It’s important to never be afraid of cats – a 2020 study found that it’s not that difficult. You just need to laugh at them more. Not in the “human way”, by baring teeth, but in the cat way, by narrowing the eyes and blinking slightly.
By observing cat-human interactions, scientists have confirmed that this facial expression makes cats – more free to approach people and to relax.
“As someone who studies animal behavior and owns cats, it’s great to show that cats and people can communicate in this way,” said Karen McComb, a psychologist at the University of Sussex.
If you’ve spent any time around cats, you’ve probably seen their “partially closed eyes” and facial expression, followed by slow blinking. Just such an expression is interpreted as a kind of cat’s smile.
According to cat owners, humans can copy this expression to let cats know that we are friendly and open to interacting with them. A team of psychologists designed two experiments to determine whether cats behave differently toward humans who blink slowly, lightly.
In the first experiment, owners blinked slowly in the presence of 21 cats from 14 different households. The cameras recorded the faces of the owner and the cat, and the results showed that cats were more likely to blink slowly in the presence of owners who behaved the same way.
The second experiment included 24 cats from eight different households. This time it was not the owners who blinked, but the researchers, who had not previously had contact with the cat. The researchers performed the same slow-blink process as in the first experiment, with an arm extended toward the cat. They found that when they blinked slowly, cats were more likely to approach them casually with a similar facial expression.
“This study is the first to experimentally investigate the role of slow blinking in cat-human communication,” McComb said.
Don’t be afraid of cats, say experts
“And it’s something you can try with your cat at home or with cats you meet on the street. It’s a great way to improve the bond you have with your cats. Try narrowing your eyes as you would in a relaxed smile, then close your eyes for a few seconds. You will see that they themselves react in the same way and you can start some kind of conversation,” she added.
This news comes as no surprise to cat lovers. In recent years, research has shown that our feline friends are much more in tune with their housemates, that is, their owners, than previously assumed.
Similarity with the owners
By the way, cats reflect the personality traits of the people they live with and this can be recognized by the fact that they feel when their owner is sad or upset, and also, it has been shown that they know how to recognize people by name (although they often choose to ignore them). Certainly, their bonds with the people they share their living space with are surprisingly deep.
It is not clear why cats narrow their eyes and blink more slowly in the presence of people in particular, but it is interpreted as a means of signaling good intentions.
Either way, it seems to help create better relationships.
“Understanding the positive ways in which cats and humans interact can improve public understanding of cats, improve feline welfare and tell us more about the socio-cognitive abilities of this understudied species,” said psychologist Tasmin Humphrey of the University of Sussex.
“Our findings could potentially be used to assess the welfare of cats in a variety of settings, including veterinary practices and shelters,” she added.
Source: www.sitoireseto.com
