Q: Why do my cats sniff each other’s bums?
A: Cats have an incredibly well-developed sense of smell (about 14 times more sensitive than humans) and they have five sets of glands, which are involved in territorial marking. One of these pairs of glands is along the base of the tail, and the odour emitted is unique to each cat.
Cats communicate important information with the excretions from these glands – such as the health of the cat, or whether she is friend or foe, to name a couple.
Even cats who know each other well will sniff each other’s bums to see if there is anything new going on, since they were last together.
It is a healthy, socially acceptable form of feline communication – much like us shaking hands.
Wendy Wilson, behaviourist
