So you know when your cat comes up to you,
and it starts to look at you, and it seems happy, it's purring,
and then it tries to make biscuits out of your body?
it's so cute
It's cute because kitty loves you!
But it's also painful because kitty's love is made out of
little tiny knives!
Why does it do that?! Why?
(exclaims) THERE ARE theories, of course:
Some animal behaviorists believe that it's another
way for cats to mark their territories, since paws have
scent glands in them.
The most popular theory, however is that kneading is a
neotenic behavior: A juvenile trait that is retained in adulthood.
Because kittens knead their mother's bellies
to stimulate milk production.
This would explain why some adult cats also suckle
whatever it is that they're kneading.
However, adult wildcats do NOT knead.
So, why have domestic cats retained this trait?
Well, neotenic behaviors are most often found in
domesticated animals, like house cats.
Partly because over the millenia humans have
selected for traits that make animals more social,
less aggressive, and generally nicer to be around.
But the animals have probably also held onto some
of their more social baby-like behavior, just
because it serves them well when they're around people.
Like, I don't know if you've heard this but wildcats are not
super social...
They don't come up and cuddle so much as just try
and eat your flesh...
Felis sylvestris, the ancestor of all domestic cats,
is a solitary hunter that only socializes with members
of its own species when it's time to breed.
So wildcats only develop social behaviors for two
situations:
One is, 'Hey baby why don't you come back to my burrow
and we could make a little somethin' somethin?',
and the other is caretaking behaviors between
mother cats and their kittens.
Unlike wildcats though, domesticated cats have a lot
of social behaviors as adults, because they're not
wild loners anymore! They have us to cuddle with,
con treats out of, and demand food from.
So their innate tendencies for snuggling with Mom
and hitting on the lady cats are put to good use on us.
Hence, kneading, originally a behavior that kittens
needed to survive is now a way for adult cats to show
that they trust you and feel safe.
And if you had a soft pelt like Mom,
you wouldn't feel so much of the little knives.
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