As a cat owner, you must be familiar with your cat making biscuits on you. This process is also called kneading and is a common behavior in many cats. It is usually a product of cats’ childhood habits, which they later carry into their adult life. But do you know what it means exactly when your cat makes biscuits?
This article contains all the information you need to understand about why a cat makes biscuits, as well as other things that will help you deal with your cat accordingly.
What does a cat making biscuits mean?
Cats making biscuits can mean different things. But mostly if your cat digs its nails into your back or stomach, then it is just showing you its love and affection for you.
Their way of showing love is a little painful to us humans. Cats do not know it hurts us and it is not much you can do to change this behavior especially to keep it if it is learned from childhood.
When your cat makes biscuits, it is slowly pushing one of its paws onto a soft surface. This soft surface can be anything from your memory foam mattress to your stomach. It will then move its other paw into the surface and retract the other paw. This back and forth dynamic movement is called kneading or making biscuits.
Not every cat is the same, the definition of making biscuits could vary from cat to cat. Some may lay down and dig their paws on the surface, while others may have their pupils dilated and even gently nibble or bite the surface.
So what reasons could cause a cat to start making biscuits?
Reasons why cats like making biscuits
There may be many reasons why a cat likes making biscuits:
Childhood habit
Every kitten is brought up differently in the litter. For kittens that were fed by their mothers at a young age, they had to make biscuits for their mother to get the milk.
This also makes them feel a sense of comfort in the mother’s presence. The kittens then embrace the act of making biscuits as something associated with motherly love.
Fast forward to when a kitten grows up, it carries this habit into adulthood and makes biscuits only around people it trusts.
Comfortable and affectionate
The first and most common reason found in cats is being comfortable with you as its owner. Cats can do many things to show their love for you, whether consciously or subconsciously.
For example, they may drool when around you because they are content and happy in your company. Similarly, making biscuits on, or around you often can be a sign that your cat likes you, and you should take it as a compliment!
Every cat is different though, so if your cat doesn’t drool or make biscuits, don’t worry! It might show its affection for you in other ways. You just have to observe!
Marking their territory
It is no surprise that cats are very territorial creatures. Just a slight snatch of their toy by another cat, and they’ll go bananas.
They also like to mark their territory. They do this so other cats know that the thing is unavailable to others. If your cat makes biscuits on you, then it is possible that it counts you as a trusted person, and will try to stay near you at all times.
It may also hiss or attack other cats that try to get close to you, so make sure you know how to handle that before it gets too out of hand.
Keeping their area clean
Doctors advise us, humans, to keep our surroundings clean, especially our bed which can be a breeding ground for termites, dead skin, and other impurities.
But cats on the other hand are naturals. They’ll knead around their sleeping area with the intention of keeping it clean from pests and other materials.
While household cats’ beds are usually clean, it is thought that cats have inherited this habit from their ancestors. This could be an explanation of why they are always trying to clean a spotless bed.
Mating
A cat that is ready to mate with its partner will also signal by kneading. A female cat may also use different methods to let a male know it is ready to mate.
It might also purr, and make biscuits in the air around the male cat, and can even raise its behind when it is ready.
This behavior is usually limited to only cats, with humans they may go as far as making biscuits and drooling around them when happy.
Also, making biscuits this way releases some hormones from your cat’s paws. In a way, they are marking the male cat as their own in their eyes. If your cat is on heat after discussing it with your vet Q-tip method can be used for it.
Stretching after a long nights’ sleep
Have you ever woken up and felt this sudden need to stretch your arms and legs? It is the best feeling.
Cats are no different. After a long nap, a good stretch makes them fresh and ready to start the day.
Stretching their muscles also helps them stay active, otherwise sudden jerks o
How to stop your cat from making biscuits
Now as much as you love your cat, sometimes it can be kind of annoying. Especially when it’s using its claws and making biscuits on you.
Cats do not know that when they make biscuits on us, it hurts. They also don’t know that damaging furniture and other objects around the house is bad.
This does not mean you hit them or reprimand them for their behavior, because they don’t have the wrong intentions.
But there are a few things you can do to prevent it:
- If your cat is scratching a surface repeatedly, you can keep a cloth or another sheet on the area so the claws scratch the external material instead.
- To avoid scratching altogether, keep their claws short and groomed. Avoid removing the claw from its paw because that is painful for cats.
- You can gradually introduce your cat to other options to make biscuits, such as a blanket or a soft pillow, or toy-like Emery Board
- If the cat is making biscuits on you, then you can keep a pillow or a thick blanket between you and the cat so its claws don’t hurt you.
- If you try all these options and none of them work, start expressing your disappointment and exit the room.
Don’t be too harsh though, because your cat will get the hint that you don’t want to spend time with it, and it will also feel betrayed because it trusted you enough to make biscuits.
Why your cat may not make biscuits
if your cat is not making biscuits then there might be a few things that could be the reason:
Cat is uncomfortable
Cats only make biscuits when they are comfortable and feeling affectionate. If those feelings are missing they are not likely to open up in front of you.
So if you adopt a new cat and it still isn’t making biscuits, then giving it some time would help. Maybe when your relationship progresses it will feel more comfortable with you.
Another reason why it won’t make biscuits could be its paws being declawed. Declawing is a painful experience for many cats and can often cause problems in kneading so cats stop altogether.
Different Childhood
As mentioned above many kittens learn kneading in their litter when they are fed milk from their mothers.
But not every cat has the same childhood. Your cat may be separated from its mother at birth and never learned how to make biscuits.
Just doesn’t like making biscuits
This point is self-explanatory. Some cats just do not prefer making biscuits even if they have been kneading since childhood.
Just like humans cats also have their likes and dislikes, and pet cats can get very picky sometimes. Instead of showing their love through making biscuits, they could express it through purring, cuddling, and even spending more time laying on your lap.
Therefore, a cat not making biscuits is not something to worry about.
Conclusion
In conclusion, cats making biscuits can mean many different things. It could signify love and emotion for its owner, be a signal for mating with another cat, or it could just be a childhood habit.
Making biscuits is not harmful to you or the cat. But if it has long claws, it can be painful. In which case you will have to introduce your cat to different alternatives to make biscuits and keep its claws short as well. Giving it a pillow or a toy is a good option.
Cover any furniture if your cat doesn’t stop kneading on it. If need be, show your cat that kneading all the time is not acceptable, and after a few times it should get the hint.
So the next time you see your cat making biscuits, you know exactly what it means.