My 20 pound Maine Coon, Ross, is such an awesome cat! He lets me hold him (for a short amount of time), he purrs constantly, he loves to play and just has an all around great personality. He especially loves it when we have visitors. He rubs against their legs and loves to be petted by each and every person that comes in our home. I sometimes think he likes visitors better than my husband and myself.

Like most cats though, Ross has his affection limits. While I love petting his soft fur as much as possible, I know he only really likes to petted in two zones. The breeder we got him from said his grandfather, Avalanche, only preferred being petted when he was away from the home at shows. (Picky, but hilarious!) Though Ross doesn’t mind being petted at home (as we don’t show him), he definitely has his grandfather’s picky habits.

He has, what I call, petting “safety zones”. He only loves to be petted just behind his head and on his chin. My other Maine Coon, Monica, has many more petting “safety zones”, but Ross only seems to have two. I respect that about him.

I have to violate his “safety zones” a bit while brushing him, but I only cross his boundaries for a short amount of time. He LOVES to be brushed, so I start with his “safety zones” first, then go to his uncomfortable areas, then back to his “safety zones”. He would let me brush him for hours when I use this technique. I have to put the brush somewhere he can’t see it after brushing him to make him leave me alone!

Need more information on cats petting “safety zones”? Check out this article on catological.com!

Happy Friday ya’ll! Sending our light and love to anyone who needs it!