I have a male cat named Bubba. He walks up to a person's foot with his tail lifted high and turns around so his butt is facing the shoe and then his tail begins shaking as if he were spraying but he doesn't, thank GOD, actually spray. Also he walks up to your foot, turns and bumps his butt into it and then stretches one or the other of his back legs. He will keep doing it over and over and over again. You kind of have to just keep gently kicking him away or even move your feet so he just stops it. What the heck is his issue?
2007-02-27 14:55:01 · 10 answers · asked by mustihearthis 4 in Pets ➔ Cats
He does it to the people who live here, me, my husband and my daughter. And the only reason I think he isn't spraying is because he's neutered.
2007-02-27 15:03:09 · update #1
Absolutely normal! Your baby is just rubbing against you to deposit his scent on you--to mark you as HIS person. (And to also cover up any other "strange" scents you picked up while you were gone...)
Cats have glands behind their head, and near their rear, that give off a "scent" that only they can smell--it leaves no odor that you would be able to smell, or marks you could see. By rubbing against you, they are depositing a tiny bit of that scent on you, so that you smell like them--so you smell "familiar," like a member of their family. (And not like all those other people & animals you were around the rest of the day at work! hame on you! lol)
As for the shaking tail? My almost 14 yr old female has done it for years. She is fixed, also. (I was a bit freaked out by it when I first saw it also.) She does it when she rubs against me, and also when she is glad to see me, like when I enter the room she is in, or she enters the room I am in. She will also do it if I pet her near the base of her tail... :)
2007-02-27 20:11:17 · answer #1 · answered by vixeninavw 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yeah it's normal. My cats rub against everything- it is to leave a scent thus marking territory. They have scent glands all over their bodies.......and the tail shaking thing, my female persian does exactly that also it freaked me out the first time she did it. The vet said it is "phantom spraying" and apparently it is just as common in females as it is in males. Does he head butt you too when he is on your lap?
2007-02-27 15:05:34 · answer #2 · answered by NadiaJ 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
LOL Phantom spraying. He has an urge to mark the humans but thankfully doesn't finish the deed.
2007-02-27 15:04:06 · answer #3 · answered by redunicorn 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the others on this one that he is just trying to issue dominance in the household, however, could he be just trying to get attention or a pat? If you are still concerned ask the vet.
2007-02-27 15:36:00 · answer #4 · answered by fire_mage21 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is perfectly natural. He is just making the motions to mark his territory. Apparently you are he property.
2007-02-27 18:32:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds perfectly normal to me. It sounds as though he's just making his mark...cat's have a way of doing that.
2007-02-27 15:41:16 · answer #6 · answered by San Francisco Girl 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Never heard of that with a male Cat. (I'll hold back on the jokes)
2007-02-27 15:01:14 · answer #7 · answered by jamferris 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He is marking his territory. He wants everyone to know when they pass this spot they are now in his domain.
2007-02-27 15:03:01 · answer #8 · answered by Pamela 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe he is territorial. Also, does he do this to everyone or is it that maybe the people he does this to have animals of their own?
2007-02-27 15:00:16 · answer #9 · answered by mom of 2 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i've seen this before and my friend only had this happen to me and people who came over.
the cat is basically saying "Hey!, this is my house and my family, get out now",
2007-02-27 16:26:05 · answer #10 · answered by the_peg_rox05 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