Reading into my cat's nose bumps

December 19, 2006 2:26 PM

Just curious. If I am sitting on my couch, or lying on my chair, sometimes my cat will come up to me and bump noses with me. I recognize this as a sign of affection or a friendly greeting. Sometimes, it is a prolonged (4-5 second) nose bump.....Now if I should happen to approach my cat who is an another part of the room, and initiate a nose bump, will my cat look at it as a greeting/ form of affection, or will she be thinking 'what is this guy doing?'... Is it a two way street? Or do they only accept affection in forms of scratching their head and behind their ears?........is the prolonged nose bump their way of being super affectionate? I have researched several websites on cat behavior, but havent found a answer close enough to what i was looking for....
posted by TwilightKid to Pets & Animals (42 answers total)

My cat seems upset if I nose bump her back - but she will nose bump me. So who knows. Cats are weird.
posted by agregoli at 2:31 PM on December 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

One of my cat bumps me (hard!) with his forehead on my forehead. I see him do this to my other cat on occasion, also. He seems to enjoy when I bump him (gently!) on his forehead with my noggin--and will press back hard against me when I do this.

He may just be an oddball, though.
posted by divka at 2:39 PM on December 19, 2006

In cat speak the nose bump means get up off your ass and open a can of tuna. Since your cat cannot do this (no thumbs) your nose bumping him/her will serve only to frutsrate him/her. OTOH just aqbout anything a cat does means get off your ass and open something- a door, Tuna, that magazine you're reading...
posted by Gungho at 2:44 PM on December 19, 2006

It seems affectionate to you, but your cat is either trying to get your attention for some reason (get me food), or is simply checkin' out your current scent. For a cat, it's got nothing to do with affection, so if you come over and do it to her, it probably means nothing to her or maybe she'll take it as an opportunity to check you out, since you're already there. According to my vet, cats provide almost no affection per se - in the sense of affection being loving attention with no strings attached.
posted by Dee Xtrovert at 2:49 PM on December 19, 2006

Nose bumps are a sign of affection. My cat lets me nose bump him, but he's also insanely affectionate for a cat. I read that mother cats and kittens do this to each other, and most cats view their human companions as parental figures.

If he's bumping you with his head or the side of his face, that is something else. He is wiping the scent gland in front of his ear on you in that circumstance, and thus marking you as his territory.
posted by tastybrains at 2:50 PM on December 19, 2006

I believe it's called 'bunting' (29). A vestige of kitten behaviour when seeking to nurse. So your cat might get a little confused as to why you are asking it to nurse you.
posted by tellurian at 2:51 PM on December 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

According to my vet, cats provide almost no affection per se - in the sense of affection being loving attention with no strings attached.

Neither does any animal, I'm willing to bet, including dogs - they do, after all, get something in return for giving loving attention, unless their owner is an asshole.
posted by agregoli at 2:53 PM on December 19, 2006

My cat does this ALL THE TIME. It can be really annoying when you're trying to sleep and you feel a wet cold nose on your leg or back or god knows where.

I find that if the cat wants your attention and or affection they will seek you out, and if you stumble upon them they generally don't want to be bothered.

Even with the most loyal and affectionate cats I've owned, I can't help shake the feeling they love me as a heat source rather than as a companion.
posted by mek at 3:04 PM on December 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

Depends on the cat. I've had cats that loved it, and cats that looked down their patrician noses at me with disdain. Give it a go. Don't hold her head while you do it (always a good rule of thumb).

And as for it being an attempt to get action, I would think, not always. I have a cat that will do that just before he prepares himself for a long nap, kinda like a goodnight kiss.
posted by b33j at 3:06 PM on December 19, 2006

I just tried it with my schizo cat and she looked at me like I was stupid but yeah she does it alot too (on HER terms)
posted by evilelvis at 3:06 PM on December 19, 2006

Neither do human beings - we just THINK we do.

