Petting

Petting is the act of a human stroking an animal's fur (mostly cats and dogs) for mutual pleasure. For petting zoo see Zoo.

By extension, it also means humans stroking and embracing each other. In the latter case the act often has a sexual connotation, eg. 'heavy petting' (mutual masturbation) or the American phrase 'making out'.

See also: foreplay, outercourse, physical intimacy.