Why Your Cat Chooses Your Lap

In this guide

Few things beat a purring cat settling onto your lap. That moment of closeness benefits both sides. It can help lower blood pressure in people, and it meets several needs for the cat. Not every cat becomes a lap cat, and some only develop the habit later in life. Certain breeds, such as the Ragdoll, are known for it, but personality varies from cat to cat, and only time spent together really shows what an individual cat prefers, according to Marilyn Krieger, a Certified Cat Behaviour Consultant based in California and author of Naughty No More!

You're Warm

Laps run warm, and cats are naturally drawn to heat.

They Crave Connection

Cats gravitate toward people they like and often want petting once they climb aboard, since people tend to stroke a cat sitting in their lap. Petting echoes the grooming a cat received from its mother, which is part of why most cats enjoy it from a favourite person. Kneading while seated on a lap recalls nursing behaviour from kittenhood, when the same motion stimulated milk flow from their mother, and can be self-comforting, in the same way purring often is.

It Makes Them Feel Safe

Some cats simply feel safer on their favourite person's lap than anywhere else in the house.

Smell Plays Into It

A robe or jumper carrying an owner's scent can attract a cat whether or not anyone is wearing it at the time. On the flip side, coming home smelling of other animals, after a visit to a shelter for instance, can make a cat keep its distance for a while, and it is nothing personal.

Your Clothes Matter

Texture matters more than most people expect. Marilyn, who has three lap cats of her own, noticed none of them would sit on her while she wore a plastic raincoat. In another household, a cat that usually sat on one owner switched to sitting on her husband instead whenever he wore his soft bathrobe. A similar pattern played out with a wary, semi-feral cat cared for over the course of a year, who scratched at the first attempt to be touched but eventually allowed petting, then started sitting nearby on a bench, and finally climbed onto a lap for the first time on a cold day, once the person was wearing a soft fleece jacket. Cats want comfort and warmth, Marilyn noted on hearing the story, and by that point the cat had also learned to trust.

To Show Trust

Cats genuinely have to trust a person before choosing to sit on their lap, Marilyn says. She stresses the importance of never forcing a cat to stay, and always allowing it the freedom to leave whenever it wants. Giving a cat that choice, rather than restraining it, tends to build deeper trust over time.

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