ok, so we have this real cool cat that wandered into our lives. and she is a real lap sitter and i am cool with that. however, before she settles down for a nap she will do the whole cat knead thing. you know the front two paws going up and down where she is getting ready to go to sleep. now i can see if she was fluffing a pillow that this would make sense, but my stomach is not really going to be all that responsive to that type of behavior. does anyone have a clue what she is doing and why?
I’ve always heard that it’s a behavior carried over from when they’re kittens, where the kneading helps stimulate milk production.
Yep. They tend to do it when they’re in a comfortable, safe space. If they do it on your lap before laying there, you know they really approve of you.
She’s also demonstrating she’s content, happy, and relaxed. Sometimes you can expect a lap full of drool.
I sometimes divert them onto a pillow or a stuffed animal to save my flesh from the claws.
Yes, when I’m in bed, one of my cats likes to sleep around my lower legs, and she starts out on the other side of the bed, kneading and purring, gradually getting closer. By the time she gets to me the kneading has stopped, leaving only the purr. This is her bedtime ritual, and I accept the fact that in her mind, she’s stimulating milk production from the nipples on my legs.
Yeah, most cats knead, and most cats purr.
Except … my mom’s cat Does. Not. Purr, and neither of our kitties has ever kneaded, even for a moment. Weirdos, all of 'em.
Hijack: Don’t give up on the purring, purplehourseshoe; my Rocky never purred ever, until suddenly at age 11 he’s purring. It sounds kind of rusty, like a motor that hasn’t been used for a long time. Understandable, I guess.
I’m posting this from beneath a kneading purring monster. Luckily I have a duvet in between me and her claws, because that shit hurts.
Does anyone know if wild or feral kitties do this, like in their nests, or is it just that domestic cats are infantilised?
All three of my cats knead. It’s kind of cute, actually.
Our Angora-mix rescue purred (in a neat kinda motorboat way…prrr prrr prrr) and kneaded at everybody until she bonded with my mom. Angoras are supposedly one-person cats, and now she only purrs and kneads with hoomin mama.
As I said in the other thread… you do know that they’re just checking your muscles and internal organs for consistency, right? That way, when you die, they’ll know what part to eat first. 