A recent study has found that humans can strengthen their bond with cats by using a specific facial expression. By narrowing their eyes and blinking slowly, humans can make cats feel more comfortable and receptive. This technique, observed in cat-human interactions, can help build trust between humans and cats, even with unfamiliar felines.
The new study, The 'role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication', published online in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, has shown for the first time that it is possible to build rapport with a cat by using an eye narrowing technique with them. This eye narrowing action by humans generates something popularly known as a cat smile - the so-called "slow blink" - and seems to make the human more attractive to the cat. Eye-narrowing movements in cats have some parallels with the genuine smile in humans (the Duchenne smile), as well as eye-narrowing movements given in positive situations in some other species.
Dr Leanne Proops from the University of Portsmouth's Department of Psychology co-supervised the work. She said, "It's definitely not easy to study natural cat behaviour, so these results provide a rare insight into the world of cat-human communication."
As per a news release, the team, led by Dr Tasmin Humphrey and Professor Karen McComb, animal behaviour scientists at the University of Sussex, undertook two experiments. The first revealed that cats are more likely to slow blink at their owners after their owners have slow blinked at them, compared to when they don't interact at all. The second experiment, this time with a researcher from the psychology team, rather than the owner, found that the cats were more likely to approach the experimenter's outstretched hand after they'd slow blinked at the cat, compared to when they had adopted a neutral expression. Taken together, the study shows that this slow blinking technique can provide a form of positive communication between cats and humans.
Professor Karen McComb, from the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex, who supervised the work, said, "As someone who has both studied animal behaviour and is a cat owner, it's great to be able to show that cats and humans can communicate in this way. It's something that many cat owners had already suspected, so it's exciting to have found evidence for it.
"This study is the first to experimentally investigate the role of slow blinking in cat-human communication. And it is something you can try yourself with your own cat at home or with cats you meet in the street. It's a great way of enhancing the bond you have with cats. Try narrowing your eyes at them as you would in a relaxed smile, followed by closing your eyes for a couple of seconds. You'll find they respond in the same way themselves, and you can start a sort of conversation."
Dr Tasmin Humphrey, first author of the study, said: "Understanding positive ways in which cats and humans interact can enhance public understanding of cats, improve feline welfare, and tell us more about the socio-cognitive abilities of this understudied species.
"Our findings could potentially be used to assess the welfare of cats in a variety of settings, including veterinary practices and shelters.
"In terms of why cats behave in this way, it could be argued that cats developed the slow blink behaviours because humans perceived slow blinking as positive. Cats may have learnt that humans reward them for responding to slow blinking. It is also possible that slow blinking in cats began as a way to interrupt an unbroken stare, which is potentially threatening in social interaction."
