These side-by-side videos tell the story behind adult domestic cat kneading. PLEASE CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON AT BOTTOM-LEFT OF THE VIDEO TO PLAY THE TWO VIDEOS SIMULTANEOUSLY. Despite the copious amount of information on the internet about this form of feline behaviour some people don’t know the reason. Fair enough. Here is the reason. The newborn kitten kneads their mother’s breast to encourage the production of colostrum when feeding. The video on the left shows this clearly. Clearly, the adult cat is no longer a newborn kitten feeding at their mother’s breast but they think they are kittens because their every need is provided for by their human caregiver who acts as if they are surrogate mothers. This encourages the adult cat to never grow up emotionally and so they drop into the habits they had when they were newborn kittens even if it has nothing to do with feeding on their mother’s colostrum. It is entirely instinctive. The adult cat most often kneads their owners clothes while on their lap or their bedding as it smells strongly of them. Or as seen in the video they knead any part of their owner including their face. Just keep the claws trimmed please!
cat emotions
Why cats are almost certainly capable of being jealous
This post is deliberately short and in bullet fashion for speed reading on a smartphone.
Why does my cat’s back twitch or ripple when I touch it?
If your cat is clearly healthy as observed in a non-expert’s way, it is not abnormal or a sign of a health problem if their back ripples when gently touched. It is more likely to happen if your cat is unaware of what is going on. It simply means that your cat is slightly …
Can domestic cats try and deceive each other?
Before answering the question, we have to define the word ‘deceive’. Definition: to deliberately cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, especially for personal gain. I have never seen any cat behaviourists try to work out if domestic cats try to deceive each other. The activity of deception as carried out by …
Are there any gay cats?
The answer, as the image on this page states, is yes and no. It seems that domestic cats can behave as gay rather than heterosexual when they are sufficiently frustrated because they are unable to mate with the opposite sex. Under these circumstances their behavior is called an ‘overspilling of sexual activity’. It is …
12 domestic cat tail-signals in an INFOGRAPHIC
I hope this two pages of an infographic helps in understanding domestic cat tail body language/signalling. It can be quite subtle. There is one cat breed, a rare one, with a curled-over tail called the American Ringtail. This cat will struggle with one or two of these tail signalling positions! And, of course, the …
The way a domestic cat signals that they are frightened
A cat might be anxious because of something that is happening around them or not far from them. They might be slightly afraid and the normal reaction will be to run away silently and hide. If they are walking at the time, they will lower their body to tense the muscles of their legs …
14 suggestions about domestic cats not using the litter box
Introduction: The problem of domestic cats not using the litter box is the source of millions of articles. It is euphemistically called “inappropriate elimination”. It is an inaccurate description because from the cat’s standpoint it is entirely appropriate because there’s a reason behind their behaviour and this article sets out 14 different possible reasons. …