Submitted 1 year ago by yuunikki@lemmy.world to [deleted]
Cats are territorial creatures and will claim their pet parents as part of their territory. When a cat rubs against something, they are forming an affiliation with that person, animal, or item. In other words, they are accepting it into their environment and claiming it as their own.
Don’t they have glands on the side of their heads/neck that leaves makers behind when they do that?
Bless the maker and guys passage. And that it comes from cat lips.
But yeah they do.
They smell you on things you touch, like a tv remote.
It reminds them of your hands, which probably makes them feel good because your hands pet them.
The rubbing against the face is enjoyable for the reason you already mentioned - they have glands on their faces that help them rub their scent on things, so it feels good to them when their faces are rubbed against. It’s an instinctive reaction.
Shortly after my new kitten and I were comfortable with each other, I rubbed the corner of my mouth and cheek on HIM. Don’t know if it left a scent, but he knows he’s mine now. 🥰
I do that with mine frequently enough. We both needn’t know we’re pack to each other.
mentally dumb in the head
That’s fine but try to just lurk instead.
Its a sign of affection. They are rubbing their scent on you/the thing they like less as a “I own this, bitch!” More of a “I love this thing so much its mine forever!”
Most animals are extremely sensitive to smell and use it to truly communicate many things. We human beings evolutionarily traded smaller smell communication brain parts for bigger thinky cognition brain parts. While we still use smell for some things like hormonal signals for sexual selection our sense of smell and ability to communicate with it is garbage compared to cats (and most other animals)
justlookingfordragon@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Cats rubbing their face on something leave their scent behind / mark their territory, so yes, in a way they’re claiming ownership. However, your cat isn’t saying “this item is mine now” with this message, but rather likes to leave its own scent on items that also smell like you, as they associate it with something comforting and safe. It is more like a “this thing smells like my human and I want other cats to know that we belong together” scenario.
As for why the TV remote of all things: you’re holding that thing in your hand, and your palms have a lot of special sweat glands that do not react to heat but rather emotions. Humans get sweaty palms when stressed or exited and your cat is basically able to “read” these emotions in items that you held in your hands. If you’re relaxed and comfortable while switching through the channels, the TV remote will basically smell like “my favorite human is happy” to your cat. ;)
Bloodwoodsrisen@lemmy.tf 1 year ago
Well, now I know why my cat tries to eat my phone