Cats knead for many reasons, but mainly to show you that they are happy and content. It never fails. You can spend an evening on the sofa streaming your favorite series non-stop, or – even better – with a book and a cup of tea. Here comes your furry feline friend with a focused look on her face and ready to purr.
She happily places her paws on your legs and starts kneading, pressing her little front feet rhythmically into your soft flesh. It’s cute, even if it hurts sometimes. Mainly because she was so happy. But why does she do this?
Baby, we were born to be kneaded
Kittens have a natural instinct to knead. As tiny little hairballs, they press into the mother’s belly while nursing. This action will become second nature, and kittens are warm – and fed – and feel very content when they are held in their mother’s arms.
Even after kittens are weaned, they will continue this little dance of two paws when they are happy. (Some cats really enjoy it and knead with all four paws.) People used to think that adult cats knead because they were weaned too early, but that seems unlikely. Almost all cats will knead, regardless of when they were weaned. Many cats do this even if they grew up in the same house as their mom.
I put fragrance on you
However, there are other reasons why cats knead. Cats have scent glands near their cheeks, at the base of their tails, and—you guessed it—in their paws. Rubbing your blankets, pillows, or bellies while you lie on the couch watching the computer together can leave traces of your cat’s special scent. A cat will mark you and probably every soft thing in the house as its own, and it’s not wrong to be more domineering.
Yet another theory is that this behavior comes from ancestral cats that lived outdoors and didn’t have pillows or knees. But they will knead and trample any grass and roughen the ground until it is soft enough to sleep on. This is similar to the theory about why dogs spin in circles before settling down to sleep.
Now that’s a claw!
It’s easy to punish a cat when she uses her paws while kneading your soft flesh or your new couch. But kneading is a natural behavior, which means it’s happy, so punishment isn’t a good idea here. Instead, see if you can gently lower your cat into a lying position. She might go to sleep. If her kneading is problematic for your skin or upholstery, trim her claws or purchase plastic claw guards. This will solve a lot of your worries.
Original article author：Shit Shovel Officer，If reprinted, please indicate the source.：https://www.petcatanddog.com/article/10235.html