Why Do Some Cats Knead With Their Front Paws

Unspayed female cats often knead just before going into heat as a sign of their eagerness to mate.

Why do some cats knead with their front paws. Some cats retract their claws while others extend them as they knead. Cats have scent glands in the soft pads on the bottoms of their paws. Kneading can also signal a form of territorial marking. The gentle pressing around mother s teats stimulates her mammary glands telling her brain that it s time to feed her fuzzy brood.

Kneading is a common behavior seen in domestic cats in which the feline pushes in and out with its front paws alternating between left and right. Cats often perform this motion sometimes called. Other theories on why cats knead similar to the theory about how dogs dig in their beds as a natural denning instinct it s believed that cats also might have used kneading in the wild to help soften dirt or pat down leaves for comfy sleeping quarters. A possible answer to why do cats knead is that they re trying to mark their territory because there are scent glands that release pheromones in their paws.

This trance like motion is often called making biscuits because it resembles a baker kneading dough. Infant felines knead their mama s belly to get milk flowing the humane society of the united states reports. Because the pads of your cat s paws contain scent glands her kneading emits her own distinctive scent discernable by other cats or pets but not by the human nose. It could be a blanket a pillow or a part of your own body.

Though cats will sit happily on a hard surface they will only knead a soft or pliant surface although some cats will reflexively march on hard surfaces instead of kneading them. A cat will usually knead by pushing their front paws into a soft object altering pressure between the paws. Kneading is a natural part of cat behavior. When kittens are first born and still nursing kneading comes in handy.

Kitties use their front paws to knead soft or pliable surfaces including humans and other cats or kittens. That scent serves as a kind of territorial. Many purr with eyes closed and some even drool. The reason it s called kneading is that the motion is somewhat similar to the process of kneading dough.

Female cats have an additional reason for kneading. When they knead they release some of their unique scent onto the kneaded surface. 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.