True. I don't get this whole "animals express no feelings" thing people always do. yeah, your dog just wants food.

Guess what? your wife just wants sex, money, and companionship. Your friends just want fun and to not be alone. Etc etc etc.

An animal can express affection and be your "friend" every bit as much as a human can, whether or not they have the brain power to dress up their motivations.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:26 PM on December 19, 2006 [6 favorites]

Sometimes my cat will be affectionate when I bump her back, sometimes she looks at me like I'm nuts, and sometimes she jumps away, annoyed. Try it and see.
posted by desuetude at 3:31 PM on December 19, 2006

Mine will freak if I try to bump them, but I can usually present my head and they will bump me. That is often fairly uncomfortable for me, so we've come up with a human-feline form of "respect knuckles" and they will bump my fist.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:36 PM on December 19, 2006

It isn't affection. It's a territorial marking behavior. There are scent glands on their cheeks, and when they nose-bump and then rub their cheeks on you, or on something, they're leaving their scent behind.

Those kinds of signals are easy to misunderstand. For instance, purring doesn't mean "happy", it means "pay attention to me". I've read about someone who found a cat laying by the side of the road that was dying after having been hit by a car. It was purring.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 3:49 PM on December 19, 2006

Do cats have emotions?

Why don't you just try the nose bump, TK?

Also, my cat touches noses with me, and doesn't do any cheek rubbing, so it's not scent marking. Then again, he's a greedy little bastard, and would like an open can of tuna pretty much 24/7.
posted by Liosliath at 4:09 PM on December 19, 2006

My vet told me it was foreheads, not noses (the nose is a side-effect), and that it's familial. That is, cats will do it to other cats they're related to, but not to 'strangers'. She would 'bond' with new cats in her care by rubbing their foreheads just above the eyes, so she obviously believed it, too.

So by this theory, doing it to your cat is being parental, or if your cat is doing it to you, it's being juvenile and treating you like a parent. This fits with the theory that domestic cats never actually mature (they stay kittens, developmentally, forever), and see their owners as "big cats". It also jives with the nursing notion above. (Do your own web searches.)

My cat will also do this for about an hour against my clenched fist (sometimes hard) if I just hold it out there and let her. I guess my fist is about the size, shape and firmness of a catskull. :)
posted by rokusan at 4:13 PM on December 19, 2006

No, territorial marking is done with the SIDE of the head (the cheeks, as above) and is a drawn-out rubbing. The behavior being discussed here, I believe, is a very very different gesture, clearly a "bump."

My cat also has more effective ways to say "pay attention to me" than purring, believe me. I am not, for example, allowed to sleep in under ANY circumstances.
posted by rokusan at 4:17 PM on December 19, 2006

Meh, I don't think anyone really knows why animals do what they do. I chose my cat mainly because of she was a crazy nose kisser. She's still quite demanding of nose bumps and will always return a nose bump if I initiate it. So I guess it depends on the cat. As long as you're pretty sure the cat won't claw your eyes out, I'd just try it.
posted by lunalaguna at 4:27 PM on December 19, 2006

For instance, purring doesn't mean "happy", it means "pay attention to me"

Perhaps for some cats. My cat's means of getting attention sounds kind of like this, but with more reverb:

ReeEOOWWWww...yYYeeEEEEOWWwww
posted by desuetude at 4:33 PM on December 19, 2006

Steven, I've heard that purring is a friendship indicator - either "you're my friend" or, in the case of the dying cat, cats in labor, etc., "I need a friend.'

For the OP, my cats often do what we call the "head-butt of loooove," and I certainly feel like it's an affectionate gesture. And, preferable to being washed on any available skin surface, which one of mine is prone dr. Cute, but very uncomfortable.
posted by timepiece at 4:40 PM on December 19, 2006

I suspect they're trying to give you repeated mild concussions, so you'll be more docile when they and their feline bethren try to take over in a worldwide coup...

