[1] A massage session typically begins with light petting from head to tail, both to relax the cat and to note areas of muscular tension, lumps, swelling, elevated temperature.
[1] After the cat has shown that it is relaxed, the owner may employ the effleurage technique: gliding, stroking motions with an open hand and medium pressure, following the muscle contours, and "toward the heart, so from the toes toward the torso, and from the backside toward the head".
[1] This is helpful in stimulating circulation of blood and lymph, as well as warming up the soft tissues; it may be effective in relieving edema (swelling caused by fluid build-up) in particular.
[1] A more advanced technique is tapotement, the use of a rapid series of concussive or percussive medium-firm strokes to tap or carefully "chop" thicker muscles.
[1] A cat that becomes agitated during a massage may bite or scratch, which can be associated with dangerous infections, such as cat-scratch disease, caused by Pasteurella multocida bacteria,[2] and tenosynovitis,[3] depending on the location and depth of injuries.