# Why Do Cats "Kneed" with Their Paws



## Helena (May 10, 2002)

Why do cats kneed with their paws. Their nails dig right into us !! Have had cats all of my life and don't remember all of them doing it but the cats I have now most of them do this. Do they need therapy ???


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## Willowynd (Mar 27, 2005)

Kittens kneed and get milk from the "milk bar" which gives them pleasure and thier mom purrs in response...it is a learned behavior from that....they learn that kneeding is enjoyable and a way to release tension and show affection. I have one that likes to kneed too, but I have taught her only to kneed where I have clothes covering and do it gently  She is pretty good about it, but once in a while gets carried away, then I simply remind her by placing her paws where I have clothes covering. On the plus side, I never let her claws go untrimmed


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## Jenni979 (Jan 27, 2010)

One reason why cats knead paws stems from their kittenhood. Kittens must nurse their mother to get life-sustaining milk. Kneading mom's teats stimulates the let-down response, causing the milk to flow more freely. The movements are instinctive, and since they incur a reward, kitty naturally transfers the behavior to other places and things in the hope of more good things to come. 

There's another popular theory that cats knead paws because they might have been weaned from their mother too early, and are acting out the behavior of their "inner kitten". In reality, this probably isn't the answer. After all, have you ever known a cat who didn't knead its paws at one time or another? They can't all have been weaned too early, can they? 

Kneading seems to be more of a comforting action for cats since it mainly takes place during periods of happiness and contentment. It would be quite unusual to see a cat stop to knead its paws when it feels angry or threatened. 

While kitty generally kneads its paws to make sure its chosen spot is as comfy as possible, there is another reason for this behavior. 

Cats have scent glands located in the pads of their feet near the base of their claws, and each feline produces its own unique scent. While humans don't generally notice this scent, other cats and animals can, so the scent serves as a marker to show where your cat has been. 

When kitty wants to mark out the boundaries of its territory, it will paw and perhaps even run its claws across the item, leaving those signature scratches and a bit of personal eau de feline in the bargain.

http://cats.lovetoknow.com/Why_Cats_Knead_Paws


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## thaiblue12 (Feb 14, 2007)

I actually do believe the taken too young as one reason. I have had cats all my life and all kneaded me except for the two that had mom till 12 weeks or older. They never kneaded any of us. 

I had one who lost her mom at 3 weeks old thanks to a rotten kid in the neighborhood. She kneaded me till the day she passed away. 

I have a 6 year old Siamese mix who needs my neck and still searches my hair/neck for a nipple, lol. She was given to my sister's boyfriend at 6 weeks old and my sister gave her to me once she realized she was too young to be away from mom. 

It is a comfort thing and while it can hurt on ocassion, it usually is not too bad unless it is Dante who thinks he needs to knead my knee  that leaves marks! 

They also do rub on things with their chins and faces to scent mark. I have thankfully not had them do it with their claws or they might be in alot of trouble :teehee:


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## Otter (Jan 15, 2008)

Jenni979 said:


> They can't *all *have been weaned too early, can they?


Actually, yes.
I've no idea why 8 weeks is the magic number. Really, 6 is fine for rabbits, puppies need 9 and kittens make far better cats when they have mom for at least 12.
Most kittens don't even get the 8 weeks.

And it is instinctive behavior I've a cat who I bottle fed from birth, 11 years ago and she still does it.

Cats who had their momma long enough and haven't been stressed do it the least it seems (not that I'm saying anyone abuses their kneading kitties, mine all do it more for a time after we move as a stress response) And it also seems as if some cats get kind of addicted to it. My bottle kitty will find just the right spot on a blanket and knead and purr herself to sleep.


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## Prickle (May 9, 2009)

I have 8 cats, 7 siblings and their mother. They had free access to mom until she said enough is a enough! They all knead to some degree. Some are really enthusiastic about it and others are more gentle. We call it happy feet 

eta: I have noticed that these don't knead unless they're being petted. In the past I've had cats that would knead and suckle on the a fuzzy rug, or a stuffed animal. I think they definitely had been weaned to young.


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## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

Mom thing, yes.

I bought a stud cat at almost five months old. He was still with his mama until then. Brought him home, caught his eighteen pound self kneading away (and nursing!) my own mama cat, alongside her eight week old babies. I have a picture somewhere of that giant tomkitten nursing on seven pound not-his-mama. 

My worst was the bottle baby, but all of mine have done it to some degree. My male right now is super touchy about his paws, so he does it, gets his claw stuck, and gets so snagry when I try to free him.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Geez all our cats were mum raised never weaned by us still live with mum, and they all kneed. (we did place siblings keeping one back) I'm certain weaning or not makes no difference if a cat kneeds or not.


