Cats are cute pets that can get away with basically anything.Does that stop us from adopting them? No, for some, it is all the more reason to get a cat!Cats communicate and show affection in many weird and different ways. They’ll scratch, bite, purr, knead, and even make us sniff their butts! They are just too comfortable with us. Of the many funny cat languages, kneading with their paws is an interesting one. You can call it ‘making biscuits’ too.Have you seen a cat making biscuits? It is a natural cat behavior and it is as natural as a cat purring. Several theories exist on why cats knead. Maybe it is their love language in addition to their purr, maybe it is out of habit, or maybe the pushing motion is purely out of instinct.In adult cats, is this back and forth motion related to memories from the time when they were kittens? Do their human companions remind them of their mother and the times they were under their mother’s nursing? Some people believe kneading is a sign of affection. There could be many reasons why this behavior, considered cute in general, is performed by our feline buddies on a blanket, pillow, or us. Cats like to dig their paws into anything soft.Do you know everything you need to know about cats? If you are interested in this article, after reading this, why not also read more articles about cats like why do cats trill or why do cats have tails?What are ‘biscuits’ made by cats?This normal cat behavior of making biscuits is different from when humans make biscuits. Although different in procedures, we can safely say that both of them are ways of showing affection.Cats ‘making biscuits’ or kneading is similar to a baker kneading dough. However, a cat kneads back and forth alternately with its left and right paws, not on dough, but on soft surfaces like blankets, human lap, pillows, dogs, or other animals. This could possibly be for multiple reasons.Cats, while they’re kittens, are used to kneading their mothers while drinking milk. This helps in stimulating the production of the mother cat’s milk. This could be one reason why adult cats knead on a soft object even after they grow up. It could be muscle memory or comfort memory.Cats are particular about leaving their scent to mark their properties. A cat kneading could be them marking their territory. Their paw pads have scent glands, just like their cheeks or chin. When cats knead on your lap, they are releasing their pheromones and calling you theirs and your lap is their territory. Cats in the wild sleep in places where they soften tall grass using their wild kneading skills. This could be another reason why your pet cat may instinctively do the same before deciding to settle down on a pile of neatly stacked blankets.Another theory on why cats knead is that it could be just to feel refreshed. Think about how good you feel after a good nice stretch. Kneading is surprisingly a nice good stretch for a cat.What happens when your cat kneads on you?Cats generally knead a soft surface. They move their paws firmly, exerting pressure downwards, just like how we knead to make biscuits or cookies. They expose their claws and grab by closing them before lifting their paws. This is very similar to how we grab onto the dough while kneading.A cat kneading is a cute sign of your cat’s love for you. Unfortunately, sometimes your lap suffers when your cat decides to imitate a baker. When cats knead, transferring their scent from their scent glands to their human’s lap, it could be painful, especially if cats are digging their sharp claws.They need the surface they knead to be soft, and your lap just happens to be one such surface. It is sometimes a painful acceptance of affection every other second until the cat stops. They get irritated if we disturb their kneading.Why do cats make biscuits when they are in heat?One of the many theories on cats and their behavior of kneading, there is one particularly attached to female cats.It is believed that female cats knead and purr when they are in heat, also called estrus. This is believed to be a way of letting male cats know that they are ready for mating. They do knead most of the time, however, their kneading, along with purring, yowling, and pacing, is a bit more frequent when they enter estrus. They also urinate in places when they are in heat. If your female pet cat is doing all these things, it can be concluded that she is in heat.Why do some cats not make biscuits?While it is common for a cat or kitten to knead, not all cats knead. Some cats knead without hurting, some do it with their claws out, and then there are some who do not show the typical kneading cat behavior.It is possible that your pet cat has not found the perfect surface to knead yet or it could mean that your cat’s not going to knead at all. Another possibility is that there is not enough soft objects to knead.If your cat is new to its surrounding, it will take some time for the cat to get close and comfortable enough to bring out this typical behavior. Cats need to feel safe and comfortable to express it. Over time, you may walk in on your cat kneading a warm fleece just when you thought it was never going to happen.Some cats find the kneading behavior uncomfortable. This is especially true for cats that have been declawed. Declawing a cat is similar to cutting off the top of our fingers. Declawing is a painful process with painful side effects. Kneading could hurt their paws. Therefore, declawed cats may have to find other ways to mark their territory, express their love, adjust the blanket, or reminisce about drinking their mother’s milk and her nursing.Sometimes a kitten or a cat might express itself in many other ways and decide not to knead. It could just scratch, bite, or purr and be content with it.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked learning why do cats make biscuits, then why not take a look at why do cats arch their backs, or American curl facts.
Cats are cute pets that can get away with basically anything.
