Posted on 06/25/2012 11:20:00 PM PDT by boatbums
Everybody who has cats (or dogs) knows that they may have traits in common with other like animals, but each one has their own idiosyncrasies (idiosyncrazies, that is). My two and a half year old Birman male cat, Beaux, has this strange, but cute, almost OCD behavior that he does EVERY day, sometimes three or four times a day depending on how much time I happen to be home in a given day. If I have been gone most of the day, he will find the time to "fit in" his odd little habit at least once before bedtime. Here's what he does:
As I sit at the kitchen table working on my laptop computer, usually on Free Republic, he will jump up on the table and plant himself between me and the keyboard. With his head and belly facing me and his backbone up against the keyboard, he will tuck his head down into the crook of my left arm, close his eyes, brace his back legs against my chest and begin kneading me like I was his nursing momma, loudly purring the entire time. Like I said, he is compulsive about it and it seems like he MUST do this as often as he can. It will go on for about five or ten minutes after which he will stop and snooze, still in his tuck position.
Does anyone out there have a cat with the same habit? I think it is adorable and I kinda like that he wants to be so close to me. But, I worry, is he developing a compulsive disorder and should I discourage him? My other cat has NEVER done this nor have any other cats I have known. I had one who would knead my tummy if I was lying down on the couch watchng TV, but none like this.
What are some of your kitteh's habits that could be called "indiosyncratic"?
ping
Yes, I have one that does it excessively. He’ll even get on the back of my recliner and knead my head if I try to watch television.
Yes. I have had three cats each with different ways of kneading and levels of ‘neediness.’ Your cat sounds like a real lover. Sweet. Enjoy as the cat is certainly enjoying you :).
My Angora used to do that all the time. It’s totally normal. He’s asserting ownership of you.
Are you familiar with the quote, “Dogs have owners. Cat’s have staff?”
yeah, its normal and a sign of love and looking for security.
I had a lynx point Siamese who used to do what we called ‘cat necklace’, he would lay down my chest, put one paw on each side of my neck, reach back and knead my hair (I have long hair) and nuzzle my neck and try to nurse, then he would pass out. Other times he would do like your cat and bury his head in the crook of my arm and knead.
Enjoy it, it means he loves you and is comfortable with you as ‘big cat’ in the litter.
Yes, and it is soooo true.
"he's possessed by the spirit of the old Italian baker in town....he never sung, but he hummed excessively while preparing the dough"
I think he especially likes the soft bathrobe I wear at that time after my shower. It might feel like fur to him. He lies in my lap ofter during the day, but he only kneads my lap when I wear that robe.
“I think it is adorable and I kinda like that he wants to be so close to me. But, I worry, is he developing a compulsive disorder and should I discourage him?”
Has he drawn blood? Have your carpets gotten hosed?
The why would you discourage him?
Hate to get preachy here, but this IS “FREE” Republic.
Discouraging disorders in order to create a more perfectly ordered kitteh?
Don’t go democrat on your cat!
My cat loved to knead me as well. He’d settle into my lap, bury his head in the crook of my elbow, and knead away. On occasion he might withdraw his head to regard me briefly with moist eyes, then tuck in his head and resume kneading, then fall asleep (and snore. Boy, did he snore).
I had a stray cat which had lost its mother at too young an age so it would try to nurse on you every chance it got. Darn thing would give you a hickey! An adult cat actually trying to nurse is not normal and is usually due to premature loss of its mother, but the kneading thing is a holdover from your cat’s infancy and is normal for any cat that is truly comfortable with you.
The kneading is also a handy habit they have which they use to skin squirrels... had a cat which would catch a squirrel, lay down beside it and turn it around to face him, then he’d start at the neck and eat the darn thing, kneading and kneading and peeling the skin back like a sock as he went until all that was left was a tail sticking out of a little pile of furry skin.
So, either your cat is as comfortable with you as it was with its mother, or it thinks you are an appetizer. :-)
Cute puss!
K.C. - Krazy Kat - needs no one but has a fav soft baby blanket which she drags around the house. Several times a day she picks up a piece in her mouth and then there goes the four paws up and down for at least 30 minutes until I yell at her to stop it. Drives me crazy after a while. She was a sort of rescue kitten that we bottle fed for the first two weeks and I think she was taken away from her mom too early and not allowed to nurse long enough.
My oldest tortoiseshell girl, a red tortie, was orphaned too young. She and her sisters were found in a box in the parking lot of a pet shop down in Burbank at maybe a couple of weeks of age. The pet shop took them in, fed them, and I bought her at about 7 weeks of age.
She generally nuzzles and kneads my armpits, sometimes my boobs, depending on whether I'm sitting up or laying down on my side.
My first tortie, back in 1989 when I rescued her, would nurse on my neck a bit.
Have had other cats go a little nuts on nuzzling my armpits.
. I figure it means I'm literally a cat mama. LOL.
He wuuuuuuuuvs you. Wuv him back! ;o)
Seriously, why would you discourage such a sweet and charming expression of his love (well, okay, and his ownership) of you? Just make sure his claws are always clipped!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.