Scent rubbing

Lowering shoulders, collapsing the forelegs, pushing forward and rubbing the chin, temples, neck, or back is how this act is performed.

A variety of different odors can elicit this behavior including feces, vomit, fresh or decaying meat, insecticide, urine, repellent, ashes, human food and so on.

[4][5] Many different species of felids, monkeys, bears, wolves and marmots have primarily been used to study scent rubbing in carnivores.

[6][7][8] Differences in gender and age exist for scent rubbing, with adults and males performing the behavior more frequently than juveniles and females in many species.

Felids are able to discriminate between similar smelling odors using the vomeronasal organ, which is important for eliciting scent rubbing.

During rubbing against humans, cats tend to use the temporal gland area which consists of the cheek, between the eye and the ear.

Throat (facial and neck), anal, dorsal, chest and chin rubbing has been observed in Alouatta and is mostly performed while sitting.

[17] Gray wolves scent rub to a large variety of odors including urine, perfumes, repellant, ashes, human handled objects, food, and resting sites.

The reason behind scent rubbing in wolves is unknown, but it is suggested that they use it to remember odors experienced in their environment, whether new or familiar.

Odours produced by sweat glands, urine, feces and vaginal secretions often induce this behavior, which is prominent in carnivore species.

[16] Carnivores often scent rub as a mechanism of olfactory communication in which they release chemical odours to increase odds of being detected by conspecifics.

Gray foxes have been found to cheek rub fresh puma scrapes in order to acquire the scent and mask their own, deterring predation by other animals.

Certain male domestic cats, bears, monkeys and leopards are shown to scent rub more than their female conspecifics.

[7] Scent rubbing in cats is performed by adult animals more often than juveniles, indicating that the behaviour is used as a means of marking territory or of expressing their status.