The infographic is by Ruth aka Kattaddorra. She is a cat lover who lives in the North of England. She created the infographic many years ago. Every day I pick up my cat several times. He asks me to do it. It is a ritual. He always asks me just after we enter the kitchen when I come back into the house. He likes to be picked up because it brings us nearer and he is at my level. It also means he is high up which all cats like.
It is better to reach down and pick up a cat from above and avoid a face-to-face confrontation. I place my right hand under his body just behind his forelegs so that the pressure is taken on his chest as described by Ruth. From this point on I have two options. I sometimes place my left hand under his body at his tummy just in front of his hindlegs. I then lift him straight up and carry him like that. He is horizontal, as if standing.
The alternative way is particular to my cat and me which is to raise up him from the ground with the right hand positioned as mentioned above and then immediately after he is off the ground I place my left hand underneath his two hind legs – the portion below the hock which are his feet (see below). The toes or paws are at the tips of his feet. I then lift him up and hold him in a vertical position. He likes this. I then cuddle him by applying pressure to the back of his neck which he particularly loves.
The important aspect of picking a cat up is not to stress the body in any way which is common sense. I am sure that most people apply common sense. However, I do see pictures on the Internet of cats being held up with their bodies hanging loose in a vertical position. This obviously stresses the body in general and places pressure on the part of the anatomy which is held by the person. Ruth’s infographic describes how to pick up a domestic cat. It can be used anywhere but please credit her.
This is what I mean by picking up a cat incorrectly!
RELATED: Oscar Ramsay (Gordon Ramsay’s son) carries the family’s Exotic Shorthair incorrectly.
Here is the picture:
P.S. I don’t agree with holding a cat like a baby with her belly up. This may be alright but it may make the cat anxious. It is a case of anthropomorphising the cat. I understand but it is wrong. Taylor Swift did this and I wrote an article about it.
RELATED: Message to Taylor Swift: please don’t think your cat is a baby
Holding a cat correctly
The picture shows a woman holding a domestic cat in a very nice way. This is correct but it might not be applicable in every cat-to-human relationship. This is because the relationship might not be close enough and/or the individual cat’s personality might not be suited to this kind of holding. It is very close to the person and some cats disagree with this. A person’s head should not be thrust into the face of a domestic cat. Normally they disapprove.
Here is another picture of a cat, Hodge, being carried and cuddled. Notice the support under the hind legs.
