Cat Health: Kneading

Explaining a Cat Kneading - How Claws can Mean Comfort

Cat kneading is a behavior that has puzzled many cat owners. Just when a feline, young or old, seems at its most comfortable in your lap, the front paws flex and the claws sink into your thighs. If you are unprepared for it, a cat's kneading seems to add insult to injury when you notice that the cat is purring contentedly as well. While this rhythmic unleashing of claws can send mixed messages to a human, for a feline the motion communicates simple bliss.

There are three potential reasons why cats knead, all of them harkening back to earlier days either in the cat's own lifetime or in the wild history of felines. The most prevalent explanation for the gesture is that nursing kittens knead at their mother's bellies to encourage a greater flow of milk. For the rest of its life, when the cat is as comfortable and relaxed as it was in those kitten days, it will repeat the gesture in the nearest cushion, whether that soft spot is a pillow or human flesh.

Another possible reason behind kneading lies further back in the feline timeline, when cats were wild and lived without cushions and humans on which to sleep. The kneading in this case has a similar purpose to a dog's circling before lying down; the motion would flatten grasses and weeds to form a more comfortable nest. Domesticated felines will flatten their sleeping surfaces for greater comfort whether their napping spot of choice is a perfectly made bed, a towel in a box, or a favorite chair cushion.

The final suggestion is that cats are marking their beds, or their people, as their own. Just as when a cat rubs its head against you to mark you with the scent glands in its face, a cat has scent glands in its front paws that are activated with the kneading motion. Generally, cat people take the gesture as a feline compliment, whatever the motivation.

While a cat will sometimes knead out of excess energy or nerves, the motion of a cat kneading is almost always one of comfort, security, and contentment. Even if the claws reach vulnerable flesh, a kneading cat should not be punished, but rather the claws redirected into a fold of cloth or a toy if one is available. Cats do not know that their fur-less human companions are vulnerable, and cats knead instinctively.