Can I Teach My Kitten To Knead?

[Jetblack2004]

Hello all,
I recently got a little kitten (almost two weeks ago to be precise). She's a grey girl and she's very sweet. I got her at 8 weeks old and she'll be 10 weeks on Friday. She came from someone locally and we believe she was in a litter of 4. I know cats and kittens knead because that's how the got milk from their mothers' teats'. My question is: can you teach a kitten to knead? Little Clover is a cutie. She purrs, rubs against you, etc. But she hasn't kneaded at all. Our other cats do it and it's super sweet! She's a healthy good-sized kitten and I assume she was probably doing quite well getting milk from her mum. Does this mean she might never knead?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Well, you can't teach them to do it, but when she's all comfy on your lap, soft hands and a soft voice will certainly encourage her to sink into that blissful place where kneading comes from! What is her name? She sounds lovely!

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I must be a goofball then, and I know my kitty already had a propensity to knead and "push-purr"... but I can get her to come over to a push-purr fleece blankie and start kneading on it if I sit down on the floor with the blanket first, and pretend to knead my hands on it myself.


Who knew...

 

[mightyboosh]

It is very cute so I can't resist posting this again.

View media item 420724

 

[Mamanyt1953]

but I can get her to come over to a push-purr fleece blankie and start kneading on it if I sit down on the floor with the blanket first, and pretend to knead my hands on it myself.

COOL! Kitten see, kitten do!

Give that a try, it might work! The fleece blankie is probably the key to it. It feels so much like Mama to them. Then seeing the motion triggers it.

 

[Jetblack2004]

Thank you all for your responses!

Mamanyt1953 , her name is Clover and she's a sweetie! She does seem to send me mixed signals, though. One moment she's enjoying being stroked, the next she's running away from me! But I assume that's normal kitty stuff. I think the breeder didn't handle the kittens much (if at all) when they were little as she was a huge scaredy cat when I first got her! I've had her two weeks and she's made big progress- purring, enjoying cuddles, tail always high.

I will try what you said PushPurrCatPaws ! Clover does like to watch my every move, so maybe she'll twig how ADORABLE kneading is, haha!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Oh, that's SO normal! She's at that age. Come get love from Mama, then OFF TO PLAY!

 

[Jetblack2004]

Ah good! My darling cat Smudge who I lost to the road not too long ago came to live with us with her four brothers. Clover is in quite a different situation as she's an 'only child'. It's good to hear from one of the experts on here that she's just being a normal little kitten!

Here's 'Clovy-Wovy' (one of her many nicknames!):

 

[Mamanyt1953]

SO STINKIN' CUTE! Oh, goodness!

 

[blueandpink .]

She's so pretty
My younger cat... I found him months ago and now he's not a little kitten anymore (1 year, one month and 2 weeks but who's counting? )
So idk how to make your cutie knead (in fact Sirius doesn't knead, not now and not since i met him on the streets at 2 months old) but how I miss those kitten things. Enjoy her! They grow up so fast.
PS: All the good luck

 

[Desertmouse]

Aww she’s such a beautiful gray girl, reminds me of what I bet Sadie looked like as a kitten!

A word of advice? Try and do as much as you can with her at this young age. Get her used to a carrier by putting her in and going to another room (maybe even one with food in it ). Handle her as much as you can, holding her with her back down so you can run your fingers anywhere a vet might someday need to, and don’t forget her feet so you have a easier time with her nails later! Let her meet as many other people and animals as you can.

I can’t wait to see what a dignified lil princess she grows up to be!

 

[Jetblack2004]

Thank you both!

I'll tell you all how little Clover is doing:

First off, she kneads! After a lot of showing her she has finally mastered it

Clover is just over 4 months now- time has flown by! She's turning into a very clever young cat and is just starting to take interest in the outside (which worries me after losing Smudge). I guess she'll have to go out at some point, though.

Here are some recent pictures of Clover in her cave:

I adore her

 

[Benjamin Franklin (Benji)]

Wow, she is absolutely stunning

 

[Desertmouse]

So beautiful! She sounds like a wonderful girl!

 

[2rescuekitties]

Thank you both!

I'll tell you all how little Clover is doing:

First off, she kneads! After a lot of showing her she has finally mastered it

Clover is just over 4 months now- time has flown by! She's turning into a very clever young cat and is just starting to take interest in the outside (which worries me after losing Smudge). I guess she'll have to go out at some point, though.

Here are some recent pictures of Clover in her cave:
View attachment 227981 View attachment 227982

I adore her

If you worry about her being outside I would suggest a harness and teaching her to walk with it my Kitty Stella loves to go on walkies and at least that way I know shes safe

 

[Mamanyt1953]

That cat is just gorgeous! I'm a bit kittensmitten.

 

[Jetblack2004]

Thank you everyone!!

2rescuekitties . Thank you for the advice. I will look into buying a cat harness for her

 

[DreamerRose]

She is beautiful! I'm partial to gray kitties. Glad she's kneading, but if you still want to encourage her, give her something very soft to lie on, like a velour blankie or pillow. Kitties love to knead when they feel something soft under their paws.

 

[susanm9006]

Indoor only cat do not suffer. I would not feel like you need to let outdoor. If you never let her out, she won’t demand it.

 

[Jetblack2004]

Thank you, DreamerRose !

susanm9006 . The trouble is we have 5 other cats that reguarly go outside. It would be very difficult to make her an indoor cat. I'm going to keep her in for as long as possible, though. Thanks!