What does it mean when a cat “kneads” with its paws?

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(The Conversation) – Have you ever seen your cat move its front paws back and forth just before settling in for a nap? Have you heard some cat lovers talk about their feline friends “making cookies” or “kneading”?

Scientists studying cat behavior call this distinctive paw action “kneading” and believe it is a sign of a relaxed cat. My own cats knead before napping near me. While they knead, they purr; one of them relaxes so much that he sometimes drools. Kneading usually occurs close to a favorite person.

What vet, I think it is important to recognize the little moments when your cat tells you that he is happy to be around you.

Kneading in kittens

If you are ever around newborn kittens, you will see that they knead pretty quickly after birth. A kitten knead on her mother’s abdomen as a way of telling her that she is hungry and ready for her milk.

At the same time, the kitten usually purrs, which is a sound created by the rapid vibrations of certain muscles in the throat. The purr it is a signal to attract attention.

With these two behaviors, kittens ask their mothers, also known as queens, to stay put so they can continue to breastfeed. Young kittens often fall asleep while drinking milk.

Kittens stop drinking their mother’s milk around two months of age. So why do cats keep kneading when they are adults?

Ready to relax

Kneading appears to be more common in some cats than others. If your cat isn’t kneading, it could mean he’s a bit stressed, or it could just be that he doesn’t show relaxation or affection in that way.

But many cats continue to knead into adulthood. It’s pretty safe to assume that a kneading cat feels calm, content, and ready to calm down, just like a kitten settling down to drink milk and sleep.

You may already know that when your cat rests its head and rubs its cheek, head and body against your leg or a nearby object, it is depositing its scent in those places. Cats also have scent glands between their toes, leading some to suggest that cats are also putting a familiar, comforting scent in their resting area when kneading.

Don’t bother looking for these glands on your own cat. They are not easily visible.

Subtle signs

Kneading can also be a form of communication between cats and their people.

If you’ve been around dogs, you know that most of them are pretty obvious when it comes to letting humans know that they want something or like someone. For thousands of years, people has bred dogs on purpose to be fun companions, as well as to engage in helpful behaviors like herding, tracking, or guarding.

Cats and people have also coexisted for thousands of years, and humans have appreciated their incredible natural abilities at hunting mice. It hasn’t been until recently that people have tried to breed cats, but mostly because of their looks, not specific behaviors.

The result is that cats are a bit more subtle than dogs in their ways of saying “I like you” to a person. Kneading is one of those clues.

Dr. Julia Albright is an associate professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Tennessee. Published under a Creative Commons license from The Conversation.