Needing/Pancing

I don't know what it's really called, my mom used to be a vet tech and she says it's called "needing". When Jinx is in our laps, he'll bury his head under our arms and start going back and forth with his arms on my arms. It hurts because his claws come out, and he always bites a place on my arm while he is doing it. I mean is this normal? Mom said it's what cats do when they are getting milk from there mom, but the should have grew out of it within a month or two. Fact is, Jinx is five months old. Is this common?

Mine knead all the time My oldest cat is now 11 and he still kneads. I think its a happy cat thing they do. Some call if smurgerling. Any cat I have ever had does this.Mine don't bite when they do this. And yes the claws out when they do this does hurt!

That's "kneading", which is what is done with bread dough, hence the name, and your mom is correct about why cats do it. Jinx may or may not grow out of it with age. He should stop the biting, though. Let him know that it hurts, by saying "Ouch". Or you could hiss at him when he bites you.

Little Pete does that to me ALL the time. The minute he sees me in a lying down position, he'll run over to me and bury his head in my arm. Not only does he knead, but he sucks as if my arm is actually going to spew milk After, I'm left with a big wet slobber spot on my shirt. It's the sweetest thing when he does it though. His eyes are closed tight and he looks so absolutely content.. plus, he purrs up a storm! I would never discourage him from doing it because I think it makes him feel comfortable and safe , but I do make sure his nails are always trimmed (once a week). Also, he usually doesn't do it on my bare skin, he tends to stay on my sleeve, which is way less painful

Thanks guys! I just didn't know if it was something I needed to be deeply concerned about . . .

Try wearing thick woolley jumpers to lesson the pain of the claws.

I love it when my cats 'knead' as it means that they are really happy. One of my cats sometimes does it in his sleep.

Luci kneads my legs at random points during the night while he's curled up by me. He doesn't bite or anything though. But yeah, like they said, 's mostly just normal. Keep his claws trimmed and hiss if you don't want him sucking on your arm or anything.

I was actually going to ask about this but this has answered my question! As soon as Sleeves gets on the bed he starts doing it to this fluffy blanket we have. I call him 'Paddington' (as in the bear) when he does it as he pads away. Its so cute, the bed almost vibrates with his purring. I knew it would be a good thing but wanted to check it out anyway. aaah my little paddington!

Mine do it too when they are feeling really cozy and laid back. Normal cat behavior!
Linda

I love it when cats knead. It's the perfect sign of trust and contentment, in my opinion!

My Speedboat does the kneading thing alot. I call it "making biscuits".

every cat I've ever had has done this - I love it!

I had a friend over once - one who is allergic and never really exposed to cats in his whole life. He say my kitty 'making bisquits' on my belly and asked if she had an anxiety disorder 0 LOL! Said in all seriousness too. Nope! normal cat stuff. He had no idea.

btw - I have to share: I've had Smidge six mns - she has never kneaded - I mentioned to some ppl saying boohoo I kinda miss it since all cats do it. Well - she did it for the first time last week! There's this blankie she loves that I just got out due to the colder weather. She immediately kneaded that and made a bunch of cooing purring noises to go with it. Sweet!

Zazu will just start suckling or you ear and needing your NECK!!!! and this will happen at 3AM But we still love him