Everyone has had the experience of accidentally stepping on or lightly kicking their purring friend while walking around the house, simply because these animals walk between our legs. Sometimes walking around the house becomes aerobatics, trying not to hurt our purring friend who is so eager to get between our legs. Is there a theory for another strange cat behavior?
Trying to mark by rubbing your legs
These friends are equipped with glands around their mouth and chin that produce pheromones.
It is possible that your purring friend is rubbing so hard against your walking legs because they want to transfer their scent to you. Although it is a bit of a strange way for them to do it, it is possible that your cat is attracted to the movement of your legs as moving objects and wants to play, but also to mark you to make it clear that you are their person.
Manipulation attempt
If you think about when your purring friend rubs hard against your legs and blocks your path, this often happens when it’s mealtime or you’re headed to the cupboard where you keep the food.
The same can happen when your cat wants to play with you and seeks your attention. Often, walking between your legs is mixed with purring and meowing, and we can interpret this behavior as a cat’s attempt to tell you “Look how cute I am!”, and you naturally can’t resist this “manipulation” and pour more food or spend more time playing.
Since cats watch you absolutely every day and learn from your reactions, if your cunning pet notices that you react to his behavior when he rubs between your feet – he will use this as a strategy to “beg” for what he wants.
Your cat is attached to you and happy to have you around
The two reasons above – marking and manipulation – have a subtle negative connotation, that the purring friend perceives us as his property and a source of food. While this is not far from the truth, cats still love their owners and become attached to them. Why else would they follow you everywhere you go, sleep in the same room you are in, and generally hang around you all the time.
It is possible that your cat is simply happy to have you around and wants to make physical contact with you as an expression of this affection.
Walking zigzag across our legs is a typical behavior for purring friends, although it may be very strange to us. Whatever the reason, we must be careful not to unintentionally hurt our cuddly friend. Little kittens that weigh one kilogram and hang around our feet are at great risk of being stepped on or kicked unintentionally.
Illustrative photo: pexels-elifinatlasi-66733727-37569005