I recall seeing a lynx/bobcat on some latenight show (letterman?) headbutting the host. Presumably the lynx/bobcat hadn't met the host before, so at least some species of cats wil do it to strangers.
posted by CKmtl at 4:50 PM on December 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

I see two different forms of head-bumping. There is the sent-gland type of bumping, typically deployed to your leg, your couch, or anything else. The cat is basically taking ownership by rubbing its stink all over. This type of head-bump is typified by stroking the *whiskers* over the object, not the forehead.

Then there is the forehead/browridge bump, which seems to be more affectionate. Not all cats do this one — and it seems to mean different things to different cats. The resident cat at my mom's place does it only when extremely content and happy, just prior to lying down with the pride. I think of it as the cat version of our hug. It seems to be used in the same contexts, for many of the same reasons.

Lions do the same thing as far as I can tell from documentaries.
posted by clord at 4:51 PM on December 19, 2006

According to this page on cat trivia, which I happened on in metatalk today: "When your cats rubs up against you, she is actually marking you as "hers" with her scent. If your cat pushes his face against your head, it is a sign of acceptance and affection." I have no idea as to the reliability of the site though.
posted by Manjusri at 5:07 PM on December 19, 2006

It started out as a joke after one particular episode of sniffing, but I now regularly approach my cat and sniff his head, bump him, and rub my head and shoulders against him. Basically reversing our roles. He loves it and adapted to it well. I don't do it all the time (as I say it was just a reaction to his crazy behavour) but my cat is really tolerant to all sorts of physical interaction, including head bumping/rubbing.

I don't delude myself that he understands, but he certainly doesn't hate me mimicking his behaviour. :)
posted by fire&wings at 5:21 PM on December 19, 2006

My old cat would do this when he just wanted some attention.
posted by drstein at 6:00 PM on December 19, 2006

My cat is a lot like me, affectionate for short periods of time and then getouttamyface. When she head bumps me, it's because she wants attention.

And I have a confession: After being a borderline cat-hater for most of my life (I reluctantly got a cat because of my daughter) I now know without a doubt that cats have souls and feelings, and the stereotype that cats are arrogant creatures who strut around thinking they own their environment is untrue and unfair. My cat Autumn has proven her good natured character to me time and time again. She is a member of the family, a friend of sorts.
posted by dropkick at 6:05 PM on December 19, 2006 [1 favorite]

Steven C. Den Beste, "bumping" with the head or nose is a very different behavior from "rubbing" with the cheek, where the scent glands are.
My cat does both, and the "bumping" happens only rarely with him, when he is in a very good mood and when all of his needs have been met. By needs I mean food, water, litter box, etc.... It has always been my impression that this is an exceptional form of adoration from my cat. I also tend to think my cat's behavior (and the behavior of my roommate's and friends' cats) towards humans is remarkably similar to the behavior of kittens towards their mothers and litter-mates.

My personal opinion is that domestic cats are confused as to the role of their owners in their lives, and generally treat owners as caregivers and, well, friends.

I would be interested in reading whether or not this were in any way scientifically validated, but my short answer to the question, based on my anecdotal observational evidence, would be "Your cat is expressing unadulterated affection to you."
posted by eparchos at 6:43 PM on December 19, 2006

Assuming that your cat is in an friendly and accepting mood, you should be able to initiate a head bump. Whether or not your cat likes it sort of depends on its personality, though. Both of mine are really into mutual head-bumps. One of them will do the "prolonged head bump" for about as long as you care to do it, but the other only likes fleeting head bumps.

