My cat always is busy kneading and purring and butting her head into peoples faces and legs. These are my observations of her and other cats in my house on why cats knead and why some don’t do as much.
Why do Cats Knead? Cats knead because they are showing love, marking their territory with their scent, socializing, feeling comforted, showing signs of mating or simply relaxing ( or stretching).
I thought cats knead just because they are happy and relaxed. My research shows otherwise and observing my kitten I have my own theories.
As I was researching online and spending way too much on forums, I found some really cute terms people use for kneading.
Some call it making biscuits, others refer kneading to making muffins, mashing potatoes and happy paws.
Some other names used for kneading are Playing the piano, Kitty acupuncture and Making biscuits.
What is kneading?
Cats use their paws and make a kind of massaging or kneading motion on surfaces. This is called kneading.
I have noticed they prefer soft surfaces such as the pillow, another kitten, blankets, clothes and our laps.
This kneading motion is usually accompanied by purring. Sometimes my female cat goes into loud purrs. It is so adorable.
Sometimes the cats start drooling, as it relaxes their jaw.
While kneading they usually are in a different state of mind. Almost like a zombie state. They tune out.
We joke that the cats are meditating.
Why do Cats Knead?
I have read a lot online to understand my cats behaviour. These are the reasons people think why cats knead.
It might be an Instinctive Behavior
Kittens knead their mother’s belly to get milk supply flowing. It is a love they have for their mum. This is what they are carrying forward and showing us love in the best way they know.
Kneading their moms stomach would stimulate milk flow and is an
Lack of Security versus Feeling Secure
My female kitten was adopted at a very early stage. She was very young when she came to us. We were told she was weaned and was 5 months old, but we feel she must have been younger.
She came from a huge litter. They had a lot of competition for milk and her older siblings were always dominating her.
When we brought her, I would hold her in my lap and work on the computer. She was too tiny and needed warmth. I was afraid she wouldnt make it.
She would constantly knead a lot. It was an indication for me to feed her formula dn food.
My male cat was adopted from a very happy family. They took very good care of him. He did not need to get any love. He shared love a lot. He wouldnt knead as much but if he did it was more of his sharing love to us.
Kneading is Comforting
Kneading is comforting and relaxes the cats. This takes them into a
It is so relaxing to watch them knead and just stare off into nowhere. Sometimes if I talk to them and comfort them they start kneading. And then they start purring. It is such a lovely place to be in, watching these beautiul lovely cats sharing such love.
It not only calms my cats,
Marking Territory
Cats have scent glands in their paws, chins, ears, sides and necks. These scent glands get activated when your
Headbutting or bunting is when you cat butts you with her head. She is rubbing those scents on you and also communicating her love to you.
Cats have scent glands in their soft paws. These are scents pheromones which are used for socio-chemical communication. While kneading the kittens and cats are leaving these scents behind.
They are actually marking their territory and claiming ownership of places.
Going into Heat
Female cats knead before going into heat. They are signaling to the mate their willingness.
Why Do Cats Knead their Owners?
Cats are showing they love you when they knead you. They are communicating that they are comfortable with you.
They also are secretly marking you with their scent.
So they own you as well.
Leaving scents behind are territorial makers, and whether you know it or not while kneading they have marked you as their territory.
This is also related to why they scratch furniture. Scratching leaves behind scent and is a visual marker.
Too busy?
If you are too busy and havent shown affection or attention to your kitten, they will make sure you give it to them.
So kneading and head butting might indicate you are too busy.
My cats will knead the homework books of my kids if they are too busy studying.
They climb onto computers and knead a bit and sit down on the keyboard and we know it is time we spent time with them.
Why do Cats Knead on Blankets?
There are many theories online about cats kneading blankets. Some say they are kneading to show affection, some that it is they are kneading so that they can lie down comfortably.
My observation with my cats is almost similar. When my cat is in a loving mood, she comes and kneads either my clothes or my blanket. She sniffs the blanket and then starts kneading it.
I assume that she is showing affection towards me. This is her way of telling me she loves me. Very rarely has she kneaded the blanket and slept on it. She usually kneads it, goes off into a trance like state and then moves to a different corner of the bed and sleeps.
My male cat on the other hand kneads on humans. He starts kneading the lap, butting the face. He was brought up in a more secure environment. So he is very comfortable with humans and is not afraid of getting close to us.
My female cat ( Fluffy) we adopted from a really filthy place. She was infested with fleas, and was shacked up in close quarters with many cats and many dogs.
She has taken months to come close to us. She is around 2 years old now and still is wary of us.
Each cat has her own personality and history.
Why does my cat knead me but not my husband ?
My cats would knead one person in the family more than the other. My daughter feeds the cats and grooms them and spends more time with them than all of us.
So I assumed cats kneaded a person ( especially her) because she took care of them. Then the unthinkable happened. My cats started kneading my husband. He rarely participates in hugging or feeding the cats. He is not much of a cat person and except for the occasional pet and loving words, he stays away from them.
Lets say he used to stay away from them. I am not sure it is because he was so aloof, the cats started targeting him. They knead on his clothes, butt their heads on his legs, walk in between his legs.
This could be marking their territory and kind of forcing him to love them.
In
Usually this is the person who feeds and groom them daily. It has nothing to do with gender. If it always seems to be the female of the house , it must be because she is caring for the cat more than the others.
Related Questions
Why do stray cats rub against your legs?
It happens quite commonly with us. If a stray cat is around, they come and rub themselves on our legs.
I am not sure why this happens, but I feel they might be smelling the pheromones of my cat and maybe then marking their scent on us.
They could be sending my cats a signal, through us. Is that even possible?
Some stray cats sniff and then stay away. Some rub against us. Maybe they feel comfortable having smelled my cats ( their scents on our legs) and think we are safe and cat people.
Why do cats rub their faces on you?
This is defintely a sign
Another cat of ours does this always. It might be because he is very social.