“When a cat headbutts you, they are rubbing pheromones on you.” Such a tiny, banging action will seem clumsy affection, but in cat language it is a signature, an unseen scent mark made on a person that the cat wants to be close to.
Cats can be called independent housemates, but their interaction with people is based on the principle of recognition: one can count on their arrival at breakfast, a voice that remains soothing, hands that know when to touch, etc. Animal behavior experts have defined feline preference as the construction of repeated interactions and emotional safety as opposed to magnificent showcases. Where dog will promote fidelity, cats have a habit of expressing fidelity in less demonstrative forms and those forms can come to refer to one man more than another.
Smell is one of the strongest instruments of that recognition. A laboratory-type scent test established that cats took longer to explore odor of the unfamiliar persons as opposed to their own owner, which also conformed with the fact that the odor of their own owner was already familiar to them; the study was published in PLOS One. The study design will not prove that cats are able to determine who belongs to them by smell alone but it does confirm a practical fact that many households are aware of: cats follow the rule of thumb who belongs by exposing themselves to scent on a regular basis: clothes, bedding, hands, and even the seat where an individual sits on a routine basis. Majority of social weight is also about scent in rubbing, brushing cheeks and headbutting. Especially headbutting spreads pheromones of the glands around the ears, to identify a person as part of them and not an enemy.
Such a scent-based attachment frequently presents itself in the form of the constant following of one human being by another through the rooms. Following is not necessarily neediness but it can be proximity-seeking which strengthens security, particularly in the crowded houses where doors are open and shut, appliances are humming, and visitors bring new smells. A cat which has made its selection upon the orbit of a given person, is frequently making a choice of what appears to be the most stable of the emotional surroundings the one whose behaviour and reaction have become understandable to the eye.
The addition of vocal recognition becomes another dimension. It has been found that cats are actually aware of the voice of their owner even in occasions that they choose not to react. In everyday life the “favorite person” tendency might appear as a faster flicking of the ears, a turn of the head, or a careless attitude in another approach when that specific voice calls, and the tone used is congenial and does not induce the cat into getting into contact.
Then there are the cues which resemble punctuation. Slow blinking This is the narrowing of the eyes followed by re-opening; it is oftentimes seen when the cat is safe enough to lower the guard. Being close to sleep is an equivalent of being exposed; the sleep renders cats vulnerable, therefore, sleeping on the bed, chair or lap of one of the people implies confidence in the presence of the individual. During exigency, the choice may grow even more fined: a loud bang, some strange visitor, or even a simple alteration of a habit can make a cat run right into the arms of the person the scent and expression of which has become the most predictable “safe environment at home.”
Even the gift-giving may be included in the narrative. Outdoor-access cats can also bring prey and some cats bring toys, which has been described as instinctual and also a bond-forming form of sharing or attention-seeking. Precautions essential to keep wildlife and home environment clean are still relevant, such as keeping cats inside and channelling hunting energy to play.
Not all cats show their preference in such a way, and not all the research studies support the claim that cat-human relationships are human-style “attachment.” Nevertheless, the hints of daily life scent marking, the choice of proximity, the selectiveness of responsiveness, the choice of whom a cat approach when it is in doubt are often indicative of something consistent: the person that a cat likes most is often the one that has taught it that safety is a regular experience.
