Why Do Cats Knead Blankets Before Lying Down

Just like you might plump up your pillows before you get into bed cats will knead to create a nice soft place to sleep.

Why do cats knead blankets before lying down. If you notice your cat doing kneading they may simply be doing this to create a comfortable sleeping spot. Some but not all adult cats still do this behavior. Before we answer why do cats knead let s look at how they knead. While kneading doesn t always yield milk adult felines may always associate the motion with the comfort of nursing.

But ask a vet who specializes in cats and he ll tell you that no one is 100 percent certain why cats knead. Watch a cat knead tapping at a soft blanket your favorite souvenir sweatshirt or her own bedding. Wild felines knead on soft grasses and leaves outside to mold them into a comfortable sleeping surface. Cats may knead on a blanket before settling down to sleep to make themselves more comfortable and to unwind.

Kneading is a common behavior seen in domestic cats in which the feline pushes in and out with its front paws alternating between left and right. Sometimes cats do this before they lay down rather than when they re happy. Mother cats may knead on blankets to form them into a nest for their kittens. We just know that they do it from babyhood through the geriatric stage.

Why do cats knead before lying down. It s common for cats to knead before sleeping. Kneading is sometimes colloquially referred to as making biscuits because the motion resembles a baker kneading dough. This by the way is similar to the theory that dogs turn around in circles before lying down because their wolf ancestors would do so to flatten grass in their resting places.

So why do cats do this before lying down. Why do cats knead before lying down. When cats are baby kittens they knead their mothers like that to get the milk flowing. Here are a few reasons why cats may knead blankets.

Cats do after all tend to knead before sleeping. Another hypothesis mentioned on petmd is that cats wild ancestors would knead grass to create a soft place to sleep. The need to knead.