I have had several occasions where I was lying in bed and a cat leaped upon my chest, then turned and put their butt right in front of my face.
Of all the great experiences I have had while living with cats, this was my least favorite. Why do our kitties do this? The study I report on below may provide some insight.
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A Study Provides a Clue as to Why Your Cat Displays Their Butt
According to the findings of this study, which were published in the Journal of Ethology , the scent given off by the glands in a cat’s butt is unique to that individual cat. In other words, one cat can identify another cat by sniffing that cat’s butt.
Therefore, it may well be that when your cat puts that butt in front of your face, your pet may be saying: “Hello my friend. I am your cat. Sniff me if you want to know for sure.”.
Prior studies had shown that cats have a gland located on each side of their anus, and these glands are known to secrete liquid chemicals when the cat poops or sprays, and this is to establish territory.
This current study looked at whether, in addition to these glands producing the liquid secretions that went into poop or urine, the glands also produced a scent that provided smelling information to other cats.
The study found that the glands did produce such a scent, and the information carried by the scent identified the specific cat producing that scent.
The proposition is that the scent coming from a cat’s butt is unique to that cat, and serves to tell the world who that cat is.
Given this information, we can take a more informed look at our cats’ butt displaying behavior.
To know what your cat is thinking when it performs a particular action at a given location at a specific point in time would require that your pet be able to answer that question in our spoken language. Obviously, this is not possible.
Nevertheless, thanks to studies like the one I cite above, we can gain some insight into our pets’ behavior, leading us to consider why they display their butt to us at any given time.
4 Reasons Your Cat May Put Their Butt in Your Face
1. Perhaps when your pet kitty put his or her butt in your face, maybe they were saying “Hello friend, I’m your cat, and here is my ID”. They just want to remind you that you and them are family.
2. They want to you to know they love and trust you. What better way to do that than to act out typical cat to cat gestures of communication.
3. They want to get your attention because they have some need that is not being met.
4. Maybe your kitty simply wanted to turn around and look at the television you were watching, or wanted to find a more comfortable spot.
What Should I Do When My Cat Puts Their Butt in My Face?
Please keep in mind that the action of your cat showing you their butt is a friendly gesture.
If you are sitting or lying down, their jumping up on you is an act of love in and of itself. Then when they add the butt display, they are surely sending you a kindly message.
So your response should be in keeping with that theme of love and acceptance. I understand you might want the butt to get away from your face, but whatever action you take, let it be gentle and affectionate. You don’t want your kitty to feel rejected.
Why Does a Cat Sniff Another Cat’s Butt?
I also had many opportunities to observe a cat in our multiple cat household sniff the butt of another cat.
Was the sniffing cat saying: “I just wanted to make sure that it was you.”?
A general discussion of cat sniffing can be found on my blog post Why Does My Cat Sniff Everything?
So much of our cats’ behavior, including this sniffing impulse, is driven by instinct. For additional insight into feline instincts, visit my blog post What Are Cat Natural Instincts?
Life With Your Cat is an Adventure
The more you know about and understand about your kitty, the more rewarding and satisfying will be your life with your pet.
I have a blog post titled Learn About Cats that will help you know and understand them better.