Why Do Cats Knead Your Chest

This is also why some cats dribble when they knead.

Why do cats knead your chest. Often cat kneading is accompanied by contented purring and sometimes even. Why your cat kneads this habit begins when cats are young and are dependent on their mother for food. Cats may have formed the habit of sleeping on chests when we held them there as kittens speaking of which if a cat was taken care of by humans as a kitten chances are quite high that human held a kitten to his or her chest while trying to feed the kitten or to keep it warm or to comfort that kitten in general. They may purr stretch and knead the air while lying on their side to tell male cats that they can approach for possible mating.

It may also be associated with having extra comfort a way of showing its affection towards you having a sense of security that it finds on the chest area or simply it may love that particular area for its rest. Their ancestors did this with tall grass or leaves. Sometimes your cat wants to feel the warmth of your body which it finds on top of your chest. Kneading seems to come from kittenhood when the motion of kittens tiny paws would stimulate the mother cat s mammary glands to release the milk for the kittens to nurse.

Though your cat may be long past nursing age they might still enjoy the comforting sensation of being close to a protective figure they associate with kneading. Kittens knead their mother s stomach to stimulate the flow of milk from the teat into their mouths. Cats almost always knead on a soft pliable surface like a pillow a comforter another cat or kitten or even your lap. Mammals have different mechanisms for milk let down which is caused by a release of the hormone oxytocin in the mother s body.

This can involve claws. Female cats have an additional reason for kneading. However if they are immediately ready to mate they will not knead their paws and will instead raise their pelvis with the tail to one side. They do it with your jeans.

Kittens knead at their mother s tummy when they re hungry and looking for milk. Oxytocin makes the. One of the theories that have been proven to be false is that cats knead because they were weaned too early or taken away from their mothers too soon. This behavior is simpler than many of the things ours cats do.

Cats begin kneading instinctually as kittens when they are nursing to help stimulate their mothers milk. Sometimes it hurts. You can probably imagine why this one gained ground because cats knead at their mother s nipples when they are nursing. They expect the milk that would have come from their mum after kneading her stomach.