Arm Straddling and Kneading

[DDeana]

My cat is almost 2, we adopted him. He does this exact thing your describing. He is fixed as well so I dont think its sexual. He only does it to me.

 

[nanderson]

Our cat does the same thing to my husband and couldn't find anything about it and why she does it

 

[teefony]

I’m so happy I found this thread, because our 2 year old, spayed female just started doing this to our arms and legs recently. I believe it’s a compulsive behavior, somewhere between self-soothing and dominant play. We have her AND her litter-sister—both were feral barn kittens before we got them @ 8wks. I believe they were actually younger than 8 weeks and prematurely weaned, as both sisters have exhibited unique behaviors that I’ve attributed to early-weaning. This same girl that mounts and bites used to nurse herself to fall asleep her whole first year. I’ve had cats my whole life and have never seen such weird behaviors. Thanks for posting—FWIW I believe this is a coping mechanism of some sort, but I’m certainly no cat whisperer or professional.

 

[IndyJones]

Kabuto used to do the same thing to me when I sit in the chair playing computer games but I don't think he is nursing.... it's more like he is err.... "pleasuring himself" he would even thrust at one point. When I shooed him off his willy sometimes was sticking out.

 

[MonkeyRex]

Hi.
My cat has done the same thing to my arm since he was a kitten.

I got him from a breeder at 4 months old so that he could be properly weaned. He was neutered at 9 months and was never bred. When he was much smaller than now, he would stand on my arm, put much of his weight on his hind quarters - I guess to really hold my arm down - and would kneed with his front paws and bite my wrist.

Now that he's nearly 16 yrs old, he will hold my arm down, placing most of his weight on his hind quarter, but no longer bites. He kneeds a little bit, but mostly closes his eyes and zones out. He's a heavy boy and so I'll wake up to him on my arm.

Over the years I've learned to very carefully pull my arm away from him while gently petting him so that he falls asleep. But occasionally I do wake him up as I'm trying to pull my arm away and he will meow angrily at me. But once he comes out of that zone he's perfectly okay.

This is the first thread I have found about this subject. I personally believe that it has something to do with weaning too early. My cat's mother had an oral fixation. She loved to lick and to suckle earlobes. He used to do that as well when he was very young but outgrew it. I think it's all related.

I'm happy to find that so many other cats out there do the same thing.