Cats have a reputation for being aloof (and flighty), but if you and your feline friend don’t have a good relationship, the problem may simply be that you don’t speak their language.
Don’t be afraid—research shows it’s easier than you think. All you need to do is smile at them a lot—cat style. Not in the human way, showing his teeth, but squinting his eyes and blinking slowly.
By observing cat-human interactions in 2020, scientists confirmed that this simple gesture makes cats—both familiar and unfamiliar—more likely to approach and interact with humans.
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Karen McComb, a psychologist at the University of Sussex, said at the time the study was published: “As someone who both studies animal behavior and owns cats, it’s great to be able to show that cats and humans can communicate in this way.”
“Many cat owners have suspected this, so finding the evidence is exciting.”
Watch the video below for a summary of the research:
If you’ve spent any time around cats, you’ve probably seen their “eyes half-closed” facial expression, accompanied by slow blinking. This is similar to the way humans’ eyes squint when they smile, and usually occurs when cats are relaxed and content. This expression has been interpreted as a cat’s smile.
Anecdotal evidence from cat owners suggests that humans can mimic this expression to convey to cats that we are friendly and willing to interact. To test this idea, a team of psychologists conducted two experiments.
The first experiment involved 21 cats from 14 different households. Once the cat is settled and comfortable in the home environment, owners are instructed to sit about 1 meter (just over 3 feet) away and blink slowly while the cat looks at them.
The camera recorded the owner’s and cat’s faces, and the results were compared to when the cat blinked without human interaction.
The results showed that cats were more likely to blink slowly at humans after humans blinked at cats slowly than in the absence of interaction.
The second experiment included 24 cats from 8 different households. This time, it wasn’t the owners who blinked, but researchers, who had no previous contact with cats. As a control, the cats’ responses to a no-blink condition were recorded, in which the human stared at the cat without blinking.
The researchers performed the same slow blinking process as in the first experiment, extending a hand toward the cat. They found that not only were cats more likely to blink back, but they were also more likely to approach the human’s hand after the human blinked.
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“This study is the first to experimentally examine the role of slow blinking in cat-human communication,” McComb said.
“You can try this at home with your own cat or a cat you meet on the street. It’s a great way to strengthen your bond with your cat.
“Try squinting at them, as in a relaxed smile, and then close your eyes for a few seconds. You’ll find them reacting in the same way themselves, and then you can start some kind of conversation.”
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Dogs may be more enthusiastic than cats, but the news shouldn’t come as a surprise to cat lovers. Research in recent years has shown that our feline friends have much better relationships with their human roommates than previously thought, and comparing them to dogs does them a disservice.
Cats, for example, will react in the same way to humans who accept them – so if you notice your cat is aloof, that’s probably your problem, not the kitten’s.
Likewise, cats echo the personality traits of the humans they live with – which may have something to do with why cats seem to act out when their humans are sad.
They can also recognize their own names (although many times they choose to ignore them). Their connection to humanity is surprisingly deep.
It’s hard to understand why cats blink slowly at humans like this. Cats are thought to view the uninterrupted gaze as a threat, so it is interpreted as a way of showing kindness. But it’s also possible that cats developed this expression because humans responded positively to it. In domestic animals, it is usually impossible to tell.
Regardless, it does seem to help build rapport. It’s good to know this. Learning how to improve our relationships with these mysterious animals may also be a way to improve their emotional well-being—not just in the home environment, but in a range of potentially stressful situations.
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Tasmin Humphrey, a psychologist at the University of Sussex, said: “Understanding the positive ways cats and humans interact could enhance public understanding of cats, improve feline welfare and tell us more about the social-cognitive abilities of this understudied species.”
“Our findings have the potential to be used to assess cat welfare in a variety of settings, including veterinary practices and shelters.”
You want to try it now, don’t you?
The study was published in scientific report.
An earlier version of this article was published in October 2020.
