To the question: «Why do cats stomp on our feet?» no one can give a definite answer.
There are many versions, each of which has the right to life, but there is not a single scientifically substantiated verdict.
However, owners of furry friends love their pets and without explaining their behavioral reactions.
Nevertheless, many cat lovers want to know what motivates a cat to do cat paw massage.
Genetic memory
Representatives of the feline guild are often called sybarites — they are very fond of comfortable conditions.
In the house, the cat chooses its own cot, settling on the most comfortable, clean and warm place.
A fluffy beauty curled up in a «pussycat» is the embodiment of comfort and coziness.
Some researchers explain the habit of cats to create comfortable conditions even in the wilderness by their habit to trample on people, beds or toys with their paws.
It is believed that a wild cat in its effort to arrange a place to sleep as snugly as possible, trample leaves and branches, so that she could sleep sweetly and comfortably.
Cats of all breeds like to trample on trees, from little Munchkins and graceful Bengals to giant pets like ragdolls and caracals.
Milk step — a sign of love and trust to their owners
Many cat lovers, when explaining why a cat stomps on the blanket with its paws, adhere to the version that this is how animals express their appreciation, trust and love for their owners.
This way they show the highest degree of satisfaction.
The roots of this habit should be looked for in the cat’s childhood, when little kittens nestle on the belly of the mother cat.
As they suckle on the nipple, they move their paws alternately to excite the receptors that are responsible for lactation.
In many cats, the baby reflex is firmly fixed and, growing up, they are happy to trample people with their paws and purr.
This behavior has its own name — «milk step».
It is a special, trusting relationship between animals and their owners.
Important: Such cat behavior occurs only when the animal trusts its owner to the utmost. Representatives of cats with strangers often behave restraint and suspiciously.
Cat owners must understand that even if the sharp claws scratch the skin during this play, you should not scold or punish the cat.
The milk step is the highest expression of loyalty to the owner and the possibility of feeling like a little kitten, protected from the vicissitudes of fate by its mother cat.
How to react to a milk step
Most people find displays of cat love to their liking.
Owners gladly give their pets shoulders or other parts of the body that are tired all day long — a cat massage relieves fatigue, calms and calms them down.
But there are other times, too. Some people just don’t like it when a cat scratches the skin with its claws, and this sometimes happens if the pet gets carried away.
In any case, you should not chase the cat away or spank it — it can get very seriously offended.
So what to do if the milk step is unpleasant for the person or the claws scratch badly?
A few simple tips will help maintain a trusting relationship with your pet or pet:
— First you should go to the nearest veterinary clinic and have the claws trimmed. For those who know how, you can do it yourself. In some cases a claw claw, which you can buy or make yourself, will help;
— To put your palm under the paws below the cat’s pads. The cat will continue its actions, but its claws will not touch the skin;
— distract the cat with a toy or «goodie»;
— put a blanket or a pillow under its paws.
Interesting! If a cat and a dog live in a family, the cat can show its appreciation and love to its four-legged partner as well. At the same time, dogs often even like cat massages.
Do all cats stomp on their paws?
Not every cat will stomp on a blanket with its paws.
This reflex is thought to be absent in animals that have been artificially fed.
The baby cat was not lying under its mother’s side, not massaging it with its paws. That’s why the reflex didn’t take hold.
Also, if a cat has one or two kittens and plenty of milk, her babies do not need to «fight for a place under the sun» and massage the mammary glands with their claws — they are always full and satisfied.
Such cubs are not likely to trample their owners with their paws.
So how do animals that do not get cat massages show their love and affection?
They are very fond of rubbing their owners’ feet and purring.
Some like to sit in their owner’s arms or next to them.
The Emotional Factor
Cats, like all living creatures, can experience stress.
It happens that a pet begins to stomp on the couch with such fury that this action can’t be suspected of carefree childhood echoes.
And all this happens because the owners made a lot of noise, did not feed him in time, drove him off the chair, took away a favorite toy and so on.
And the cat begins to furiously tear the couch, thus releasing its discontent.
After such a surge of emotion, the animal usually calms down and can even go to make peace with its owner.
Milk step from a biologist’s point of view
It turns out that the pads of a cat’s paws are equipped with a large number of sweat glands and ducts that secrete a secret with a specific smell.
Scientists believe that when a cat stomps on a blanket with its paws, it is marking its territory.
Because cats are members of the feline family, which is a family of predators, in nature they need a large enough territory to hunt.
Any animal that invades that territory must understand that the place is occupied.
Scientists believe that trampling in different areas is like setting up peculiar «beacons» indicating that there is already a host in that territory.
This applies not only to rare wild breeds, such as the savannah or the serval, but to all members of the feline family.
There are also a huge number of receptors on the pads.
When a cat stomps on its paws, be it a host or any other intangible object, it is as if it is studying the properties of this object.
In natural conditions this behavior is very important for the animal.
Since cats are predators and like to hunt, they must be able to move silently so that not a single branch crunches under their paws.
And before making a rush toward their prey, wild felines can stomp in one place for a long time.
That is how they evaluate the surface under their paws to estimate the optimal speed and power of their rush.
What healers say
Many people know that cats have a therapeutic effect on people.
After the animal carries out a session of cat massage, many people note a significant reduction in pain.
In this case, the four-legged healer with a known instinct determines the weak spot and begins to tread on it, where there is a problem.
Of course, this version can be considered quite controversial, but the official science does not refute it.
As a result of the impact on the skin with clawed paws, there is local irritation.
On this area, blood circulation increases and processes similar to those occurring during a professional massage take place.
What milk step and the happiness hormone have in common
As scientists have discovered, your pet’s body produces a huge amount of endorphin during her stomping moments.
This hormone is a protective agent against stress and promotes a peaceful relaxed state.
When a cat purrs and moves its paws, it calms down and normalizes itself.
It happens that the animal is almost asleep already and at the same time it continues to move its paws automatically.
Usually, cats of all breeds spend a lot of time taking care of themselves.
And Scottish straight, and reed cats, and favorite Siberian cat — all fluffy love to keep their coats clean.
While tidying up their coats, these amazing animals lick their paws especially carefully, thus stimulating the production of endorphin.
The owners of cats note that after the toiletting of paws, the four-legged pets have a very sweet sleep.
Amazingly, nature has provided these small carnivores with their own mechanism for relieving stress and fatigue.
Interesting! It is believed that when a fluffy creature stomping its paws and purring, people calm down, order his thoughts, harmonize the worldview. Cats have become for a man not only good friends, but probably the most powerful medicine against stress.
