Have you noticed that your cat is always rubbing itself up against things? Chair legs, your legs and they even love rubbing against the knots on the netting we use for our Kat Cubes and outdoor enclosures. Part of the reason they do this is because it feels good like a good scratch but there is also a much more important reason they behave like this.

Cats have scent glands in various spots on their bodies including on the forehead, lips, front paws, and on their flanks and rears. Through these spots they release chemical messages called pheromones.

Pheromones are unique to each cat in a similar way to a human fingerprint. Cats produce several different pheromones that send various signals which in turn affect a number of different behaviours including its reproductive status, marking of territory and to signal comfort and familiarity. 

Through rubbing, cats mark their territory, claim ownership and establish group scents whilst also overriding scents left by other animals. Often when a cat finds an area scented by another cat it will rub its face against it in a process known as “chinning” until it is satisfied that its own scent is stronger and it has therefore claimed ownership of the area. 

Pheromones convey information to other cats, such as the identity of the cat, when it was there, which direction it was travelling, and even what kind of mood it was in. 

When you stroke a cat you pick up pheromones. Combined with this a cat will often rub his entire body along his favourite humans to mark them as part of his group. Does your cat sometimes act differently around you? Many cats will change their behaviour towards a well-known human who has recently stroked a cat that is not part of the home group because they feel threatened by the other cat’s scent.

Pheromones secreted by glands on the face seem to have a calming effect on cats. If you have more than one cat, you may notice them rubbing their faces against each other. The physical contact of head rubbing help them to feel more comfortable with each other and more secure in their home territory. 

Scratching is another way that cats claim ownership. The combination of visible claw marks coupled with the scent left behind from scent glands in your cat’s paws marks the territory as their own.

Read more about cats scratching and also how to stop your cat from scratching your furniture in this blog post http://www.secureakat.com.au/1/category/scratching/1.html 

You may think that your cat is stubborn and only does what it wants and when it wants to but did you know you can train your cat just like a dog? Take a look at Boo the trained Bengal in the video below.

Training your cat can take a little while but once commands have been learnt it can be very rewarding for both you and your cat. I would love to give you a detailed run down of how to train your cat but its much easier to see it visually so here are a couple of videos posted by YouTube user Zumie05. You can see more of her cat training videos on her page  http://www.youtube.com/user/zumie05/videos

We haven't trained our cats but have you trained your cat to do anything? Let us know in the comments! 

The Oatmeal is a fun website featuring well drawn and clever cartoons about the things we experience in everyday life. 

Here is one we found showing a cat trying to get its owners attention... We all know cats are pushy when they are seeking attention!

View the original here at The Oatmeal - Cat vs The Internet

Do you ever find yourself spending hours browsing YouTube looking at videos of cats doing silly things?

Do you ever find yourself wondering why your cat acts like it does or why it does certain behaviors? 

Recently we came across a brilliant and very interesting blog called "The Way of Cats". The blog has hundreds of well written articles on topics including why your cat acts like it does, what it means when your cat undertakes different behaviors and how you can train your cat to break bad habits.

The blog is a good read and very informative. You can find a selection of interesting articles below... 

• How can you get the most from your cat relationship - Is spoiling your cat a bad thing? 
  http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/the-power-of-spoiling/15669
  
  
• It can be annoying as well as unhygienic for your cat to jump onto the kitchen counter - How can you keep your cat off the counter? 
  http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/keeping-cats-off-the-counters/10434
  
  
• Bribes are frowned upon in the human world but its different when it comes to cats - Is it OK to use bribes and how to bribe your cat?
  http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/how-to-use-bribes/7242
  
  
• Cats, like many of us, consider a predictable existence more enjoyable - How do you get your cat into a routine?
  http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/cat-routines/215
  
  
• Do you think that you show your cat too much attention - Is cat love the same as human love?
  http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/is-cat-love-the-same-as-human-love/14397
  
  
• We all get annoyed by our cats at one point or another - Should i give my cat attention when it annoys me?
  http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/when-cats-annoy/2147
  
  
• One of the challenges of cat training is what to do when we find them playing with our stuff - What can you do to train your cat not to play with your stuff?
  http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/cats-who-find-uses-for-things/14013
  
  
• It’s a very common thought that cats “take revenge” on us when we have made them unhappy. Do cats take revenge?
  http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/do-cats-take-revenge/12616
  
  
• Have you ever seen your cats fur stand up on end and wondered why - Why do cats puff up their fur?
  http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/why-cats-puff-up-their-fur/8010