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#1
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Odd cat ritual
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 |
#2
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Odd cat ritual
"Rhino" wrote in message ... 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 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 |
#3
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Odd cat ritual
Rhino wrote:
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? 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? |
#4
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Odd cat ritual
Matthew wrote:
"Rhino" wrote in message ... 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 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 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? |
#5
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Odd cat ritual
"Bill Graham" wrote in message ... Rhino wrote: 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? 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? 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 |
#6
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Odd cat ritual
Rhino wrote:
"Bill Graham" wrote in message ... Rhino wrote: 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? 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? 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 ;-) 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..... |
#7
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Odd cat ritual
"Bill Graham" wrote in message news Rhino wrote: "Bill Graham" wrote in message ... Rhino wrote: 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? 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? 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 ;-) 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..... 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 |
#8
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Odd cat ritual
On Wed, 27 Jun 2012 00:01:26 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote: Rhino wrote: "Bill Graham" wrote in message ... Rhino wrote: 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? 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? 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 ;-) 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..... Yes, mine too. The claws tend to penetrate a bit.. |
#9
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Odd cat ritual
dgk wrote:
On Wed, 27 Jun 2012 00:01:26 -0700, "Bill Graham" wrote: Rhino wrote: "Bill Graham" wrote in message ... Rhino wrote: 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? 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? 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 ;-) 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..... Yes, mine too. The claws tend to penetrate a bit.. Yes. Especially in Summer when I use thinner bedding..... |
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