About

The science of not getting swatted

Thursday 29 October is National Cat Day, founded in 2005 by pet lifestyle expert and animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige. Millions of people will post pictures of their cats today. Pet or Regret is about the other half of the relationship: understanding what the cat is saying back.

Almost everyone who has stroked a cat knows the moment: purring, purring, then claws. Behaviourists call it petting-induced aggression or overstimulation, and it rarely comes out of nowhere. The tail tip starts to twitch. The ears swivel. The skin ripples. The cat turns to look at your hand. This site is a game about catching those signals in time.

How the game works

Café Shift: 24 fictional café cats, each with its own coat, favourite petting spots and tolerance. A random eight turn up in each shift, each in one of eight moods (friendly, relaxed, curious, anxious, annoyed, defensive, playful, belly-up), with random variations. Petting is a live simulation: contentment rises when you stroke places the cat likes, while hidden overstimulation builds faster the longer you go without a pause. The cat's ears, tail, pupils and skin show you exactly where it is.
Read the Cat: a 60-second mood-naming sprint that gets subtler as you improve.
Feline Five: a 25-statement, unofficial quiz inspired by the Feline Five research, with twelve archetypes and shareable cards.
Body Language Lab: a combinable cat with a live mood reading, a 32-signal field guide and an age converter.
Trivia: thirty questions, ten per round, all drawn from the sources below.

Every cat is drawn live in SVG from one parametric drawing; nothing is a photo. Sounds (purrs, hisses, meows) are synthesised in your browser with the Web Audio API. Scores and your tested cats are saved only in your browser's local storage.

The research behind it

Slow blinking: Humphrey, T., Proops, L., Forman, J., Spooner, R. & McComb, K. (2020). The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat–human communication. Scientific Reports. 21 cats from 14 households in experiment one; 24 cats from 8 households in experiment two.
Where cats like to be stroked: Ellis, S. L. H. et al. (2015). The influence of body region, handler familiarity and order of region handled on the domestic cat's response to being stroked. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. University of Lincoln.
276 facial expressions: Scott, L. & Florkiewicz, B. N. (2023). Behavioural Processes. Cats filmed at the CatCafé Lounge, Los Angeles; 26 facial action units.
Cats know their names: Saito, A. et al. (2019). Scientific Reports. 78 cats, Sophia University, Tokyo.
The solicitation purr: McComb, K. et al. (2009). The cry embedded within the purr. Current Biology. University of Sussex.
The Feline Five: Litchfield, C. A. et al. (2017). The 'Feline Five': An exploration of personality in pet cats. PLOS ONE. 2,802 cats, South Australia and New Zealand, 52 traits.
Breed popularity: Cat Fanciers' Association, "Most Popular Breeds for 2026" (2025 registration data).
Life stages: 2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines.

Sources consulted

Please note

This is a game, not veterinary or behavioural advice. Body language is a guide, not a guarantee: every cat is an individual, and some genuinely love belly rubs. If a real cat's behaviour suddenly changes, talk to a vet. And when in doubt, let the cat come to you.

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