Meowing/Whining and kneading

Question
Hi. I had a question about my cat. First of all, I have two cats (well, "kitten-cats", if you will.) They're brother and sister grey tabbies, almost four months old, I think. We got them when they were 8 weeks. I'm a cat lover...I always have been. This is the first time in a long time we were finally able to have cats again. Cats are very special to me. :) So having them has been a great joy.

Anyhow, my question was about the boy. Please excuse my ignorance, this probably is going to sound silly. It's about his meowing. Now, I heard from one of the other experts on here that one of the reasons they meow at you is that they are probably trying to imitate our speech patterns, it's their way of talking to us. She said that you notice cats in the wild don't usually "meow" at each other, unless they are kittens calling for their mother, or calling for a mate, or in pain, etc, so this is proof that when cats meow at us, they're talking. She said something along those lines.

Anyway, well, the boy cat meows, but mostly it's more of a whine. The girl meows too, but not like he does. It isn't as severe as sounding like he is brutally being hurt or anything, just a sort of whine, maybe a cry. I don't know, it's very hard to type...it's more of something you'd have to actually hear. My mom always goes, "Oh, so pathetic!" in a teasing manner, when he does this. He does it quite frequently. I was wondering, is he crying? Is he okay? I always worry about this. It doesn't sound like he's talking...it sounds too much like a cry to be talking. Does he want attention? I'll pick him up and hold him, stroke his head or back, tell him he's a good boy, ask him if he's okay, call him sweet little pet names (I always do this with them,) and sometimes then he'll stop, but most of the time he keeps meowing, or crying. (It isn't constant or anything though, as in day-in, day-out.) It eventually stops, but I can't remember at the moment why. I don't think wanting to be fed is an issue, because mostly when he does do this, it's at times way past or before their breakfast or dinnertime, and he isn't that big of an eater anyway.

Why do you think this is happening? Is he okay?


Also, he and his sister both, from the time we first got them, do this "kneading" thing. His sister does it on *him* (heh heh), purrs, and sucks on his fur, as if she's nursing. What's weird is she does it mostly on his neck. He does this same thing, except on the comforter on my bed, usually. I don't think she does it anymore though, I haven't seen her do it for several weeks now, but he still does. Why do they do this? Were they taken away too early from their mother?

Answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated.

--Jade

Answer
Most likely your cat is whining because he wants attention, if your that worried take him to the vet for an exam, he may be hurting but i doubt it, sometimes if you just ignore him he'll think well this ain't working and eventually stop but that may take some time.  Cats usually knead because of the feel of things like maybe a soft blanket or there siblings fur,  its a bonding thing for them most likely, if you don't like it when they do this just make them stop and let them know its not ok to suck on your brothers fur.