A team of psychologists at the Universities of Sussex and Portsmouth have purred the art of bonding with cats.
The new study, “The role of cat-eye narrowing movements in communication between cats and humans” was published online in the nature diary Scientific reportsshowed for the first time that it is possible to develop a relationship with a cat by using an eye tightening technique with them.
This narrowing of the eyes by humans creates what is popularly known as the cat smile – called the “slow blink” – and appears to make humans more attractive to cats. Eye-tightening movements in cats share some parallels with the real smile in humans (the Duchenne smile), as well as eye tightening movements that occur in positive situations in some other species.
The team headed by Dr. Tasmin Humphrey and Professor Karen McComb, animal behaviorists at the University of Sussex, performed two experiments.
A Maine Coon cat demonstrating the narrowed eye. Move.
Photo credit: Prof. Karen McComb University of Sussex
The first found that cats are more likely to blink their owners slowly after their owners blink them slowly than if 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 slowly blinking the cat than if they assumed a neutral expression.
Taken together, the study shows that this slowly blinking technique can enable some form of positive communication between cats and humans.
The study found:
- Cats blinked slowly at their owners when their owners blinked at them more slowly than when the owner was present in the room but did not blink slowly.
- Cats blinked slowly when an unknown experimenter blinked slowly at them than when they kept a neutral expression.
- Cats preferred to approach an experimenter after slowly blinking the cat, as if maintaining a neutral expression.
Professor Karen McComb of the University of Sussex’s School of Psychology who oversaw the work said, “As someone who has both studied animal behavior and is a cat owner, it’s great to show that cats and people can communicate on this way. It’s something that many cat owners have already suspected, so it’s exciting to have found evidence of it.
“This study is the first to experimentally examine the role of slow blinking in communication between cats and humans. And it’s something to try with your own cat at home or with cats you meet on the street. It’s a great way to bond with cats. Try narrowing your eyes, as you would with a relaxed smile, then close your eyes for a few seconds. You will find that they react the same way themselves, and you can start some sort of conversation. ”
Dr. Tasmin Humphrey, a PhD student at the University of Sussex’s School of Psychology while on the job, was the study’s first author. She said, “Understanding the positive ways cats and people interact can improve the public’s understanding of cats, improve cats’ well-being, and tell us more about the socio-cognitive abilities of this species under study.
“Our results could potentially be used to assess cat welfare in a variety of settings, including veterinary practices and animal shelters.
“In terms of why cats behave this way, it could be argued that cats developed the slow blink because people found slow blinking positive. Cats may have learned that humans reward them for responding to slow blinking. It is also possible that slow blinking began in cats to break up an unbroken gaze that may threaten social interaction. ”
Dr. Leanne Proops at University of Portsmouth, who contributed to the work, said: “It is definitely not easy to study the behavior of natural cats, so these results offer a rare glimpse into the world of cat-human communication.”
How the experiments worked
Two experiments were conducted to investigate the role of slow blinking in communication between cats and humans.
The first experiment involved a total of 21 cats from 14 different households. Fourteen different owners participated in Experiment 1. Ten of the cats were male and eleven of the cats were female, with the age of the cat between an estimated 0.45 and 16 years. The experiments took place in each cat’s home. The psychologist advised the owner of the cat how to blink slowly. After the cat settled in one place, the psychologist asked the owner to either sit about 1 meter away from the cat.
Experiment 2 included a total of 24 additional cats. Twelve cats were male and 12 cats were female, the age of the cat ranged from 1 to 17 years. The cats included in the final analyzes came from eight different households. In this experiment, the researcher, who was not familiar to the cat, either blinked slowly at the cat or assumed a neutral face without direct eye contact. This experiment also tested the context in which the cats preferred to approach the unknown experimenter by offering the cat a flat hand, palm up, while sitting or crouching directly across from the cat. Both experiments were recorded on video.
Cat Psychology – The Existing Context
In the new work the authors give a context for their results. The psychology of cats has not been studied as extensively as that of dogs, but what is already known includes:
- Cats have been shown to effectively “purr” and manipulate human attention.
- That cats can tell their name from other words, even when unknown people call.
- These cats may be sensitive to human emotional signals and may rub or bump their head against an owner who is feeling sad.
“The role of cat-eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication,” by Tasmin Humphrey, Leanne Proops, Jemma Forman, Rebecca Spooner, and Karen McComb, published in Scientific reports, is open access.
Reference: “The role of movements to narrow the cat’s eye in communication between cats and humans” by Tasmin Humphrey, Leanne Proops, Jemma Forman, Rebecca Spooner and Karen McComb, October 5, 2020, Scientific reports.
DOI: 10.1038 / s41598-020-73426-0
