Kneadies™ are for some people, 

'pet anxiety blankets '

They started as a designer luxury faux fur throw. but seemed to evoke an emotional, faux-parent connection for cats. (likely too for other pets)

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Most pets can be immediately comforted by a KNEADIE; the faux fur reminding them of their mother's fur. 

In the 70's, psychologist, Harry Harlow,  experimented by pairing 'pretend-parent cloth monkeys' with actual baby monkeys to help prove the emotional connection between parents and infants. 

I've provided a further link to his findings on my Blog Post 'Gifts For Pet Lovers