Why does my cat headbutt me ? If someone were to head-butt you, such an action would more than likely result in serious quarrel or even an exchange of blows – it’s never that serious though. When your feline friend does the same to you, however, it would have a totally different implication.
Head-butting is often thought to be a great milestone in the friendship between your pet and yourself. This is in consideration that the majority of these creatures are not perceived as being affectionate. Most of them also prefer to be independent by nature.
What is head-butting in cat all about?
Cat bunting, as this behavior is best referred to is quite a normal behavior. The reason why it’s referred to as bunting is because there is a difference between head rubbing and head pressing.
Understanding the difference between rubbing and pressing can make it easier to understand your cat’s behavior, hence appreciate the meaning of bunting.
Bunting is also associated with head-cracking and cats rubbing themselves against the legs of a person. Some of the main reasons for these behaviours in cats include:
• To communicate
• To get you to pet them
• To leave their scent on the person they are rubbing themselves against
If your cat usually head-butts you, it could be a sign of affection. It’s also thought to be your sign to get going. In the cat world, head-butting is believed to be similar to kissing. Therefore, if your cat prefers to greet you using this method, then it’s more than likely that they love you as the owner.
However, there is some difference between head butts and head-pressing. The latter is experienced when a cat pushes their head against the wall or furniture frequently while producing odd vocalizations.
In some cases, the cat will also display some odd behavior such as disorientation when head-pressing. Head-pressing is known to be a neurological condition symptom. If this happens to your cat, it’s recommended that you get them to a vet the soonest possible.
Understanding the feline anatomy
To understand more about why cats behave the way they do, it’s important that you get to know more about their anatomy. One of the things you need to know is that cats have a natural tendency of marking their territory.
One of the ways in which they can do this is by rubbing themselves against stuff. Most of the time, when a cat head-butts you, they are more than likely placing a pheromone on you. Cats have some chemicals found on the external part of their bodies, and they use them to mark the things that they prefer to claim for themselves.
Cats have glands around their faces that produce lots of pheromones. They use these hormones to mark the things they come in contact with as ‘safe’, or to create comforting familiarity.
It’s also believed that the other reason why cats have this behavior is because it helps them claim the things they rub themselves against as their property, such as their favorite human.
Cats butts his head when they want to communicate with cat owners, this is a complex form of communication and while cats could scratch you to get your attention they like this method best.
Cats do use scent according to to Pam Johnson Bennett, cats show attention seeking behavior and marks on objects including head butts and shows affection through scent communication is complex for various cat breeds.
Frequency and intensity cats have scent glands that create familiarity and show scent to mark. While this is complex and while cats head bunts. This is a great way for them to communicate with others.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_communication