Give Your Cat a Massage

Massaging your cat can make your favorite furry creature feel relaxed, calm down after a stressful event, and just to feel more loved and cared for. In fact, if done correctly, massaging your cat can make your kitty feel much better than from just regular petting. Try this bonding technique once or twice a day to help your cat relax and trust you more.

Steps

Making Your Cat Comfortable

1. Find the right time. Choose a quiet time to massage your cat. Your cat may have just come in from outdoors or he may be in the middle of cleaning himself. Wait until he’s not busy with something else before initiating a massage.
   • Wait about 2 hours after your pet has eaten before massaging him. This will give him a chance to digest his food.
2. Make sure your cat is comfortable around you. Get close to your cat and make sure that he's happy to be in your presence. You may even want to wait for him to come to you instead of grabbing him out of his comfort zone. Wait for him to hang out with you, relax, lie down, or even to purr or nuzzle up against you.
3. Talk or sing to your cat. Make your kitty feel calm and happy by getting him into the right state of mind first. Start by singing lightly to your cat or using a low, calming voice and telling your kitty that he's a good boy.
   • Don't use the high-pitched, squealing voice some people like to use to talk to cats ("You're such a cute little kitty!!") or you'll actually stress out your kitty even more.

Starting the Massage

1. Stay in a calm mood. Take deep breaths and adopt a calm manner. If you are tense or trying to rush through the massage, your pet will sense that and won’t want to get a massage from you.
2. Take 5-10 minutes every day for the massage. A massage doesn’t have to take a long time. Just 5-10 minutes every day will be sufficient. Spend about a minute massaging each part of your cat’s body to get him nice and relaxed.
3. Start slow at your cat’s favorite spot. Start the massage by stroking your cat at a slow speed so that your cat gets used to the feel of the massage. Pick your cat’s favorite spot, whether it’s under his chin, on his back or behind the ears. Starting with a familiar place will make your cat more amenable to being massaged all over.
4. Use your full hand to massage. Many people stroke their cats with their fingertips. This touch might be too light for the cat to feel much, especially along the back or belly. Use your full hand and apply some gentle pressure to the cat’s body as you’re stroking it. Save your fingertips for massaging the head and face.
   • You can use just one hand or both hands.
5. Monitor your cat’s reaction. Throughout the massage, pay attention to how your cat responds. If your cat keeps trying to get up, he might not be in the mood to get a massage. If he is blinking, purring, drooling, falling asleep, or even looking a little dazed, he is probably enjoying the massage immensely.
   • If your cat suddenly scratches or bites you, his skin might be getting over-stimulated. Cats’ skin is extremely sensitive and if it’s over-stimulated, it can actually hurt the cat. Get to know how your cat responds to being petted on different parts of his body.

Massaging Your Cat’s Head and Neck

1. Massage your cat's head. Most cats love to have their heads massaged. Use your palms of your hands to give your kitty circular rubs on the top of his head as well as on the back of his head and on his temples. Use your fingertips to massage around and behind his ears.
   • You might want to come back to the head after you’ve massaged your cat more, since he might need to be more relaxed in order to fully appreciate having his head massaged.
2. Massage your cat's chin and neck. After you've massaged your cat's head, rub under the cat's neck very slowly and gently. Massage your cat with your fingers, making small circular motions up and down his neck. Be careful not to press into his neck. You can use one hand or two.
3. Massage your cat's face. Use little circular motions with your fingers to massage his cheeks and his forehead. You can also use the palms of your hands on each side of his face. Your cat may purr or close his eyes in approval. If he likes what you're doing, he may even let you massage the little area around his eyes, on his nose or around his whiskers.

Massaging Your Cat’s Body

1. Stroke your cat’s body from head to tail a few times. After you finish massaging his head and neck, give your cat a few firm pets on his body. Apply gentle pressure with your hand while you stroke him from head to tail. This will help his body relax into the rest of the massage.
2. Massage your cat's shoulders. Start rubbing your cat’s shoulders in circles slowly. Place one hand on each of your cat's sides and give your kitty a good rubdown. Gently but firmly use both hands to knead the sides of your cat's body, especially his or her shoulders.
3. Stroke your cat’s back. Moving down the back from the shoulders, apply gentle pressure along your cat’s back and sides, using circular motions.
   • Keep your attention on your cat’s upper back, as the lower back and hips can be sensitive for many cats. If your cat likes to be touched in this area, then massage it very gently.
4. Massage your cat's belly. If your cat is relaxed enough, he may lie on his back and allow you to rub his belly. Gently hold him with one hand and massage his belly with the other, kneading the skin along his belly. If he's really relaxed, you can even use both hands to massage his belly.
   • Some cats really don't like to have their bellies touched, so do this carefully at first.
   • You can also mix it up, massaging your cat's belly with one hand while massaging his head or back with the other.
   • Try massaging your cat's chest muscles too, which need a good massage from time to time.
5. Massage your cat's tail. Start by massaging your cat's tail at the base, near his rump, and then slowly work your way toward the end of the tail. You can use both hands, but work lightly with the fingers, since the tail is a very sensitive place for the cat. If you just go for your cat's tail first, he's likely to run away from you. You have to get the rest of his body relaxed before he will enjoy a tail massage.
   • You can even massage his head with one hand and massage the tail with the other.
   • If he starts wildly moving his tail, then he's getting excited and maybe even angry, which is the opposite of what you want.

Checking on Your Cat’s Health

1. Check the health of your cat’s coat. While you’re massaging your cat, this is an ideal time to check your cat’s overall health. Check the fur to see if your cat has been grooming himself.
   • If the fur is matted or greasy, this could indicate health problems such as diabetes, bladder infections or other issues. If it seems unclean in only a few spots, this might indicate that your cat has trouble reaching certain areas of his body, perhaps because of arthritis.
   • If the fur is over-groomed and the fur is actually missing or sparse in some areas, this could indicate a dermatological issue, such as a skin irritation or allergy.
2. Check on your cat’s skin. As you rub your fingers and hands over your cat’s body, dig under the fur gently to check the health of your cat’s skin. If you feel bites or bumps, your cat might have fleas or other skin irritations.
3. Feel the heat of your cat’s body. Cats can get feverish, which can indicate an illness of some sort. As you massage your cat, you will get a sense of his normal body temperature. If you feel that his body is warmer than usual, start checking for other indications of illness or injury, such as an infected cut or vomiting.
   • Heated spots on the body might also indicate arthritis.
4. Feel for any lumps or other irregularities. Take note of any abnormalities that you might find as you massage your cat. Lumps and bumps can indicate serious health issues, so it’s good to be aware of what’s normal for your cat and what’s not.
5. Consult your vet if you find anything out of the ordinary. Your vet is the best source for assessing your cat’s health. If you’ve discovered a lump, skin problem or other health issue, ask your vet if the issue should be treated.

Tips

• Give your cat a catnip toy or a treat when you are done.

Warnings

• If your cat does not like the massage you're giving him, stop. He will likely let you know that he doesn’t like the massage by moving away from you or even scratching or biting. Respect your cat’s preferences.
• Be very careful and gentle with your cat.
• Do not give a massage to a pregnant cat. Avoid giving a massage to a sick cat without checking with your vet first.
• Do not apply massage oils to your cat. This can be very damaging to its fur. In addition, it will try to lick off the massage oil, which is not good for your cat’s digestion.

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Sources and Citations

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