I have two male Tabby brothers who are about 11 months old. They belonged to a co-worker of mine when they were a few weeks old and he needed to find another home for them so I took them. They're great boys, but every now and then they start to do this massaging/kneading thing to either our clothes or a blanket, sometimes accompanied with biting at the same time. I'm not sure when it means, but it's cute sometimes and kind of unnerving other times. Have you ever heard of this and if so do you know what it means?
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Has your kitten/cat ever....
(11 posts)-
Posted 2 years ago by FurrrociousKittens #
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That's normal cat/kitten behaviour. All of my kitties do that, usually when they are very comfortable. Kittens do that "making bread" thing to their mommy's breasts to stimulate the milk production. They associate it with good feelings, and often continue to do that for their whole life. My oldest girl, Dusty, 9, likes to lie on her back and kneed the air (her paws are very sensitive, so no touching is permitted).
Younger cats, like yours, teethe and chew a lot. One of my kitties, Rocky, she likes to rub her teeth against my fingers. Not really chewing me, but it must look like that to someone else. Soft cat toys are a really good outlet for that.
The best way to teach the cat to not bite is to ignore them when they do it. It's hard to do, we're trained (by dogs) to say "no" and scold them, but they like all attention. They hate being ignored. If the cat nips you, turn your head away from them and ignore them. They learn very quickly, within a few weeks, if you are consistent.
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Hi, welcome to TDK. Love your screen name!
Normal behaviour - some cats also like to suckle, towels, blankets, anything really - usually means they've been taken away from their Mum too early. Nothing to worry about! :o)
Posted 2 years ago by MadcatwomanintheUK #
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my two were taken away from their mommy too early. they are almost four and still do it all the time. its kinda cute cause i know they are really comfy when they do it. no worries!
Posted 2 years ago by mollycat71 #
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Welcoome to TDK, FK!! This 'kneading' and'nipping' is perfectly normal for kittens ~ and as has been mentioned above, it may be that they were weaned too early. However, I have had kittens who have always 'kneaded' their whole lives, and they weren't weaned too early ~ for some cats it is just a 'comfort' behavior. Nothing to worry about...
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I've wondered about catsifiers. I thought about getting one for Tiigger, who loves to knead & suckle on my clothes. I used to bottle feed him when he was younger, and he started to bite holes in the nipples, so I stopped giving him his bottle. Wont he just bite the nipple off of the catsifier?
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my kitten does it, not so much now he is 9 months, and hasnt really done it for a couple months.
but i had a cat who was born aug 5 1990 and my family got him aug 15th. and he done it since he passed away sept 23 2007... i think he done it casue he mom died when he was 5 days old adn we got him at 10 days old.
Posted 2 years ago by Dexter Chewie #
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