Since direct contact among felines in the wild seldom occurs, they must rely almost entirely on indirect methods of transmitting messages. Through a series of scent and visual markers, cats post their own distinctive "Keep Out" signs or "Welcome" mats to announce their own happy hunting and breeding grounds. Potential trespassers coming across such a marker must retreat or enter at their own risk. Outdoors in rural areas, the suburbs or the urban jungle, domestic cats mark territory in much the same way.

All felines, wild or domestic, will mark territory for themselves, no matter how small. The size of the territory is dictated primarily by the availability of food. Where it's scarce, cats must stake out large tracts to satisfy their appetites. Where it's plentiful, a small territory will do. Social factors, however, also play a role in territory size. Sexually intact males will roam territories up to 10 times larger than those of their female counterparts in order to find mates. Even neutered domestic males exhibit some degree of the greater wanderlust demonstrated by males in the wild.

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