Paw preference in cats related to hand preference in animals and men.

Abstract

Sixty cats were tested for paw preference by being given one hundred reaches into a glass tube, each reach being rewarded by food. Thirty-five Ss used the same paw 75 times or more. The hypothesis that preference in the use of one fore-limb is the result of feeding habits is rejected. It is suggested that variations in the number of fibers crossing to form the pyramidal tract in the spinal cord may be the dominant factor in deciding paw preference and handedness. From this it would follow that innate anatomical structure is the determinant rather than any psychological or environmental factor.