Petting is the act of a human stroking an animal's fur (mostly cats and dogs) for mutual pleasure. For petting zoo see Zoo. Trinomial name Felis silvestris catus Schreber, 1775 The cat (also called domestic cat or house cat) is a small feline carnivorous mammal. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog is a canine carnivorous mammal that has been domesticated for at least 14,000 years and perhaps for as long as 150,000 years based on recent evidence. ... A zoo. ...

By extension, it also means humans stroking and embracing each other. In the latter case the term often has a sexual connotation, eg. 'heavy petting' (mutual masturbation) or the American phrase 'making out'. Sexual behavior is a form of physical intimacy that may be directed to reproduction (one possible goal of sexual intercourse) and/or to the enjoyment of activity involving sexual gratification. ... Mutual masturbation is a sexual act where two or more people stimulate one another sexually, usually with the hands. ...

See also: foreplay, outercourse, physical intimacy. In human sexual behavior, foreplay is physical intimacy at the beginning of a sexual encounter that serves to build up sexual arousal, sometimes in preparation for sexual intercourse or another act meant to bring about orgasm. ... Outercourse is sexual activity that does not involve penetration. ... Physical intimacy is: Physical closeness Touching, especially tenderly Touching intimate parts, outercourse Sexual penetration The list is logically in order of increasing degree, with each form implying the previous one, but of course, it is not necessarily in order of increasing enjoyment. ...