Many animals mark territory, including our pet dogs and cats, as do many other animals we keep as pets.
It's a common cat behavior to do this, and the truth is, they can't help it.
Despite our efforts to domesticate them, animals are still driven by instincts.
It's Nature's way and they have no choice in the matter.
Neither do we.
Lacking human intelligence, they will never be able to reason as we do, nor use logic, nor judgment.
Although some are definitely smarter than others, and it sometimes appears they are making plans and pondering the meaning of life as they gaze out a window, cats are still cats.
They still must answer to the inner drives that are hard-wired into their physiological makeup.
Attempting to drive it out of them only results in worse behavior, not to mention forcing some of them into neurotic personality disorders.
While we get it about the mating thing and often take measures to interrupt that process by spaying and neutering, there are other behaviors that aren't so easy to change.
Marking territory is one of them.
Perhaps because we don't understand (and certainly don't appreciate) the intricacies of this particular instinct, it's harder to deal with.
We just need to learn more about our cats and their ancestral beginnings.
In the wild, all animals have a very primal concern about survival.
Much time is spent guarding things...
themselves, their young, their food, their territory.
Some territories can be quite large and thus not visible from only one vantage point.
This, then, requires the art of patrolling...
moving about their territory to see if any intruders have breached the perimeter.
Since they can't build fences or put up signs, they do the only thing they can - leave their mark in strategic places.
And what better way to signal other animals than to leave something that smells? Urine and feces come in quite handy for this, as do the more subtle signs left by scent glands in their cheeks and their paws.
You see, some signals say "stay away" while others alert their own kind to come sit for a while, or start a family.
Still other scents determine the dominance structure, letting others know who's in charge.
It's all part of a very complex system of communication and they usually are born with an understanding of it, or learn it very quickly as they are raised by their parents.
In most homes, cats are safe and don't need to use their marking behaviors, but do they really understand this? Probably not.
This is a basic instinct and cannot be eliminated.
If you bring in a new cat, it stimulates the instinct to communicate with the others, and how they do it is determined by what they are trying to say.
While studies on cat communication are minimal, including what the different scent-markings mean, anyone who has worked with many cats will pick up on some of it anyway.
From what we've seen here, a resident cat may be telling a new cat not to mess with him and will leave urine sprays in certain spots as a signal.
On the other hand, a new arrival may want to try a takeover and be the new dominant in charge.
Those cats will spray urine also, and it sometimes has the desired effect as the other cats become quiet, wary, and might hide most of the day.
Still, it can go the other way and the spraying can become somewhat of a contest.
That's usually best handled by separating them.
Finding a new home for them is a good way to put a stop to it in a shelter.
It's harder to deal with this in a home with multiple cats, however.
When two cats like each other, they may try to make a connection by leaving different scents in places both of them frequent, such as the scratching post, or some other spot they like scratching.
They may be seen rubbing their faces on those areas as well.
If they do connect, they may be seen rubbing their faces on each other.
They are scent-sharing.
If your cat likes you also, you may be the subject of some face-rubbing, too.
It's a common cat behavior to do this, and the truth is, they can't help it.
Despite our efforts to domesticate them, animals are still driven by instincts.
It's Nature's way and they have no choice in the matter.
Neither do we.
Lacking human intelligence, they will never be able to reason as we do, nor use logic, nor judgment.
Although some are definitely smarter than others, and it sometimes appears they are making plans and pondering the meaning of life as they gaze out a window, cats are still cats.
They still must answer to the inner drives that are hard-wired into their physiological makeup.
Attempting to drive it out of them only results in worse behavior, not to mention forcing some of them into neurotic personality disorders.
While we get it about the mating thing and often take measures to interrupt that process by spaying and neutering, there are other behaviors that aren't so easy to change.
Marking territory is one of them.
Perhaps because we don't understand (and certainly don't appreciate) the intricacies of this particular instinct, it's harder to deal with.
We just need to learn more about our cats and their ancestral beginnings.
In the wild, all animals have a very primal concern about survival.
Much time is spent guarding things...
themselves, their young, their food, their territory.
Some territories can be quite large and thus not visible from only one vantage point.
This, then, requires the art of patrolling...
moving about their territory to see if any intruders have breached the perimeter.
Since they can't build fences or put up signs, they do the only thing they can - leave their mark in strategic places.
And what better way to signal other animals than to leave something that smells? Urine and feces come in quite handy for this, as do the more subtle signs left by scent glands in their cheeks and their paws.
You see, some signals say "stay away" while others alert their own kind to come sit for a while, or start a family.
Still other scents determine the dominance structure, letting others know who's in charge.
It's all part of a very complex system of communication and they usually are born with an understanding of it, or learn it very quickly as they are raised by their parents.
In most homes, cats are safe and don't need to use their marking behaviors, but do they really understand this? Probably not.
This is a basic instinct and cannot be eliminated.
If you bring in a new cat, it stimulates the instinct to communicate with the others, and how they do it is determined by what they are trying to say.
While studies on cat communication are minimal, including what the different scent-markings mean, anyone who has worked with many cats will pick up on some of it anyway.
From what we've seen here, a resident cat may be telling a new cat not to mess with him and will leave urine sprays in certain spots as a signal.
On the other hand, a new arrival may want to try a takeover and be the new dominant in charge.
Those cats will spray urine also, and it sometimes has the desired effect as the other cats become quiet, wary, and might hide most of the day.
Still, it can go the other way and the spraying can become somewhat of a contest.
That's usually best handled by separating them.
Finding a new home for them is a good way to put a stop to it in a shelter.
It's harder to deal with this in a home with multiple cats, however.
When two cats like each other, they may try to make a connection by leaving different scents in places both of them frequent, such as the scratching post, or some other spot they like scratching.
They may be seen rubbing their faces on those areas as well.
If they do connect, they may be seen rubbing their faces on each other.
They are scent-sharing.
If your cat likes you also, you may be the subject of some face-rubbing, too.
Source...