Milk step

The puppies of a feral dog in Sri Lanka show the milk step during suckling

A house cat steps on a wool blanket and sucks on it. (See video)

As cat behavior is called an innate behavior of many very young mammals , inter alia, in cats , dogs and mice , but also in pigs can be observed. Immediately before and also during the suckling, the young animals step more or less rhythmically with their front paws against the teats of the mother animal (“stepping”). This will in the mother - like the massaging of the udder teats before hand milking of - a cow Ejektionsreflex triggered and stimulated so the release of milk.

Even with adult house cats , "stepping" can occasionally be observed, for example when they are "making their bed". This behavior of domesticated cats is often interpreted by pet owners to mean that the infant's milk step was retained in the adult animal. In adult wild cats, however, this sequence of movements also occurs when, for example, they step on grass when creating a sleeping nest; an unequivocal behavioral interpretation of the "kicking" of adult domestic cats has not yet been achieved.

Web links

Wiktionary: Milchtritt  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Video on youtube.com : sucking with milk step

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Thomas Steidl: Practical Guide Small Animal Assistance, Vol. 1: Practical Assistance . Schlütersche, Hannover 2005, ISBN 978-3-87706-697-3 , p. 93.
2. ↑ Rainer Köthe : Katzen ( What is what ; Vol. 59). Tessloff Verlag, Nuremberg 1991, ISBN 978-3-7886-0299-4 , p. 41.