Why does my cat rub against me

My blue-and-white British shorthair will always wait for me on the chair when I step into the house exhausted, then run to my side and keep rubbing against my legs. In the past, I always thought it was just acting coquettishly and wanting attention. In fact, this behavior of cats is also sending other signals. When a cat rubs against my leg, I always think it wants attention, thinking that like a dog, it wants to be petted.

Cats are sending out certain signals

Our British shorthair cat, I didn’t understand the meaning of it until I got along with it for a long time. I am sure that it loves me, but more importantly, it wants to tell me that it is hungry and needs to eat. I give it petting and hugging, and it will habitually understand that I know it is hungry and will distribute food to me next. When I feed it food, including cat rice or canned food, the cat will rub my legs with greater intensity. Coincidentally, our Siamese cat Tintin also likes to rub against me, but his purpose of rubbing against me is very single. It wants to stay on me and let me hold it, otherwise it will be meowing all the time and won’t settle down until I hold it in my arms.

Cats mark scent and communicate with family members

Cats have scent glands on their cheeks, paws, back, and tail. These glands are located under their fur. When cats rub against us, glands in various parts of the body are stimulated and secrete unique pheromones. This also explains why when cats rub against us, they don’t just rely on their cheeks and chins, but also use their entire body to rub against us. Our human sense of smell is much worse than that of cats. Cats have extremely keen sense of smell and they can distinguish this pheromone. Cats make this kind of mark to communicate with you. If you have a multi-cat household, you will also find them touching and rubbing with other family members in order to mark their scent.

Occasionally you will also see cats licking the fur of other cats, which is also a form of scent marking. Rubbing and licking people are marking scent, and marking scent means comfort, safety and trust. This kind of trust is based on your care for them. After all, the scavenger works hard for the little owner, providing food and a comfortable environment.

Cat marking territory

Cats are similar to dogs. Dogs mark their territory by peeing, while cats mark information by rubbing. Careful cat owners will notice that cats are basically familiar with the indoor environment. Cats leave their scent on their territory indoors, asserting their territorial sovereignty. I have said that cats rubbing against people are based on trust, but why do they also rub against strangers when some friends come to the house? Some cats are born with a strong curiosity, and because they have been under human care for a long time, they are not particularly afraid of people. They can also express love to strangers, and they are also marking scent and declaring territory, showing that strangers are welcome in their territory.
If your cat rubs you against you because of some illness or stress, it is often a very positive sign. Regardless of whether cats nuzzle you for a purpose or not, it is undeniable that they express love to their owners all the time. When a cat purrs, it often expresses pleasure and comfort. When they rub against you, be careful and you will find that they also make their own unique purring sounds when they rub against you. This is a sign of love and expresses their feelings of happiness. This bond of trust is incomparable to that of strangers. My Siamese cat, Tintin, sometimes bothers me a lot. After all, it always wants to stick to my side and nuzzle me, and will meow if not hugged. But as long as I think that it loves me and has full trust in me, I will reluctantly accept this kind of trouble, haha.

Now let’s introduce several ways for cats to express their love for their owners!

1. The most common ways to express affection are to wrap their tail around you, touch your legs with their head or body, and rub you with the back of their ears or face. This is done to leave a familiar scent on you to make it feel more comfortable, or it may also treat you as its subordinate.
2. Licking you, like licking other cats, expresses trust and affection.
3. When someone touches it, it will lick itself to “taste” the person’s scent. This is an odor that we cannot smell but cats can detect.
4. When a cat lies on your lap, it must be interested in you. It will not jump on the lap of someone it doesn’t like.
5. It brings you “gifts”, such as a dead mouse, which means it has a good impression of you and also means that it thinks you are its mother.
6. A cat’s tail standing straight up indicates a very strong affection. You will notice that when a cat approaches a person or cat it does not know, its tail hangs down.
7. Rolling the body means “play with me”. Cats will not play with people they don’t like.
8. Putting its paw on your arm “reaffirms” that it likes you.
9. When it slowly bends its back and rubs against your leg, it is saying to you: “I love you!”
10. There are many reasons why a cat purrs (snores). If it purrs like this when rubbing against you, it means it really loves you.

How to express your love for a cat?

Touch: touch its back along the fur, but some cats like to be touched on the buttocks, while others don’t. If you don’t like it, don’t touch it. Touch the cat’s fur from the middle of its eyes to the back of its head, scratch its cheeks and chin, and the cat will feel happy. Cats don’t like others touching their paws, tail and belly. Even if they let you touch them, they are just tolerant. Play: Use a cat stick (hands are not recommended) or a laser pointer to play with it, or play with it yourself, and it will treat you as a little friend. When it catches your hand and starts to bite, it’s not particularly vicious (cats have strong bites. Last time my cat dragged a large fish that was melting to the ground and ate half of it). Don’t be afraid when the time comes. This is what it’s saying. You play, if it hurts, scream and break away immediately, so the cat will be gentler next time. Talking: Although it is silly, you can talk to the cat while petting it. Use a gentle tone and it will relax. Feeding: Feed some snacks that cats like to eat (such as small training rewards sold online). Do not feed people food, which is not good for cats. Things that reduce your favorability: mess around with the cat, drag it out when it is hiding, grab its food or toys, disturb it from eating or going to the toilet, hit or scold the cat.