Both lovers of animals as different experts and ethologists continue to try go further in the cat world and discover the meaning of their behaviors and behaviors, so enigmatic and peculiar.
The cats They are one of the most mysterious species in terms of their gestures, and their mythical purring, their surly behavior or their independence can have an infinite number of meanings which continue to be investigated, however, some gestures have already been provided with an explanation.
For her part, an ethologist named Mary has explained on her X account, @wildbehav, the reason why these pets They rub their faces with those of their ownersa gesture that has always been understood as a sign of affection and comfort.
Far from being a simple act of affection, when a cat rubs its face with that of a person or an object, a chemical interaction is created that Mary has commented on her networks. “When your cat rubs his face with you he is marking you with facial pheromones“Mary wrote in a tweet.
At the same time, he explained that this act does not mean that the feline “marks you.” as something of your property“, although they do not completely rule it out either. The ethologist has reasoned that this species secretes “different types of pheromones” through its faces.
“It seems that when they are in social situations (with other cats, humans or other species) they secrete a type of pheromone that helps affiliative relationships (the F4 pheromone)”, he added. Furthermore, “this behavior together with the odor signals seem to work by reducing the probability of aggression, that is, if your cat rubs against you it is because “He wants to get along with you.”
The expert has also stated that “this marking seems to play an important role in communication with family memberssince it occurs more frequently in the presence of a member of their family.” One of his followers has responded to this last explanation by adding that “the strange thing is when (cats) do it with a stranger.”