As for cats having no emotions, much of human emotion comes from the brain's limbic system, which is similar all mammals. Thus, the idea that other mammals cannot feel affection or other simple emotions is not borne out by scientific evidence. Check out the study of Affective Neuroscience for more information. Here's a quote from that page: "Panksepp feels that adequate neuroanatomical, neurochemical and neurophysiological knowledge has been obtained to substantiate the delineation of several fundamental emotional operating systems (covered in the rest of the book): SEEKING, RAGE, FEAR and PANIC, along with the more pro-social circuits of LUST, CARE and PLAY. Most of these circuitries are hierarchically situated in brainstem, paleocortical and limbic areas." [emphasis mine]
posted by vorfeed at 6:59 PM on December 19, 2006

i do everything to my cat that he does to me. i nose-bump him ("helllloooo"), blink at him ("i love you"), rub my cheeks on him ("you're mine"), knead his belly ("i'm feeling pleasantly bored"), and if he nips me, i'll give him a little swat with two fingers, imitating the same speed and strength he occasionally swats me with ("ow, quittit").

we get along great. he seems to like it when i act like a cat- he gently tolerates it in pretty much the same way as i gently tolerate him sitting on my laptop while i type.
posted by twistofrhyme at 8:51 PM on December 19, 2006 [2 favorites]

What's the opposite of anthropomorphize? I think of humans as elaborate animals with complex speech. Sure, your cat is being affectionate -- why not? You're around all the time, you pet it, you feed it, you change its litterbox. Hell, most cats (and a lot of dogs) understand being polite -- saying thank you, and sorry. Cats can be content, relaxed, tense, pissed, bored, tired, goofball, quizzical, scary crazy, and a lot of other things, and that's just before lunchtime.

Basically, I say try approaching your cat when you enter the room and engage it. If you haven't been doing this he might be initially confused but he'll soon get the hang of it -- and he'll certainly let you know what he doesn't like. Cats aren't dogs and there's much more of a peer relationship about them. Engaging them, and varying your behavior, is interesting to them. And they thrive on the attention.
posted by dhartung at 9:53 PM on December 19, 2006

i am unable to read my cat's mind, and i do not initiate head bumps with animals, however...
when madeline wants affection, she jumps up on a four foot high cardboard box. when i scratch her on her favorite cat spots, she'll purr, apply her forehead to my chest and extend her claws on the cardboard, making a scratching noise. she's a good cat, most of the time.
posted by bruce at 11:53 PM on December 19, 2006

My cat doesn't nose-bump me and I have never tried nose-bumping her, but I head-butt her all the time with my forehead, and she reciprocates.
posted by kindall at 12:25 AM on December 20, 2006

Toots, (the best cat ever) was an affectionate cat. But it went beyond that, which is why I forever refer to her as "the best cat ever" (apart from the fact she was a silver color point, utterly beautiful)

Toots was happy being an ordinary cat much of the time, accepting my role as resident 'mama' cat. However, she was also happy reversing roles, and actually mothered me on several occasions.

Like in the aftermath of the Wittier quake in LA: An aftershock shook the apartment, and she demanded the front door be opened (she had alternate means of getting out). Then she demanded I come out with her.

Or about a year later, in the aftermath of the death of my partner. I started having some serious spells of utter darkness, where I'd sit on the edge of my bed doing nothing. Toots decided this was not acceptable! She would do anything to break the mood, including somersalts, wall rebounds, and, as a last resort, sneaking up behind me to gently nip me in the tender parts below my ribs.

In our first year together I suffered from occasional nightmares (I was still quite young). She took it upon herself to come to me and cuddle up, purring me back to sleep.

As for bigger cats:
I recently encountered an unhappy cheetah cub. He was on display at work, not at home (he lived with an employee of the farm). No one was paying him attention, and he was doing the stereotypical thing of pacing back and forth. I didn't know him, but I've learned that young cats are pretty decent generally, so I stuck my hand into his pen. Boom! The head butt my hand received was super urgent! I scratched his head a bit and the purr machine came on, big time. First I'd had a big cat purr for me (I've handled lots of lion cubs of various ages, and tiger cubs that were more interested in being rough than being affectionate, being a tad old for baby play).

