{"id":1447,"date":"2022-04-18T07:28:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-18T14:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/?p=1447"},"modified":"2022-10-03T13:12:04","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T20:12:04","slug":"quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Quirky Cat Behavior and Why Your Cat Kneads You"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1-2000x1500.jpg\" alt=\"A cat kneading a blanket.\" class=\"wp-image-1448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1-2000x1500.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1-1500x1125.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>There are many wonderful things about cat ownership. These interesting little creatures never fail to bring unconditional love and some pretty entertaining habits to the table. Perhaps our favorite quirky cat behavior at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/\">Bayside Animal Hospital<\/a> is when kitties make biscuits. While it is a pretty cute habit, it might be one that leaves you confused. Read on to shed some light on the mystery of this quirky cat behavior.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Your Cat Kneads You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We have all seen our cats alternating pushing in and out with their front paws from time to time. Many people affectionately refer to this as making biscuits. While no one truly knows what it means when a cat kneads, there are a few theories. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is an instinctive, comforting behavior. You can witness kittens performing this cat behavior while nursing, and it makes sense that kneading may be a self-soothing behavior analogous to a baby sucking their thumb.<\/li><li>It is a cat behavior that aids in making a nice, fluffy bed before settling down for a catnap.<\/li><li>It is a territorial marking behavior utilizing the scent glands on the bottom of the paws to stake out territory.<\/li><li>It is a way to signal your cat kneads you in more ways than one! Generally this behavior is associated with a contented kitty and may be an affectionate gesture.<\/li><li>It is a way to signal a willingness to mate (especially if your cat is not spayed or neutered). This cat behavior is often exhibited by cats who are in heat.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The truth is that we don\u2019t know exactly what it means when a cat kneads you, however it seems likely that the behavior is related to one or a combination of these theories. Our feline friends retain their air of mystery for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Return the Sentiment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When your cat kneads you, it can sometimes be a little inconvenient or even painful (watch the claws!). If you believe, though, that your cat is doing this to show their love, the last thing you want to do is shoo them away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ideas to turn the session into some quality time instead of an annoyance might include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Keeping your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vetmed.wsu.edu\/outreach\/Pet-Health-Topics\/categories\/procedures\/cats\/clipping-your-cat%27s-claws\">cat\u2019s nails trimmed<\/a> or using silicone nail caps<\/li><li>Using a thick blanket or towel to add a layer of protection between your kitty\u2019s paws and yourself<\/li><li>Busting out a brush to groom your cat and return some affection<\/li><li>Moving your cat to a comfy bed near you for them to continue their kneading<\/li><li>Turning their attention to something else such as a favorite toy<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There are plenty of ways to let your cat know that you enjoy their company without enduring unwanted kneading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cat behavior can be a little hard to read, but you know your kitty best. Sometimes even typically happy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/animal-behavior-what-your-pets-are-telling-you\/\">animal behaviors<\/a> like purring and kneading are exhibited when something isn\u2019t quite right. If you are worried about your cat or they are exhibiting behaviors outside of their normal, don\u2019t hesitate to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/about-us\/\">call us<\/a> so we can check it out. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy the fun and entertaining joys of owning a cat.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are many wonderful things about cat ownership. These interesting little creatures never fail to bring unconditional love and some pretty entertaining habits to the table. Perhaps our favorite quirky cat behavior at Bayside Animal Hospital is when kitties make biscuits. While it is a pretty cute habit, it might be one that leaves you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,11],"tags":[49,50,51],"class_list":["post-1447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cat-kitten-care","category-human-animal-bond","category-training-behavior","tag-cat-behavior","tag-cat-kneading","tag-making-biscuits"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Quirky Cat Behavior and Why Your Cat Kneads You | Bayside Animal Hospital<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are many wonderful things about cat ownership. These interesting little creatures never fail to bring unconditional love and some pretty entertaining habits to the table.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Quirky Cat Behavior and Why Your Cat Kneads You | Bayside Animal Hospital\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are many wonderful things about cat ownership. These interesting little creatures never fail to bring unconditional love and some pretty entertaining habits to the table.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bayside Animal Hospital\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-18T14:28:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-03T20:12:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1-2000x1500.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bayside Animal Hospital\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bayside Animal Hospital\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bayside Animal Hospital\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/080c1d2c56e7c0d2e780df7b1993d790\"},\"headline\":\"Quirky Cat Behavior and Why Your Cat Kneads You\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-18T14:28:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-03T20:12:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":536,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/iStock-1127272812-1-2000x1500.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"cat behavior\",\"cat kneading\",\"making biscuits\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Cat and Kitten Care\",\"Human-Animal Bond\",\"Pet Training and Behavior\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\\\/\",\"name\":\"Quirky Cat Behavior and Why Your Cat Kneads You | Bayside Animal Hospital\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/iStock-1127272812-1-2000x1500.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-18T14:28:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-03T20:12:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/080c1d2c56e7c0d2e780df7b1993d790\"},\"description\":\"There are many wonderful things about cat ownership. These interesting little creatures never fail to bring unconditional love and some pretty entertaining habits to the table.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/iStock-1127272812-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/04\\\/iStock-1127272812-1.jpg\",\"width\":2126,\"height\":1594},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Bayside Animal Hospital\",\"description\":\"Our Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/080c1d2c56e7c0d2e780df7b1993d790\",\"name\":\"Bayside Animal Hospital\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Bayside Animal Hospital\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/beyond\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Quirky Cat Behavior and Why Your Cat Kneads You | Bayside Animal Hospital","description":"There are many wonderful things about cat ownership. These interesting little creatures never fail to bring unconditional love and some pretty entertaining habits to the table.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Quirky Cat Behavior and Why Your Cat Kneads You | Bayside Animal Hospital","og_description":"There are many wonderful things about cat ownership. These interesting little creatures never fail to bring unconditional love and some pretty entertaining habits to the table.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/","og_site_name":"Bayside Animal Hospital","article_published_time":"2022-04-18T14:28:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-10-03T20:12:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1-2000x1500.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Bayside Animal Hospital","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bayside Animal Hospital","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/"},"author":{"name":"Bayside Animal Hospital","@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/080c1d2c56e7c0d2e780df7b1993d790"},"headline":"Quirky Cat Behavior and Why Your Cat Kneads You","datePublished":"2022-04-18T14:28:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-03T20:12:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/"},"wordCount":536,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1-2000x1500.jpg","keywords":["cat behavior","cat kneading","making biscuits"],"articleSection":["Cat and Kitten Care","Human-Animal Bond","Pet Training and Behavior"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/","url":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/","name":"Quirky Cat Behavior and Why Your Cat Kneads You | Bayside Animal Hospital","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1-2000x1500.jpg","datePublished":"2022-04-18T14:28:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-03T20:12:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/080c1d2c56e7c0d2e780df7b1993d790"},"description":"There are many wonderful things about cat ownership. These interesting little creatures never fail to bring unconditional love and some pretty entertaining habits to the table.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/quirky-cat-behavior-and-why-your-cat-kneads-you\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/iStock-1127272812-1.jpg","width":2126,"height":1594},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/","name":"Bayside Animal Hospital","description":"Our Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/080c1d2c56e7c0d2e780df7b1993d790","name":"Bayside Animal Hospital","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/499d1e8b14a7de6bac4e3b17dedd8fd319df69ba3b365c22bf4502a847aff6bb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Bayside Animal Hospital"},"url":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/author\/beyond\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1447"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1498,"href":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447\/revisions\/1498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baysideanimalhospitalonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}