Max face-rubbing his favorite wall corner

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Pets rubbing face on walls

Cat allorubbing and scent leaving behaviors are common. The best way to explain it is that kitties like to use almost all of their face/body parts to rub against almost everything else. Well, maybe a better explanation is that certain cat areas have glands, being strong secretors of hormones. The residue is obvious, likely with some mixed-in cat food and dust adsorbed to the chemical structures. Many pet owners are grossed out by the leftover marks, but we’ve always been reluctant to clean the hard-earned, face-scratching efforts on the wall.

The function is to let others know who the territory belongs to. The cats also wants to leave a trace for others to know that ‘Hi, I was here a bit earlier’. For our kitties, they may be doing it as a sign of attention and affection. Maybe they are hungry, asking for pet food. They are constantly in the same area (the vicinity of the house) and walking by the same walls, corners, and furniture, so the function is likely not the traditional one to get other cats aware, since it’s just Max and Zuma here.

We’ve noticed they do the rubbing and head bunting around the time when they look back-and-forth directly into our eyes. They want some social and playing time...

Here's a bit more cat behavior info: http://www.petplace.com/cats/why-do-cats-rub-up-against-things/page1.aspx