Odd cat ritual

Rhino

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Jun 26, 2012, 11:48:45 AM6/26/12

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My male cat has an odd ritual that he does sometimes before drinking water:
he rubs his front feet back and forth alternately a few times in front of
the water source - like a human standing on a door mat trying to get snow or
mud off a pair of boots - before drinking. He doesn't do it every time but
he has done it quite a number of times over the years both in my home and my
mother's home when he is there.

It reminds me a little of a Catholic crossing himself before eating: a
little religious ritual. Now, I'm not suggesting that my cat is religious,
I'm just making a comparison :-)

Has anyone else seen their cat do this? Does anyone have any idea what this
little ritual is about?

I have a theory but I don't know if it makes sense. I'm guessing that when
kittens are newly born and not yet weaned, they need to signal to their
mother's that they are thirsty. They may do this little ritual on their
mother's bellies to signal thirst or even to stimulate mama's lactation. I
haven't seen a mama cat with newborn kittens since I was very young so I
don't recall if those kittens rubbed their front paws on mama's stomach when
they were hungry. Does anyone with more recent contact with a nursing mother
cat have any idea if this theory makes sense?

--
Rhino

Matthew

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Jun 26, 2012, 11:53:27 AM6/26/12

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"Rhino" <no_offline_c...@example.com> wrote in message
news:jsclkr$39v$1...@speranza.aioe.org...

I call that peter pattering it could be
Cats are the ocean never try to predict a wave because one dam big one will
bowl you over when you least expect it ;-)

Is he bumping the water dish? If so he is unable to see the water unless it
is moving I have several cats like that

Bill Graham

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Jun 26, 2012, 4:12:02 PM6/26/12

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Sounds reasonable to me. Of course, there is no way of knowing with
certanty, so your guess is just as good as anyones. No matter how many PhD's
one can get in animal behavior, until we can read another's mind, there will
be no way to know, will there?

Bill Graham

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Jun 26, 2012, 4:22:50 PM6/26/12

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Mine stare at food for several seconds before eating it.... I think they are
hoping that it will try to run away, but who knows?

Rhino

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Jun 26, 2012, 5:51:54 PM6/26/12

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"Bill Graham" <we...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:hZ-dnUF05LIIinfS...@giganews.com...

Exactly right! Until we can talk to them or read their minds, all we can do
is guess.

But I thought I'd see if anyone knew if kittens do stimulate their mothers
to get fed; that would tend to give my theory a bit more plausibility. But
if the kittens dnn't rub their mama's bellies like that, I'll need to work
on another theory ;-)

--
Rhino

Bill Graham

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Jun 27, 2012, 3:01:26 AM6/27/12

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Kittens, and even adult cats, knead their mothers teats to stimulate the
flow of milk. Almost all of my adult cats do the same kind of kneading on my
chest when they hop up to say "good night" to me after I go to bed.....

Rhino

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Jun 27, 2012, 3:10:11 PM6/27/12

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"Bill Graham" <we...@comcast.net> wrote in message

news:D86dnZikz_RUMnfS...@giganews.com...

Good point. The same cat that kneads the floor in front of the water bowl
kneads my chest sometimes too, especially when he is hungry. The other cat
doesn't knead at all.

--
Rhino

dgk

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Jul 2, 2012, 2:12:51 PM7/2/12

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On Wed, 27 Jun 2012 00:01:26 -0700, "Bill Graham" <we...@comcast.net>
wrote:

Yes, mine too. The claws tend to penetrate a bit..

Bill Graham

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Jul 3, 2012, 4:27:05 PM7/3/12

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Yes. Especially in Summer when I use thinner bedding.....