How a Cat Nose uses Odors

Besides using body language, it's important that you learn to "smell the right way", if you are to fully communicate with your cat. Cats are able to identify us by the way we smell and they "spread" a certain odor on us by rubbing their cheeks up against us. Doing this makes the cat feel comfortable and close to us. Encourage your cat to do this since our body odors are often times covered by the deodorants and perfumes we use which have strong odors, and because we are constantly washing our hands. If you want to encourage your cat to rub its face and cheeks on your hands, wait until the cat comes to you. From the cats point of view, if you were standing, walked toward it and starting petting it, it would be considered an inconsiderate gesture from your part. Because of this, its best for you to sit dangling one of your hands. Wait for the cat or kitten to come near you; if it rubs against your hand you can then pet it gently by rubbing behind its ears and around its face. This will also help to spread its smell. Some more shy cats prefer to rub themselves on our legs, and most cats do this when they are hungry and want to get fed. If your cat only rubs against your legs when it is hungry, let some time go by before you serve it its food, so that its smell will stick to you more.

How to handle a scared cat: If you have a very timid cat that is afraid of you, never try to impose your friendship on it forcefully. Instead of doing this, sit quietly in the same room the cat is in and ignore it completely. If the cat comes near you, turn your face over a little and sit quietly with out making noise and squint your eyes. You will be able to see how the cat begins to feel more confident and it will little by little start coming near you more often. If you want, you can also give the cat its food and sit next to it to make it feel more secure.