I’m catsitting for the first time ever, and one of the two cats is rubbing her head against everything firm in the apartment. It’s a spot on her head between her eye and her ear, and it just doesn’t match any cat behavior I’m aware of, though I’ve never been a cat owner before. But she’s doing this so much that I think she’s rubbing off some hair and rubbing her skin a bit raw. I’d hate to be an irresponsible steward for these little troublemakers, but I just don’t know if this is normal behavior or not. She’s weaving in and out between all the chair and table legs, rubbing each and every one it seems.
I tried taking some photos. It’s hard to keep them both in frame, so only one turned out reasonably. It’s in my flickr.
How old is the cat? If possible, ask the owner if she has exhibited this behaviour while he/she is home, or if this is only taking place when the owner is away.
Does the cat seem to enjoy the action, as if it were marking territory (cats usually rub their cheek on something when marking territory)?
My cat Lucky did this for years. He would practically bonk his head into hard surfaces to rub against them. Occasionally he would rub fur off or even abrade himself. It turns out that this can be one of the symptoms of a developing brain tumor (in retrospect, this was the case with Lucky).
Best bet is to alert the owner about what you’ve observed and then show them these links.
I found a lot of good information through the links on Skribble’s page.
Your friend can email Linda on the “contacts & links” page at Skribble’s site if he/she is still in need of more information. She has quite a bit of experience caring for terminally ill cats and is a heckuva nice lady when dealing with humans as well.
I hope it’s not a meningioma, but best to have as much info as possible and be as prepared as possible.
Keep in mind that I’m describing Worst Case Scenario. I hope it’s something more benign.
How long are you sitting for? How long have you been there? (are the cats familiar with you? Maybe they are settling in to their new ‘guest’. Maybe they were rescues and are having issues?)
Can you contact your friends? (phone or emails?)
Do you have the name of the vet they go too? Give them a call and explain what you are seeing.
I would say do a video tape of the behavior, if you have access to a camera to document what they are doing and to see if there are any noticeable changes.
Thanks for the sometimes scary replies. The cats have moved in with us for most of the summer. We’re new to the cats, and they’re new to us and to the building. They’re littermates, 3 years old, pretty docile and affectionate. The female, the one doing the rubbing, found her way into our unfinished basement, and was there for about two days before she fell asleep in her cat carrier and I was able to bring her up and lock that door. I suspected she may have been bitten by a bug while down there.
It’s hard to say–I second asking a vet. It might be her just going around your house and saying “This is mine, and this is mine, and this is mine…” or it might be something else wrong.
My first reaction was that this cat is normally the dominant one of the group, and that she’s simply putting her smell on objects so that everyone will know it’s her territory. If you think she’s overdoing it, try distracting her with a game or with petting. This is a huge change for them, and insofar as they’re concerned, your place is their new home.
Good luck! One of my cats never stopped rubbing against hard surfaces for the 10 years she lived.
Sounds like an allergy to me. One of my cats does this all the time, until that spot is raw. Turns out she has an allergy. Palliative spray or cream usually works fine, although every once in a while, she requires a steroid injection.
Could also be ear mites. They itch, and the cat could be trying to scratch.
I’m just popping in to say that the spot between the eye and the ear that you say is losing hair is normally very thinly furred compared to the rest of the cat. She may not be losing hair at all, unless you’ve actually seen the hair come off.
If the skin is raw, then I would see a vet.
Definitely do not see anything unusual in the rubbing behavior though. Cats do that all the time, especially cats with a “I’m the boss” attitude. She sounds like she’s annexing your place is all.
