I read somewhere that cats love shoes because they not only smell like us but like our feet, the bodypart that is usually closest to them and thus the most familiar. I have no source or evidence for this claim but it seems plausible.

I once caught my cat sitting with her head stuck fully into one of my shoes. Unfortunately my laugh startled her and she ran off.

Noki is so cute!

We refer to our boy, Noodle, as a foot gremlin. He’s always hanging around peoples’ feet and shoes. Sometimes he’ll just sit on my foot while I’m standing around.

Zoey, my cat loves shoes. Mine, guests. She loves all the new smells everytime we have people come over or we come back from outside.

My hiking boots in particular seem to be preferred for my two girls Apocalypse and Abaddon.

they're trying to mix their brand with your brand (via smell)

Yea, my fella likes to sniff my shoes to check where I’ve been haha

Sometimes they'll just lay on my feet will im standing around or lean up against them. They just love feet.

My cat does this, but only to our guests' shoes. It's so gross...

My cat like my feet, not my shoes.

I find that my cat also likes my jacket when it is off. To the point I will throw my jacket across a room and the cat will run after it and lay next to it