Cats are known for being a little more reserved than dogs, particularly when compared to dogs. You might find that your feline friend is difficult to bond with.
It’s not difficult, according to research. It’s as easy as smiling at them more.
Do not smile the human way by exposing your teeth. Instead, smile the cat way by closing your eyes and blinking slowly.
In a study published in 2020, scientists observed cat-human interactions, and were able to confirm that this act of blinking slowly makes cats – both familiar and unfamiliar animals – approach and be receptive to humans.
“As someone who has studied animal behavior as well as being a cat owner, I find it great to be able show that cats can communicate with humans,” Karen McComb, a UK psychologist at the University of Sussex. ExplainedWhen the results of the study had been published.
“It was something that many cat owners knew, so it is exciting to have discovered evidence.”
If you have ever spent time with cats, you will likely have seen their “partially closed eye” facial expression. It is accompanied by slow blinking. It’s similar in appearance to how When we smile, our eyes are narrowedIt is a sign that puss is content and relaxed. It is often interpreted as a type of cat smile.
According to cat owners, this expression can be copied by humans to signal to cats that we’re there. Friendly and open to interactions. A team of psychologists devised two experiments to test whether cats behave differently towards slow-blinking people.
Owners slow-blinked at 21 cats in 14 different households during the first experiment. After the cat had settled in a comfortable spot, the owners were told to slow-blink at the cat when they looked at them.
Cameras captured both the owner and the cat’s faces and were then compared to see how cats blink without any human interaction.
Results showed that cats were more likely to blink at their humans if they have been slow-blinked at, as opposed to the no-interaction situation.
The second experiment featured 24 cats from eight households. The researchers were the ones who did the blinking, and they had never seen the cat before. As a control, the cats were shown how they responded to a “no-blink” condition in which the humans stared directly at them without blinking.
Researchers used the same slow blink technique as in the first experiment but added an extended hand to the cat. The researchers found that the cats were more likely not to blink back but were also more likely to reach out to the hand of the person after the human had blinked.
“This is the first experimental investigation of the role that slow blinking plays in cat-human communication.” McComb.
You can also try it with your own cat or other cats that you meet on the streets. This is a great way to strengthen your bond with your cat. You can try looking at your cat with a relaxed smile and then closing your eyes for a few seconds. They will respond the same way and you can have a conversation.
Although dogs may be more vocal than cats, cat lovers might not be surprised by the slow blinking phenomenon.
Recent research has shown that feline companions are more connected to their humans than we thought. It is not a good idea to compare them with dogs.
Cats are one example. Humans who are open to receiving them will reciprocate in kind – so if you find cats standoffish, that might be a problem with you, not the kitty.
Likewise, Cats echo the personalities of their human companions – this may be related to why cats They seem to be able to pick up on the saddest moments of their owners. They can also recognize their names, although they are not able to do so. They can be ignoredThey do this a lot. They are also very popular. The bonds they share with their loved ones are surprising deep.
It’s not clear why cats slow-blink at people in this way. It has been described as a “remarkable behavior”. Signalling positive intentionsThis is because cats may interpret unbroken staring to be threatening.
It is possible that the expression was created by cats, as humans are able to respond positively to it. It is often difficult to tell when domesticated animals are involved.
Whatever the case, it seems to be a good way to forge a connection. That’s a great thing to know. Learning how to improve our relationships with these enigmatic animals could also be a way to improve their emotional health – not just in the home environment, but across a range of potentially stressful situations.
The research was published in Scientific Reports.
A previous version of this article appeared in October 2020..
