I am of agreement with both
@Amber and
@wildlife that it is not inherently linked to either. Desired tactile contact in animals tends to be a demonstration of trust and often results in bonding behavior to follow, say as by social grooming which petting is a form of. This goes for humans and their ancestors too.
What could possibly persuade that opinion otherwise is the experience of a change of mental state, a "shift", that arises from this type of contact. For myself, that is how I relate the two and differentiate; cats of all variety engage in grooming and to be groomed is sign of mutualism and acceptance in social bonding. It is important that those felids who live together engage in this type of behavior, it is essential for their coexistence. Which is why I believe whenever I am brushed and massaged I am in that state of mind and in that place of self. But that only comes from viewing everything about myself in totality and comparing each consistency and experience and shifted state to find their triggering mechanisms and relations.
Consequently it becomes a matter of deciding the source of the experience and how it impacts you,
@twotailstm, because it is neither just by itself.