This happened with my cat often enough that once I went to pet him and saw him wince from my hand 😢

So after that I started doing the same things suggested here Try touching stuff around your house to see what discharges you, but also what I got in the habit of doing was tapping my cat on the back haunch before petting him. That discharged me in a much more manageable place for him and then subsequent skritches were still pleasant and appreciated.

I've tried for years to figure out how to lower the static electricity in my house, but keep coming up empty. I think it's the combination of rubber-soled slippers, carpeting and anti-static mats in the office. So at my desk, I have ran a thin sliver of tinfoil along the edge and grounded that, so when I sit it discharges through there instead of my computer.

Dryer sheets and fabric softener will reduce the potential for stadic electricity in your fabrics.

Oh man, I feel this one. I moved to a colder climate with my cat in winter and every time I pet her, if I got close to her ears... zap. She was always like ?????? About it.

One day it just stopped happening one day and I'm not sure why. So I don't really have any advice.

You could try rubber soled footwear instead?

I have a metal coffee table that I tap every time I get up. Maybe something similar if not that, like an end table next to your couch?

Anti-static keychain! They're small, cheap, and buyable on Amazon. You basically just touch it and it discharges the static without hurting. Life saver for me, my hair builds up a lot of static and I used to shock myself and family all the time.

You can look for ESD heel & shoe straps. They are relatively cheap and help you discharge while walking around or buy shoes that are ESD rated in the first place.

Your heat sources are usually grounded, either forced air or radiators, so touch the vent/radiator on the way back with that fresh beer, and that should help.

Increasing the humidity in your house will also help limit the static buildup. Just don’t increase it so much you get a ton of condensation on the windows

I have a coworker who regularly wears an anti-static wrist strap that he attaches to grounding points on furniture. I'm not quite as staticy myself, so I usually just tap the screw on the light switches when I pass by during high static months. That's usually grounded.

Here's one similar to the one I had! https://www.ebay.com/itm/404424220236