Everyone will have seen a cat making pasta or bread, as they say, but what’s behind this strange movement? What does it mean when a cat kneads on you? Let’s find out it…
Often interpreted as a gesture of affection, or of childishness on the part of the cat. Surely the message that he gives us with his paws is very pleasant. Let’s see in this article why cats “make pasta” and what it means.
What does it mean when a cat kneads on you?
The act of kneading or “making the dough”, “making bread”, “kneading”, “making biscuits” in English, is performed by the cat’s paws moved alternately from top to bottom and vice versa on a soft surface.
By soft surface, we mean either a soft object such as a blanket, pillow, bunk and other or a soft part of an individual such as the belly, leg or other of a cat.
When the cat makes pasta, usually only the two front legs are involved in this movement. But there are cats that use all four of their legs.
- Childhood behavior: as already mentioned, it evokes a very pleasant memory (mother-cat and her milk).
- Ancestral memory: the wild cat’s ancestors of the domestic cat kneaded with their paws to verify the safety and comfort of the bed where they can sleep or give birth to their young.
- Olfactory marking: while kneading, the cat produces a particular pheromone, through the glands of the plantar pads, which represents a real territorial marking. In this way, our house cat “marks” us as his property!
If you have more cats in the house, it happens that the cat on your lap that is “kneading” us is chased away by another cat who forcefully takes his place to “reshuffle” us and, therefore, “resign us” in turn.
Last words
Hope you like this post and you have learned something new from it. And if you have any more questions, please let us know by commenting. Thank you.
