4 Interesting Ways Cats Use To Mark Their Territory

By Teri Champigny

Like most animals, cats are very proactive about marking their territory and they do so in various ways.  Here are a few behavior characteristics of a cat who is marking his turf:

1. When a cat urinates: A very common way for marking, spraying their urine on and around certain areas will give a cat comfort in knowing that he has left his scent.  That does not mean that just because you have a house cat then you should accept him marking all over your nice furniture, but it is something that is very natural for him to do.  It is very helpful to know that this is typically the behavior of a cat that has not been neutered.

2. When a cat rubs: There is something very interesting that occurs when a cat rubs his head on his body or on other structures such as furniture or even a person.  At the base of the cat's hair follicles there are “sebaceous glands”.   These glands create a substance that is called sebum, which serves 2 purposes: To cover the cat's coat and fur for protection as well as placing his scent on various locations in his environment.  You'll find these lands located all over your cats face, his lips, chin, eyelids, and also around the base of his tail area.

3. When a cat licks himself: It is very common knowledge to everyone who has ever seen a cat that they are constantly cleaning themselves.  That is probably what attracts cats to a lot of cat owners – the fact that they literally lick themselves clean and can self-clean.  However, there is another reason that they are doing this besides just to keep themselves spot-free. You see, cat saliva also carries his scent.  So when you see your cat licking every inch of his body, his driving force is to ensure that his scent is evenly placed wherever he can get to.  Yes, it may sound strange, but cats are even territorial over themselves!

4. When cats claw: When a cat claws he is inducing the desire to achieve various benefits. For example, when a cat scratches with his claws he is doing something that keeps his claws healthy and in shape.  The outer layer of the claw is removed and the tips remain sharp.

But what many people fail to realize is that cat clawing is another form of territory marking.  At the bottom of every cat's paw there are sweat glands that release his scent when they are rubbed on any surface.  This is one of the reasons why you can never get a cat to stop scratching stuff.  Clawing at surfaces is just as hardwired into his system as breathing oxygen is hardwired into yours.