Kneading

[susieoh]

I just recently adopted Casey - a young adult female. After her recent spaying she went from a 100% terror to a subdued 50% little demolision machine. Suddenly after
after having her for 3 months she's taken to kneading and sucking on a pillow. She's about 18 months old according to the Vet but sometimes acts much younger. In fact it took me two weeks to get her to actually purr..
Any ideas why this is happening?

[CarolM]

Hi, Susie,
You've probably already heard that kitties learn to knead when they're nursing...but a lot of cats will continue to knead all their lives. Mine is nearly 13 years old and does this all the time! She especially likes to knead a blanket that's become her pet bed- I think it has to do with the feel and/or smell of the material. I've heard of cats that will suck or chew wool, but she doesn't seem to care for it.

[lhg0962]

My daughter calls kneading, "making biscuits". Every cat I have ever had did it and sometimes it can be quite painful when it's your chest or neck! HA HA!

[susieoh]

She's a weird little cat. I've had cats for over 40 years and this one tops the bunch.
She's very aloof but also very dependent. She won't leave my side but yet won't cuddle. If she were a male cat doing this I'd have other thoughts. The object of her affection is a small soft pillow.

[Pieper's Mom]

All my kitties like to knead...my little 7# Pieper is closet to me and she spends more time with me, and loves my stomach...it's a big, soft thing, so I guess that's why...it really hurts when it's my chest though...she likes to chew on plastic bags! Talk about weird! Pieper is very affectionate but doesn't like to be cuddled much unless it's her idea! She especially likes to cuddle at 5:00 a.m. when I'm on the toilet! Guess she figures I'm a captive audience and can't be rolling over on her or anything...LOL...are these animals just wonderful?

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If a cat spoke, it would say things like, "Hey, I don't see a problem here!"

[treybabe]

Casey is acting out her need by kneading. She does need unconditional love on her terms. Her behavior at 18 months probably won't change too much, but since she just started the kneading she may not do as much of it after a while. One of my cats still kneads my stomach or a pillow or a blanket. The other never does. It is quite normal at any rate. Hope it works out for both of you.
^ ^
*~*

[paula]

At least it is not your hair. I have had several foster cats that have kneaded my hair while I am asleep (not for long). I wonder if this is an insecurity problem. My neighbour's cat constantly sucks at her dressing gown and a towel that is on her favorite chair. Cats are cats unique and mysterious. Love them and enjoy their love in their round-a-bout way. 122

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[lhg0962]

I forgot to tell you earlier that Tigger, the cat I grew up with, sucked our finger and "made biscuits" until the day he died. He was 18 years old when he finally died in his sleep. What a love he was!! We tried a pacifier once, but he loved our fingers much more. We had to bottle feed him when his mother died three weeks after having him. I always thought that the finger sucking had something to do with the early departure from his mom.
Our Mimi just makes her biscuits and nuzzles her head in our necks, hair, ears, etc. She drools!!!! Yuck!! You can't imagine what it is like to wake up with a wet ear in the middle of the night.
My friend has a cat that wants to suck your earlobe!! How gross!! If you stay at her house, you'd better close the bedroom door or cover your head!!
I guess, better a pillow than you, huh?

[Jenny]

I have a three year old cat who "makes milk" by kneading and suckling a blanket that's resting against me. He does this when I'm lying in bed and only does this to me, not my husband. He only likes one blanket. I love it -- I think it's very sweet except when he wakes me up with his loud purr because he want to cuddle. ;-)

[4 feline house]

My Pepper didn't start kneading until very recently, and she turned a year old in July. My experience with her, though, has convinced me that it has nothing to do with when a kitten is weaned, because I also have Pepper's littermate sister Cookie and her littermate brother Big Mac, and neither of them knead. Furthermore, they were certainly NOT weaned too early, since I also have their mom Peaches, and she loved being a mom so much that she didn't start kicking them away until they were six months old! !! That was REALLY a sight to see, since by then Biggie was already 12 pounds - half again bigger than his mom! !! (He's 17 pounds now, and he wasn't even the biggest of the litter! We had no idea when we named him Big that he would grow into it so well!) Anyway, I am digressing - Peaches has also only just started kneading, but then Peaches has only just recently learned to put her total trust in me (she was a pregnant stray when I found her outside my door about 16 months ago). But kneading, sucking, and drooling are pretty common behaviors, and we probably will never figure out why. My mom has one cat that sucks his tail, and once had another that sucked pacifiers.

Also, Susieoh, some cats are very uncomfortable being held, picked up, or being cuddled, but are just as affectionate as the cuddly cats in every other way. My cats run the gamut - Pepper sleeps on me, Peaches sleeps right next to me, Cookie sleeps with only her front paws touching me, and Big sleeps in the next room. But the three littermates had identical upbringing. So, again, who knows why? But since they all have their special personalities and their own ways to give and receive affection, I take them as they are and love them all the same.

Also, a note to Pieper's Mom - they like to suck the plastic bags because they're made with lard and/or tallow, and their supersensitive noses can detect it. Isn't that sound so irritating? I'm sure you know that you need to keep those bags out of their reach since they can be very dangerous - I learned this when I came home and found one of my babies with a bag tightly twisted around her neck. I shudder to think what could have happened if I had come home too late.

Anyway, this is a very long post, but several issues were raised and I had to weigh in on each! Everyone keep loving their kitties! !

[susieoh]

Thanks for all the replies. I've had cats for a very long time but this one takes the cake! I've just never seen a female take to a pillow like that before. However, I'd never seen a cat do a cartwheel before either. She did that the other day!

Wendie