cat is calm and relaxed. 

When grooming your cat or during treatment, you will need to build your cat’s trust in you to handle the paws better and to avoid pain and discomfort. Eventually, your cat will get comfortable and trust you, and they might even accept paw wiping as a daily routine! You can also instill trust for your cat to be handled by humans without the perceived bad behavior, such as struggling to break free when held. 

You can also do a head to tail massage, including the paws, ties, and tail, to know what your kitty is comfortable with and for familiarity. As long as you remember to be gentle, soft, and not to grab or restrain your feline friend actively, then your cat won’t have a lot of issues with their paws being handled.