So, for those of you who have some experience with cats, you probably with them "kneading" you or a blanket or something with their paws. My cat growing up would always do this to me, so I assumed it was some sort of sign of affection. When I got Elly, I noticed something a little different though. She would only knead during our going to sleep ritual (Cats love rituals). Basically, I'll wake her up from wherever she is napping and tell her it's time to go to sleep, then I'll go lay down on my side and pet her for 10 minutes or so. It's during this time that she'll knead me. I thought that it was bizarre that she did it at such a specific situation compared to my old cat, so I looked up what the behavior actually meant.
From answerbag.com:
It's an instinctive response left over from their days as nursing kittens.
When a mother cat's litter settles in to nurse, they knead the area around their mother's teats that same way to stimulate the mammary glands and facillitate a steadier flow of milk.
Or to put more of a surrealist spin on it:
They're trying to milk you.
So they do it in other situations because it reminds them of being being a kitty and that is comforting, but the fact that the only time Elly does it is when I'm on my side? Yeah, I'm totally her mom.
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