Lover kitty

[catlover chick]

Weston, my kitty, he is always in my face purring, Really loud

and he rubs his nose on my face,

but he is a loving cat

and he follows me all over the neighborhood

 

[callista]

Yes, they rub their faces on things to signal "ownership" or "territory". So when he is rubbing his face on you he is saying, "You are part of my clan!" Cats will rub on each other like that, so they smell familiar to each other; it's why one cat may freak out when another returns from the vet, because the other cat doesn't smell right. My cat Tiny usually meets me when I come out of the shower to re-apply the clan smell to my ankles!

Mind you, to a cat, "territory/ownership" doesn't signal dominance. Cats don't really have a hierarchical social structure. It's more like, "I feel safe here; this is familiar; this is home."

In intact males, spraying may be used to signal readiness to mate and a possible warning to other males, and as such can be a sign of insecurity, but cheek-rubbing is a definite sign of a cat which feels safe and happy.