Why does a cat trample on your lap with its
front paws?
All cat-owners have experienced the moment
when their cat jumps up and with cautious movements settles itself
down on their lap. After a short pause it starts to press down,
first with one front paw and then with the other, alternating them
in a rhythmic kneading or trampling action.
The rhythm is slow and deliberate as if the
animal is marking time in slow motion. As the action becomes more
intense the prick of claws can be felt, and at this point the owner
usually becomes irritated and shoos the cat away, or gently picks
it up and places it on the floor.
The cat is clearly upset by this rebuff and
the owners are similarly put out when, brushing away a few cat
hairs, they discover that the animal has been dribbling while
trampling. What does all this mean?
To find the answer it is necessary to watch
kittens feeding at the nipple. There the same actions can be
observed, with the kittens' tiny paws kneading away at their
mother's belly. These are the movements which stimulate the flow of
milk to the nipples and the dribbling is part of the mouthwatering
anticipation of delicious nourishment to come.
This 'milk-treading', as it is called, is
done at a very slow pace of approximately one stroke every two
seconds, and it is always accompanied by loud purring. What happens
when the adult pet tramples on the lap of its human owner must
therefore be interpreted as a piece of infantile behaviour. It
would seem that when the owner sits down in a relaxed manner,
signals are given off saying to the cat, 'I am your mother lying
down ready to feed you at the breast." The adult cat then proceeds
to revert to kittenhood and squats there, purring contentedly and
going through the motions of stimulating a milk supply.
From the cat's point of view this is a warm,
loving moment and its bodily removal by a claw-pricked owner must
be quite inexplicable. No good cat mother would behave in such a
negative way. People react rather differently. To the cat they are
clearly maternal figures, because they do supply milk (in a saucer)
and other nourishment, and they do sit down showing their
undersides in an inviting manner, but once the juvenile reaction of
milk-treading is given, they suddenly and mystifyingly become upset
and thrust the pseudo-infant from them.
This is a classic example of the way in
which interactions between humans and cats can lead to
misunderstandings. Many can be avoided by recognizing the fact that
an adult domestic cat remains a kitten in its behaviour towards its
pseudo-parental owner.