We need cats; cats knead us. We often call the alternating paw-pushing gesture "making biscuits" because it resembles the act of kneading bread. Simple observation tells us that this is a behavior left over from kittenhood, when infant kitties push against their mother's mammaries while nursing. But what does it mean when a full-grown cat kneads his human? Or random objects like blankets that aren't their mother?
Scientists agree that the behavior begins while nursing, but the mechanics of how that helps a kitten get milk are more complicated than we thought, and has to do with pheromones that cats spread with their paw pads, and that are contained in a mother cat's mammary glands as well. That the behavior persists in adulthood has several possible meanings. Read about the chemicals involved in making biscuits at ScienceAlert. -via Fark
(Image credit: Lawrence Wade)
