Meta-Analyses Find 80% of Cats Favor a Paw as Left-Right Split Stays Even
Updated
Updated · New Scientist · Jun 3
Meta-Analyses Find 80% of Cats Favor a Paw as Left-Right Split Stays Even
1 articles · Updated · New Scientist · Jun 3
Summary
About 80% of cats and 70% of dogs show a preferred paw, according to meta-analyses pooling results from many animal-behavior studies.
Those reviews found left- and right-paw preference occurs at roughly equal rates, meaning neither species shows a population-wide bias toward one side.
The finding helps reconcile mixed earlier studies, many of which used relatively small samples and produced conflicting results on animal “pawedness.”
Humans remain a clear contrast: roughly 90% are right-handed, showing a strong population-level asymmetry that cats and dogs do not appear to share.