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

Most of mine make biscuits as well. The most ardent biscuit maker headbutts a lot as well. Love his heart, poor old man cat. We have others the same age as he and although he's lived with us since he was eight or so weeks old, he's had a rough life. If it's around to get into- he does. He came up to me one day, walking normally, except for that one toe that pointed at the sky.....popped it back into place. A puncture wound that required drawing salve and one morning, a rather fervent headbutt and meow awakened me.... his face was swollen hideously and he had a bad absess. No sign of wound, no issues with his teeth... vet never found the cause. Other issues, of course- but those stood out.
Silly cat.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

I'm another one whose cats were not weaned from their mother at a young age and kneed like crazy...and even drool in ecstasy. The mom did disappear...but not until they were just under a year old. (coyotes)


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

I have two full siblings that lived with Mom until death (at 10+ years) - on was a kneader and one was not.

Had another set of full siblings - Mom was a barn cat and they became housecats after she weaned them. One is a major kneader and the other rarely. 

And then I have my newest house cat that was found in a field half dead at about 4 weeks old (she is over a year old now) She is talkative and always under foot, but I don't think I've ever seen her knead anything. 

I do think there is a difference between a kneader and a suckler. None of the above mentioned cats ever tried suckling while kneading.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Macybaby said:


> I do think there is a difference between a kneader and a suckler. None of the above mentioned cats ever tried suckling while kneading.


I do have a dog that is a suckler and kneader...I don't want to embarrass him so I won't mention any names


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## Kriket (Sep 30, 2009)

thaiblue12 said:


> I actually do believe the taken too young as one reason. I have had cats all my life and all kneaded me except for the two that had mom till 12 weeks or older. They never kneaded any of us.


Maybe! We have never had a cat that kneeded and we have always had barn cats that had multiple moms to nurse from for as long as they wanted.

Soooo, does this mean humans fiddle and pinch for comfort! :run: I thought the fiddling and pinching would be over soon!


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## Wolf Flower (Dec 21, 2005)

I've never had a cat that didn't knead. We call them "kitty biscuits". There's definitely a difference between kneading and sucking, the latter seems to be an effect of early weaning. 

I have one cat that likes to knead in my hair--I wake up with some CRAZY hairdos.


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## Ravenlost (Jul 20, 2004)

I've had cats my entire life and can't think of a single one that wasn't a kneader. Have had droolers too. Our poor old grandpa kitty, Casper, was a drooler...so bad that I would always have Kleenex with me when he got in my lap so I could wipe his mouth! UGH...even woke up one time with an ear full of drool and Casper laying on my head. YUCK!!!

The worst by far though is Kearie, the bottle raised kitty. She was only a week old when hubby brought her home and she HAS to get on me every night and knead herself into slumber. Told hubby the other night I guess I'll always be her mama. She never does it to him. My other bottle raised cat, Fergus, kneads some but he isn't picky or excessive with it.


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## Jenni979 (Jan 27, 2010)

It's so odd to see other people post about "kitty biscuits"... LOL...

That's what we call it, but I have never heard anyone else call it that.

Our youngest kitty, Fuzzlington, used to knead on me exclusively... Then I got farther along in this pregnancy... He was on my lap one day when the baby gave a big old kick. It freaked him out so bad that he bushed out and ran into the other room. Since then he wants NO part of being near me. 

Now he is a total Daddy's boy.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Most of my cats(I have 10 adults, all fixed) knead when content and they are all home-grown which means they were not forcibly weaned at all. Mama weaned them when she felt like it, which was when they were several months old!
Tye sleeps beside me on the bed every night and he kneads for 10-20 minutes before curling up for the night. I give him several layers of blanket to knead on, otherwise he likes to use my arm. He just kneads and purrs very happily.
Sethos doesn't knead, but he drools when he is happy........I'll take the kneading any day!ound:


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

both my adult 4 yr old bro & sis cats do it. i think its more of a pleasure thing, like purring. they do it especially when they get in my lap & go to get comfy. the kids thinks its funny.


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## bluejett (May 17, 2010)

My 12 yr old kitty does it, she finds a nice squishy belly and kneads away! she was taken from her mama too soon, she used to suck on toy animals too but she got over that when she was around 1-2.
My sister's cat kneads too, I think she's around 8 yrs old, she isn't into it as much though, I think it's more of a pleasure thing for her.


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## rowan57 (Sep 30, 2009)

I was staying with a friend, sleeping on the sofa (so not sleeping very well anyway) and their cat would come over and knead my head every morning at about 4.30am, that got tedious quick!


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## NEfarmgirl (Jan 27, 2009)

Our cat who turned 13 does it to this day. It started on the bathroom rugs and he would suck on them till they were soaked--gross when you get out of the shower and step on it! He likes to knead my cloths with his paws after I wear them? and he purrs will doing it very loudly. Once and a while we catch him doing it to the sheets on the bed with his mouth almost touching it. Our other cat will only do it when there is a super soft afghan around and he just looks like he is in heaven--he stands the whole time and I swear he is smiling!


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## WstTxLady (Mar 14, 2009)

mine only do it when they go to get comfy in our laps and that's about it. my sylvester used to get intense with it & drool, pretty weird/gross.


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## RideBarefoot (Jun 29, 2008)

I'm surprised Oggie hasn't chimed in with "that's how they check your internal organs for weakness"


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