[FatCat]

If cats can recognize friend or foe by scent, and that is why a cat will rub his head on your leg so his hair/skin oil & scent gets on you...then what happens when you change clothes and do the laundry and/or take a shower? That alters your "smell" to the cat so how does it continue to recognize you?

 

[Annissa]

Cats recognize your scent. The scent that you naturally produce through your skin. He rubs against you to mark you. When you wash your clothes you still smell like you so he will still recognize you.

 

[Kittys Mom]

"If cats can recognize friend or foe by scent, and that is why a cat will rub his head on your leg so his hair/skin oil & scent gets on you..."

They rub there scent on things to mark their territory or their ownership.

I always watch Kitty going around the house doing this, And I imagine she is saying..."And this is mine, and this is mine, and this is..."

 

[MA]

That's really funny....I love it ("This is mine and this is mine....")

 

[Ioana]

It is not only the scent but also the sound of our voices are extremely important in their reconizing us; the shape of our body to a certain extent. I remember having read somewhere that when they rub their oils against us is to make us theirs

 

[OsnobunnieO]

I remember when I first got Addison and thought he was rubbing on me because he loved me. My friend (who knows cats) informed me that he was just "claiming me" as his property. Kinda made me a little sad, haha.

 

[Gudewife]

The British science fiction comedy "Red Dwarf" featured a character who had evolved into a humanlike form over millions of years of evolution stemming back to a pregnant cat left in the ship's cargo hold (long story). Obviously, "The Cat" (as he was called) was completely vain, selfish, and a fabulous dresser. In one of the episodes, he's shown after first venturing out into the ship, with a little aerosol can...walking down the hallway, spritzing everything he passed:

"<spritz> That's mine...<spritz> That's mine...<spritz> That's mine...<pause>...<sniff>...<pause>...THAT'S not mine!"

:lol:

Classic. Every once in a while, Assumpta will be in one of her "mark everything in sight" moods, but she'll always find at least one thing that the Cat Planet has told her is unworthy of being marked...and she'll sniff it, blink several times, and walk off with that little dismissive shake of the back paw to indicate her utter disdain.

 

[Ianthe]

And I imagine she is saying..."And this is mine, and this is mine, and this is..."

Hee hee hee :lol: Gaylord is OBSESSED with claiming things around the house. He will rub himself on anything he possible can. We recently got a 10 gallon fish tank that is sitting in our living room, and Gaylord definately thinks it is HIS. When you get close to the tank, you can see orange cat hair stuck to the glass near the corners :lol:

 

[FatCat]

Cats recognize your scent. The scent that you naturally produce through your skin. He rubs against you to mark you. When you wash your clothes you still smell like you so he will still recognize you.

But doesn't a person's scent change? That's what I meant. You can use perfume/cologne or even work out in the heat and smell like a pig...but it's a different scent, isn't it? To me it is...but if cats can recognize the same person through all that then it must be an extremely highly developed scent detection system in their bodies!

 

[Gudewife]

Heck, a person's scent changes according to their mood, never mind artificial enhancements.

Though not as sensitive as a dog's nose, a cat's olfactory senses are FAR superior to that of humans, and they can discern more smells that you and I could ever hope to smell. A lot of cats hate perfumes and other strong odors that humans find appealing. Cats tend to rely on more than just scent when sizing up a person...sight and hearing are helpful to them at a distance, scent comes into play more as they get closer.

IME, cats know me whether I'm clean out of the shower or all sweaty from working, no matter what clothes I'm wearing. The only problem issue is if I'm wearing perfume or hair spray (maybe once a year), in which case they don't want to get close enough to distinguish my personal scent because the artificial smell is too offensive to bother with further investigation...can't say as I blame them.

But in short, yes it is a highly developed olfactory system, far superior to that of us lowly humans.