Why Do Cats Knead Your Stomach

Kneading can also signal a form of territorial marking.

Why do cats knead your stomach. On occasions cats have also been seen to knead when they are under stress. A nursing kitten will instinctively knead at their mother s abdomen to help stimulate milk production. When a cat purrs during kneading you can make out that they are particularly contented. Cat kneading is hypnotic.

This is also why some cats dribble when they knead. Kittens knead their mother s stomach to stimulate the flow of milk from the teat into their mouths. Because kittens use this motion to satisfy a need they often associate the habit with a good thing and bring it into their adult cat life as well. Kittens knead their mothers while feeding to stimulate the flow of milk some cats do this when they re really happy.

5 fun reasons for cat kneading. Cats knead when they are feeling happy or contented. During nursing a kitten will knead the area around its mother s teat to promote the flow of milk. They expect the milk that would have come from their mum after kneading her stomach.

Photography robert redelowski thinkstock. Your cat sees you as her mommy in a way and kneads your stomach because she is very comfortable with you. Cats start to knead as kittens while nursing from their mother. 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.

But why do they continue to knead past nursing age. Cat kneading is comforting. I used to have a cat that would suckle as well. Your cat is kneading to tenderize you so she can eat you.

Your cat is marking you. I think they do it because it makes them feel like they did when they were kittens nursing in a contented time. Kittens knead at their mother s tummy when they re hungry and looking for milk. Cats can become so relaxed while kneading that they enter a trancelike.

Since the pads of your cat s paws contain scent glands it is a form of marking their spot and if they love you they may just be marking you as well telling the rest of the world to back off. Unspayed female cats often knead just before going into heat as a sign of their eagerness to mate. Why your cat kneads this habit begins when cats are young and are dependent on their mother for food. In adulthood a cat supposedly will knead when it s feeling happy or content because it associates.

Of course your cat loves you but kneading is a gesture of love and this theory seems to hold a little weight to it. A nursing kitten instinctually kneads to help stimulate the mother s milk production.