How do I know if things like kneading and hunting are normal behaviors in my cat?

Those are normal behaviors in cats. And again, I would say if they're otherwise bright and happy, eating normally, using the litter box normally, not being overly aggressive towards other animals or people, those are normal behaviors. You should be looking for deviations in different behaviors, such as changes in appetite, aggression, or litter box use.

Kneading and hunting are absolutely normal behaviors because first of all cats are carnivores. I mean we don't feed them like they're carnivores but cats in fact are carnivores. They're not designed to live on anything other than small furry woodland creatures. Kneading is a leftover, almost like a thumb-sucking kind of thing, leftover from being a kitten. What kneading does is that encourages breast milk to flow. And so if a kitty is feeling good and groovy with you, they're gonna make biscuits. Think of it as getting a big hug from mom. That's why they do that.

Behaviors are always judged within context. For instance, we do many self-care behaviors, but most of those behaviors would be very inappropriate to do in a public setting. So, same thing with cats. Cats need to scratch on surfaces to take care of their claws and they need to eliminate, and the areas of where they choose to do those behaviors, really what would be defining if that's abnormal or normal.