Your cat is armed with scent glands that are located at the base of its tail that are utilized for identifying other animals and there are scent glands located between its eyes and ears (Its cheeks) that are utilized for marking. Your cat will use the scent glands on its face to mark its territory and all objects in it, including you.

Rubbing up against you firmly is not only about affection…it is also about your cat “taking ownership” over you. Upon meeting another cat or another type of animal, your cat may allow the animal to smell its scent glands under its tail to obtain more information about your cat (a means of identification). The secretion that is expelled during marking or identifying (undetectable to humans) is what other animals would pick up on to know that the person, place, or thing that the cat marked belongs to the cat and no one else. Head on over to this website for the veterinary clinic Tigard if you would like to learn more.