Why your cat rubs against you, the furniture and other cats
When a cat winds round your legs as you walk in or bumps its head against your face, it isn’t just affection, although it is that too. It is leaving its scent on you and picking up yours, which is its way of saying you belong to its group. Understanding this helps you work out what it is asking for and respond the way it likes.
Scent glands all over the body
Cats have glands that produce scented substances on their cheeks, chin, forehead, lips, at the base of the tail and between the pads of their paws. When a cat rubs against something, it leaves a blend of odours on that object or person that we can’t detect, but which for other cats is a very informative calling card: who it is, what state it is in, when it passed by. Among these substances are pheromones, chemical messengers that influence the behaviour of other cats. A cat’s sense of smell is vastly more sensitive than ours, and much of its social world is organised through scent.
The group scent
In cat colonies, individuals that get on well rub against each other, groom each other and rest together. In doing so they blend their scents until they create a shared odour that identifies members of the group. When your cat rubs against you, it is including you in that group by mixing its scent with yours. That is why it so often does it just as you come home: you arrive smelling of the street, other people and perhaps other animals, and it needs to put its scent back on you. It is a social, affiliative behaviour and a sign of trust. A cat won’t rub like this against someone it doesn’t trust.
Headbutts
The headbutt, or head bunt, in which a cat presses its forehead or cheek against your face, hand or leg, is one of the clearest displays of affection it can give you. Between cats, it happens among those with a close bond, and it usually comes with a raised tail, purring or a little chirp of greeting. If your cat does it, the best response is to bring your hand up to cheek height, let it rub against it and gently stroke its face. What you shouldn’t do is seize the moment to scoop it up suddenly or stroke its belly: that isn’t what it is asking for, and it may spoil the moment.
Against your legs: a greeting and a request
Rubbing against your legs, often weaving between them with its tail held high and curling it round you, is mainly a greeting. But cats learn fast, and many also use it to ask for things: if you put food down every time it rubs against you in the kitchen, the rubbing becomes a reminder that it is dinner time. There is nothing wrong with responding, but it helps to tell the two apart. If your cat rubs against you and then heads to its bowl, you know what it wants. If it rubs against you when you get home and then lies down beside you, it is simply pleased to see you. Watch your step, though: a cat weaving between your feet is a common cause of trips.
Against furniture and objects
When a cat rubs against the corners of walls, chair legs or door frames, it is marking its territory, but not in an aggressive sense. It is leaving its scent in the places it passes so that its surroundings smell familiar, which makes it feel secure. This is calm marking and very different from urine marking, which usually signals stress or conflict. Over time these spots may darken a little from the oil in its coat. Don’t scrub them clean with strongly scented products: for your cat they are landmarks, and wiping them all out at once can unsettle it, particularly after a house move.
When it rubs against another cat
Between two cats that live together, rubbing against each other is a good sign: it shows they accept each other and belong to the same group. It usually goes hand in hand with mutual grooming, sleeping together and tail-up greetings. If you see them start rubbing against each other while you are introducing a new cat, that is an important step. On the other hand, if two cats that used to rub against each other stop doing so, avoid each other or one hisses at the other, something has changed: sometimes all it takes is for one to come back from the vet smelling different for the other not to recognise it. In that case, rubbing both with the same towel can help restore the shared scent.
Synthetic pheromones
Research on these facial pheromones led to diffusers and sprays containing synthetic versions, sold to reduce stress in situations such as moving house, the arrival of another cat or travel. The idea is to make the surroundings smell like a safe, familiar place. Their effectiveness in studies is modest and variable: some cats seem to benefit and others show no effect at all, and they are no substitute for good management of the environment. In Spain, a diffuser with its first refill costs between 20 and 35 €. If you want to try one, use it as a complement rather than the only measure, and talk to your vet about whether the underlying problem needs a different approach.
When it rubs far more than usual
An unspayed female in season rubs insistently against everything and everyone, rolls on the floor, raises her hindquarters and calls a great deal. If your female cat isn’t spayed and suddenly behaves like this, she is almost certainly in season, and spaying is the solution. In other cases, rubbing much more than usual can be a way of seeking attention or calming down at a stressful time. And if your cat rubs its face against the furniture insistently and seems uncomfortable, or scratches its head a lot, it may be itchy because of parasites, an allergy or a problem with its ears or mouth, and it should see the vet.
It rubs against you, then bites
Many cats come up rubbing against you, ask to be stroked and then, after a while, bite or swipe. They aren’t being two-faced: repeated stroking in the same spot can go from pleasant to irritating or overstimulating. There are usually signs before the bite: the tail starts to twitch, the skin along the back ripples, the ears turn sideways or back and the body tenses. If you learn to spot them, you can stop in time. The strokes almost all cats tolerate best are on the cheeks, the chin and the base of the ears, exactly where their scent glands are; long strokes down the back, the belly and the tail, much less so.
When it stops rubbing
A cat that always greeted you by rubbing against you and suddenly stops may be telling you something. Sometimes it is a change at home that has stressed it, such as a move, building work, a baby or a new animal, and it needs time to feel safe again. Other times it is pain: rubbing involves arching the body, turning the neck and pressing with the head, and a cat with arthritis, dental pain or a wound may stop because it hurts. If the change coincides with others, such as eating less, hiding, jumping less or grooming less well, a trip to the vet is a good idea. Small changes in a cat’s routine are often the first warning that something is wrong.
When your cat rubs against you, it is blending its scent with yours to include you in its group: it is a gesture of trust and a greeting, and sometimes a request for food. Respond by offering your hand at cheek height and stroking its face and chin. If an unspayed female rubs against everything excessively, she is probably in season.
Educational content from Michipedia, translated from the Spanish original. It does not replace the advice of a vet or a feline behaviour specialist. Every cat is an individual.