Surprising Reasons behind the Kneading Behavior in Cats
Each individual feline is unique and have distinct personalities. Just like humans, they too have mood swings which explain their weird and peculiar behaviors sometimes. Cats have developed “symbiotic social behaviors” over the years living the human counterparts. The moment you bring a cat into your home, the house belongs to the cat from that moment and not you anymore.
In general, animals who cannot speak will use body language to communicate with their counterparts or surrounding. Once these gestures are mastered, you’ll know the real reason behind cats’ mystery behaviors.
What is Kneading?
The most common behavior of cats is kneading. It is fun-filled for the cat to push its claws in a regular pattern in and out, but it painful if the claws extern to your thighs. Never mind these are explainable behaviors.
At the kitten-hood, kittens knead their mother’s teat to stimulate milk flow and this has been an inherited behavior. This action is called “milk thread” and when the kitten drinks faster than the flow of milk, this process helps them to promote milk flow.
When a cat is satisfied, content or happy, it expresses this behavior and mostly in any soft, warm area. This is a way for them to say am comfortable and when they knead in your lap, it may mean they see you as a parent-figure.
When cats are sexually active they may knead and is common with the female cat in heat to exhibit kneading. Kneading is mating ritual for male and you want to move out of his way when he kneads aggressively.
The scents gland in cats is on their pads located near the base of their claws and it is unnoticeable by humans. They use this scents to mark their territories and put boundaries so next time you see them kneading on the carpets or pillows know they are putting territorial boundaries and if on your laps, then you are doing great to be parent-figure to the pet.