Why do cats headbutt?

How to read it

Cats have scent glands under the chin, at the sides of the mouth and on the cheeks, on the sides of the forehead, and at the base of and along the tail (International Cat Care). Rubbing them on something leaves a scent other cats can read. Washington State University veterinarian Jessica Bell told the university’s Ask Dr. Universe that cats rub their cheeks on things when they are happy or want to say that the thing belongs to them: the glands release a “happy or low-stress pheromone”, and the cat marks the places it is most comfortable, which can be its owner, the doorway or the spot where its food bowl is. International Cat Care says bunting mostly happens in the core of a cat’s territory and seems to go with comfort, reassurance and friendly contact.

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Why do cats rub against your legs?

Cats rub against your legs to greet you the way they greet another cat. International Cat Care says a cat rubbing round your legs is doing what it would do with a cat, rubbing face and body together, and it uses your legs because it can’t easily reach your face. Afterwards it often goes off to groom and check out your scent.

Headbutting between cats

Cats that get on with each other bump heads and rub against each other too. International Cat Care calls two cats rubbing their bodies together, usually around the mouth and cheeks, allorubbing. Cats Protection says bonded cats do it to pass pheromones to each other and mark each other as safe and trusted.

Rubbing furniture and doorways

The same rubbing on objects is territory marking. Cats Protection says cats rub the scent glands on their face, body and paws onto objects to mark the place as safe, and the ASPCA lists chin rubbing, with patrolling and spraying urine, among the ways cats mark their turf. Ask Dr. Universe puts the two readings together: the facial pheromones, five of them, are mainly for marking territory.

Head rubbing and being stroked

International Cat Care says the clearest sign a cat is open to contact is that it comes to you and rubs its cheeks, head or body against you. The parts it rubs are the ones most cats like being touched: the organisation says most cats enjoy touch on the cheeks, chin and head and are less comfortable on the body or tail. International Cat Care adds that such a cat usually holds its tail vertically.

Head pressing is not headbutting

Head pressing looks a little like a headbutt and is something else. Cornell University vet Leni Kaplan, writing in CatWatch, describes head bunting as normal social behaviour: a cat nudging your forehead or open palm for affection or attention. A cat that firmly presses its head against a wall or sofa for long periods for no clear reason is, in Kaplan’s words, showing “an abnormal behavior”, usually one of several signs of an underlying medical problem, which can be neurological, and she says it should be treated as an emergency. If this is new or comes with other changes, check with your vet.