I realised this morning, during a morning cuddle with Baby Harley on the bed, that he never "kneads", even when he's in total bliss. He purrs a lot—even more than the two older ones—but he doesn't knead. Since this reflex is linked to early kittenhood and nursing, and as he was taken from his mother at just a month old, could that be the reason? Did he not have enough time to pick up the habit?
Félia and Gatsby both knead, though in different situations. For Félia (who was with her mum and siblings until she was 3 1/2 months old), it's on my lap when she's having a cuddle, and for Gatsby (who was with his family until he was 3 months old), it's when he's about to settle down somewhere particularly soft and fluffy.
What surprises me is that I thought one of the signs of a kitten being separated too early from its mother was actually excessive kneading while suckling on fabric. Could my baby be an exception?
Napping right up against his big sister
My little teddy bear ;)
Translated from French
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As for Minette, she doesn’t knead either. I reckon it’s because she was rejected by her mum when she was tiny (only a few days old), so she never got the chance to "knead" her mum.
So she doesn’t have that... erm... habit (sorry, I can't think of the right word :s) of kneading.
I think it’s quite likely that he was taken away from his mum far too young as well.
Quite often when he’s lying down I use him as a pillow, but he never stays for long, or he’s just too busy sleeping to even move a paw, the lazy thing.
So he’d have to be on his back, on the sofa or the bed, you give his tummy a scratch and then rest your head on him?
Every now and then when we’re in bed, my two big ones lick my hair and Félia has already tried to knead my head, but I must admit I stop her because it really hurts.
I’ll give it a go, but he just sprawls out any old way on my tummy or in my arms whenever he gets the chance. He’s never really gone for my head, though.
Euqinorev,
You’re not the only one! It was only while reading your post and thinking about it that I realised Osiris doesn’t knead. Mind you, at least he sleeps on my head! Isis doesn’t knead either. It’s funny, I’ve only just realised it myself. If someone had said to me "cats knead", I’d have just said "well yeah, obviously, they're cats", and yet now I’ve realised that two of mine don't. Mind you, they were feral when they first arrived and were socialised 12 years ago, but they’ve definitely never kneaded, even though Angèle and my other cats did.
You see, it was your post that made me notice! I suppose I never really thought about it at the time because I had eight ferals back then, but now I’ve suddenly realised those two have never done it. LOL, 12 years later! I’d always assumed all cats kneaded, yet I’ve got two that don’t and it never even crossed my mind until now?! They sharpen their claws on the chairs and things, sure, but they never knead on me. That’s the beauty of this site—you learn something new every day, or you suddenly become aware of certain behaviours you’d never even questioned before!
Laurence and her Noah’s Ark
Guizmo kneads without putting his claws out, or maybe just the very tips of them. It doesn't hurt at all, even when he does it on my bare arm or whatever, but he doesn't knead on my head :( !!!!