So, cats are cats, and cats are affectionate. Make no mistake about it. Cats bond with humans, even big cats. Those tigers had to quit getting human attention, due to size/strength. But they didn't stop wanting it. Very painful to watch a full-grown tiger roll on his back, begging for attention you can't offer!

I don't know that I've done a head-butt with any of the big cats, but I'll give it a go at my next oppurtunity. Definitly have done a bit of face-rubbing with very young lion cubs (they are very reliable breeders in captivity, so plenty of oppurtunity). I just wish there were more tiger cubs around (not native to Africa, but big cat breeders get them here occasionally). Never heard of leopards being breeded this way, unfortunately.
posted by Goofyy at 2:29 AM on December 20, 2006 [1 favorite]

I have several cats, one of them, who was a stray living in the wild for a long time, will bump heads during the middle of serious petting session, I take it as a sign of affection (he does it more to my wife- who has owned him for several years).

I'll go home tonight and attempt to headbutt my other cats and report on the results.

While I'm not exactly sure if cats feel emotions, I can tell you from personal experience that they definitely can have very different personalities. Some are incredibly laid back, some like tons of attention, but it must be on their terms, and some hide most of the time.
posted by drezdn at 7:25 AM on December 20, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for all the responses. Quite different. I guess cats are definitely mysterious beings and you never truly know whats going on in there head.

I dont doubt for one second, that what my cat is doing to me is anything other then affection. We have a great cat/owner relationship and I love her to pieces.

I was just wondering about the reverse...and if the prolonged nose bump to my nose, is a sign of even more extreme trust and affection.....thanks.
posted by TwilightKid at 7:55 AM on December 20, 2006

Neither do human beings - we just THINK we do.

Well, duh. Humans are animals.
posted by agregoli at 8:15 AM on December 20, 2006

Goofyy,
I have heard from TV animal documentaries (ultra-reliable!) that cheetahs are the largest cats that purr. Perhaps a physically larger throat/voicebox apparatus doesn't vibrate the same way? Either way, I'm jealous...
posted by mhespenheide at 8:44 AM on December 20, 2006

Mr. Paw will jump up on my lap (usually while I'm trying to type on the computer, sometimes while I'm trying to go to sleep) and gently touch my face with his paw. It's so cute that I try to ignore the knowledge of exactly where that paw has been. It's definitely an attention-getting mechanism.
posted by Joleta at 12:39 PM on December 20, 2006

Apparently, it depends on the cat. My cat does this all the time, and sometimes she'll actually try to get you to do it back. Unless, of course, she's not in a good mood. Then she'll just bite your nose. I've always interpreted it as a sign of affection; when she wants to sniff something, she just sniffs it. My neighbor's cat, on the other hand, does not do this at all, and had to see it for herself before she'd believe it.

And as long as this is the Happy Kitty Anecdote Thread™: When I get out of the shower, my cat will sniff my feet intently for a few minutes. After she gets frustrated of not being able to find her scent, she'll bite my toes.

And now, I leave you with this.
posted by Spike at 2:31 PM on December 20, 2006

I did this experiment last night with four of our five cats (we didn't intend to have, it just happened).

Here's the rundown...
Lucky: Weirded out by it, though he does it to me
Edison: Non-plused by it, he doesn't do it.
Juneau: Weirded out by it, she hasn't done it
Rusty: He loves it, he does it himself

Empirically, this proves... nothing.
posted by drezdn at 7:15 AM on December 21, 2006

I've always taken a headbutt as an affectionate "hello". Oliver, my male cat, has become much more affectionate in the last few months. He headbutts me and I'll headbutt back, or I'll even initiate the headbutt, and he seems to enjoy it. Abigail, the female, doesn't do it nor does she like it done to her. However, she likes to sniff noses in a hello-like manner.
posted by deborah at 2:16 PM on December 23, 2006

My girlfriend does this occasionally. I usually interpret it as a sign of affection. Of course, she likes tuna, too.
posted by stewiethegreat at 9:47 PM on January 20, 2007 [1 favorite]