So, what does it mean when a cat rubs against you? Every morning when I open a can of fresh cat food, I expect two things. 1. A very happy old cat is meowing. Bridge. He likes to eat and seems to express his excitement and affection for the one he loves. But it likely has more to do with the chicken pate I just put on his dish.
It seems like your face, legs, sofa or dog or cat likes to rub everything, whether it be smooth cheeks or a hairy body. This behaviour can sometimes seem very silly like my cat rubs its tail on a dog’s chin, but there is a function behind this behaviour, like banging its head.
Two Simple Causes Why Cats Rub Against Objects
1. The cat tries to intercommunicate
Cats do not speak human language but are chitchat. Cats often enjoy lingual communication such as meowing, growling, and hissing, but they normally prefer to communicate using body language. Cats communicate with their entire body from forelimbs to tail tips, and cat tails are a great communication tool that can tell a lot about a cat’s mood. Cats rub their body and tail against the nearest object, especially when they are happy or want to express satisfaction or affection.
Interestingly, by chance, two cats, close fellow practitioners, can show such connection behaviours (social behaviours), sometimes locking their tails shortly to greet and check-in a friend.
2. The cat wants to spread the smell
Cats want everything to scent like themselves, and smell is very vital to cats (both wild and domestic). Cats have little glands all over their body, so when they want to communicate information about themselves with the world, they rub the glands on things, releasing pheromones wherever they go. So, when your cat detects your scent or wants to re-apply her perfume, she can pat her tail over her legs or her soft body over her cheeks.
3. Smell interaction in the family
Holding the family together is something cats take very personally. Smell interaction is a way to indicate that your cat is marking an object or someone as part of a device.
When a cat rubs us, our first response is to pet our furry friend. This lights up their fire and offers that we are participating in a “scent interaction event.”
They think we are giving feedback and saying that they value our place within the family relationships they have created. And it is true.
4. Marking Senseless Objects
You may have already seen your cat scratching on new shoes or new houseplants. They will do this to keep this property as an identified part of their territory. Using a unique pheromone scent to a strange object is a way to incorporate that object into the area of your home. He also alerts other cats that this area is being amused and protected.
5. Your Cat Is Screaming At You
Training your cat, not to scratch or bite is an essential chapter of the cat parenting manual they all so thoughtfully come with – haha. But, this might be robbing away their ability to communicate frustration or attack. Luckily, cats have known how to show those feelings in the best and most acute way available to them. If your feline friend is randomly rubbing up against you and seems to be more aggressive than normal, they might be even yelling at you.
Conclusion Why Cats Rub Against You
Cats have a unique way of communicating by smell. They have a sympathetic sense of smell and tend to depend heavily on survival. Cats use to smell the same path humans use physical barriers.
We tend to oversimplify by instantly attributing a cat’s body language as a sign of devotion that should be reciprocated. However, this can lead to misconceptions and neglect of your cat’s needs.
