I have a female cat, shes nice, and mellow, like a normal cat. But sometimes shell sit next to me put her nose on me, and kneed whatever im sitting on. Shell do this for like 15 minits if i let her.is this normal?
Kneading is definatley normal. Every cat I've ever owned has done it. My present cat will do it for long periods of time as well. I'm not sure why they do it (I think I made a thread about it a long time ago). I've heard before that if a cat "kneads" it is a sign that they were taken from their mother and litter too early....but I think that's probably a myth. It's normal.
I think the 'kneading' is a simulation of what kittens do when they drink milk from their moms.. they use their paws to trample on the moms tit they are suckling, so it stimulates lactation.. probably it's a soothing feeling for them as well, since older cats and kittens keep doing it, like you said. I've known an adult cat who'd do it just after something scared him.. like.. when he heard a loud noise or sth, he started kneading the carpet.. just lightly trampling it with his front paws.
i think it's normal too..... my cat does it, but mostly at night when he wants to sleep... heck he'll knead me/ my blanket for an hour before finally getting tired and cuddling up to sleep next to me. i think it's cute
I had someone ask me what that 'noise' was that my cat was making,she was only purring! Kneading is a comfort thing,like a little kids' thumbsucking.
i always thought purring was a comfort thing, but there was an article on yahoo pets section thing about a year ago (from the friskies people) that said that cats purr when they're uncomfortable..... do they do it both times? my cat's a bit too comfortable when kneading it seems and purrs, so i'm confused LOL
Most of the time cats purr when they're comfortable but yes, it seems they're doing it when they're in pain too... or at least some of the time. Haven't heard mine do it, although Zeerox has had bladder trouble once and also got stuck with his paw once... he didn't purr either time. Maybe it's like the kneading and only some do it; Zeerox never kneads but Silvie, my other cat, does it all the time!
That's why cats recover from bone and muscle injuries so much better than other small animals (why they have 9 lives): the purring helps a lot. It seems like just one of those health promoting things - they purr when they're happy, they purr when they're hurt to get better, they purr when they're stressed to get calm. Cats also purr while giving birth, or so I've read. So if your sick or sad or injured, pet a purring cat.
Oh, I didn't know about the healing, that's good to know! My cat also licks my armpits, only when I'm sweaty though... he likes my odor, many animals do. That's why they like to lay in the pile of dirty laundry, and like shoes after you take them off (I guess my cat missed my smelly shoes when I became a barefooter, he loved to stick his head in them )
