Total Cat Mojo: The Ultimate Guide to Life with Your Cat

by Jackson Galaxy

there are some techniques I always fall back on when it comes to petting a cat I’ve just met. I never want to make assumptions about where (or if) a cat wants to be touched. Here are my go-to guidelines: The best introductions are made by asking, not telling. When a cat walks up to you, greeting him with a full head-to-tail stroke is just rude, and expecting entirely too much. Instead, I rely on the Michelangelo (a.k.a. the Finger-Nose technique). I’ll use this technique if I’m seated on a chair and a cat comes to explore me, or if I encounter a cat while standing and he is in a vertical place (i.e., not on the ground). As the cat approaches, I will allow my hand to relax and, palm down, extend my pointer finger—not extended rigid, but relaxed, so that it almost seems to be coming off my hand like an upside-down “U.” This presents the tip of my finger in a way that’s similar to the way one cat might present his nose to another’s. Touching noses is a universally friendly gesture between cats, so I’m just trying to let that greeting happen. Whether I get the green light from the Michelangelo technique, or just initiate petting with a cat that I already know, the beginning of that session always begins with Letting the Cat Pet You: As soon as that “nose-to-nose touch” is accomplished, I straighten out my finger to provide just a little pressure to the touch. If the cat is feeling affectionate at this point, he will push the bridge of his nose into my finger. From there, he wi...