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Why Cats Show You Their Butt, According to Science
It’s not what you think.
Inverse

Rae Paoletta

GettyImages-971597068.jpg

Photo by ablokhin / Getty Images.

As a popular Books of Adam comic has pointed out, the most difficult thing to
reconcile with as a cat owner is the fact that your cat’s butthole has touched
pretty much everything you own. Sometimes, your cat will decide to put his or her
gnarly hole on your face, completely casually. While it might seem vaguely
threatening or confusing, a cat researcher tells Inverse it’s not as weird as you
think.

Cat enthusiasts know the feeling. You’ll be sitting down, waiting for your kitty to
curl up next to you when all of a sudden they present you with their behind.
Sometimes it smells like the litter box, making the whole situation even more
unsavory.

But according to cat researcher Mikel Delgado, a postdoctoral fellow at the School
of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis, cats aren’t trying to gross you out — in fact,
they’re trying to be nice.
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“For cats, it’s normal for them to sniff each other’s butts as a way to say hello
or confirm another cat’s identity,” Delgado tells Inverse. “It’s hard for us to
relate to, but for them, smell is much more important to cats and how they
recognize each other than vision is. So cats may be ‘inviting’ us to check them
out, or just giving us a friendly hello.”

Even long-time cat owners have trouble understanding most of the things their cats
do — but the butt situation is probably the most perplexing of all, even if it’s
well-intended.

“My cat, Lou, shoves his butt in my face when he’s begging me to scratch his butt
(but pretending to ignore me), or when he’s hungry and wants to get my attention,”
Inverse’s entertainment reporter Caitlin Busch says. “He’s The Worst and I love
him.”

Though cats are definitely evil geniuses, sticking their butts in our faces isn’t
actually a sign of aggression. All the other weird stuff they do probably is,
though — and we love them for it anyway.
Rae Paoletta is the Senior Editor at Inverse, overseeing the space science
vertical. She previously worked at Gizmodo as a space writer and launched astronomy
coverage at MTV News and Revelist. She unapologetically shills for Saturn and cats.

How was it? Save stories you love and never lose them.
This post originally appeared on Inverse and was published December 5, 2017. This
article is republished here with permission.

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