Humans and Cats have lived side by side for millennia. During this time, our pets have earned a reputation as aloof, fluffy geniuses. However, scientists now believe that this perception is misguided. In reality, our communication issues with cats stem from our inability to speak their language, as reported by Science Alert.
Fortunately for us, it's not overly complicated: researchers suggest that we simply need to smile. The catch is that we shouldn't smile in a human way but rather in a feline manner—by narrowing our eyes and blinking slowly.
According to psychologist Karen McComb from the University of Sussex, it’s wonderful to understand that cats and humans can communicate in such a straightforward way. Interestingly, many cat owners have long suspected this, making it quite exciting to find evidence supporting it.
Anyone who has spent time with cats has probably noticed their facial expression characterized by "partially closed eyes," often accompanied by slow blinking. This resembles how our own eyes narrow when we smile. Researchers observed that cats typically display this behavior when they are relaxed and content.
In their study, a group of psychologists designed two experiments to test this theory. In the first experiment, pet owners slowly blinked at 21 cats from 14 different households. Once the cat settled in and felt comfortable in their home environment, the owners were instructed to sit about 1 meter away and blink slowly while the cat looked at them. The interactions between the cats and humans were recorded on video and compared with how cats blink when not interacting with people. The results indicated that cats were more likely to blink slowly when looking at their humans after their owners had looked at them and blinked slowly.
The second experiment involved 24 cats from 8 different households. This time, it was not the owners who blinked, but researchers who had not previously interacted with the cats. The interactions between humans and cats were also recorded on video.
The researchers followed the same slow blinking process as in the first experiment, adding an outstretched hand towards the cat. They found that cats not only blinked in response more often but were also more likely to approach the human's hand after the human blinked.
As a result, the scientists concluded that this behavior allows cats and humans to communicate. Furthermore, the team believes that such interactions with pets may help foster friendship and improve understanding of their behavior.
It’s worth noting that dogs tend to be much more exuberantly demonstrative than cats. However, for cat owners, this is hardly news.