Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey,
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, lorn bogle bam here it never fails. You
Speaker 1: sit down on the couch for an evening of streaming,
Speaker 1: or with a book and a cup of tea, or
Speaker 1: at your desk to get some homework done, or at
Speaker 1: your craft table to make progress on that project. And
Speaker 1: here comes your furry feline friend with an intent look
Speaker 1: on her face and a per at the ready. She
Speaker 1: places her paws just so on your lap and starts
Speaker 1: kneading rhythmically, pressing her little front feet into your soft flesh.
Speaker 1: It's cute, even if it does kind of hurt sometimes.
Speaker 1: My cat certainly makes the sharpest biscuits, but she looks
Speaker 1: so dang content while she's doing it. But why does
Speaker 1: she do it? Kittens are born with an instinct to need.
Speaker 1: As tiny little fuzzballs, they press into their mother's belly
Speaker 1: while they nurse. This action stimulates the milk to come
Speaker 1: out of her nipple and feed the kitten. It's called
Speaker 1: milk treading, which is more accurate, if less door bole,
Speaker 1: than making biscuits or kneading bread. While they're tucked up
Speaker 1: against mom, the kitten is warm and being fed and
Speaker 1: feeling very content. Even after kittens are weaned, they continue
Speaker 1: this little tupaw dance when they're happy, and some cats
Speaker 1: really get into it and need with all four paws.
Speaker 1: People used to believe that adult cats needed because they
Speaker 1: were weaned too early, but that seems unlikely. Almost all
Speaker 1: cats need no matter when they were weaned. Many cats
Speaker 1: do it even if they stay and grow up in
Speaker 1: the same house along with their mom. There are other
Speaker 1: reasons why cats need, though cats have scent glands near
Speaker 1: their cheeks, at the base of their tail, and in
Speaker 1: the pads of their paws. Needing a blanket, a pillow,
Speaker 1: or your stomach as you lie on the couch watching
Speaker 1: Netflix leaves behind a trace of your cat's particular scent.
Speaker 1: She's marked you and probably every soft thing in the
Speaker 1: house as hers. There's another theory that this action comes
Speaker 1: from ancestral cats who lived outdoors with nary a pillow
Speaker 1: or lap to their name. They would need to trample
Speaker 1: any grasses and rough up the ground to make it
Speaker 1: soft enough for sleeping. It's similar to the theory about
Speaker 1: why dogs turn around in circles before settling down to sleep.
Speaker 1: When a cat uses her claws while she needs your
Speaker 1: squishy flesh or your new couch. It's tempting to punish her,
Speaker 1: but kneeding is a natural behavior that means she's happy,
Speaker 1: so punishment isn't the best action here. Instead, see if
Speaker 1: you can gently press your cat down into a laying position,
Speaker 1: she'll likely go to sleep. If her kneeding is problematic
Speaker 1: for your skin or upholstery, keep her claws trimmed or
Speaker 1: invest in plastic claw sheets. Just don't declaw her. See
Speaker 1: our episode wise Declawing cats controversial for more on that,
Speaker 1: but in brief, it's not harmless, and trimmings or sheaths
Speaker 1: are easy fixes. Today's episode was written by Kristen hall
Speaker 1: Geisler and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production
Speaker 1: of iHeart Radio's Has Stuff Works. For more on this
Speaker 1: and lots of other curious topics, visit our home planet
Speaker 1: how Stuffworks dot com and for more podcasts in my
Speaker 1: heart Radio is the heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.