Feline Graffiti

Cats leave visual markers on their territory to communicate either their presence or their ownership of the domain. While scratching is a method of maintaining sharp claws, it is also used to leave a visible sign of a cat’s presence.

This is why domestic cats prefer to scratch something highly visible, like the arm of a sofa, and why scratching posts should be placed in a prominent position in a room, rather than ticked away in a corner.

Faces are also used by a dominant cat to mark its territorial boundaries visibly. This is why some cats leave their feces unburied in neighbors' yards, but not in their own.

The cat feels that its territory extends beyond its own yard and its feces are a visible sign of the extent of its jurisdiction.