When we talk about cats being experts at hiding pain and hiding their emotions, this is not an exaggeration. In almost all likelihood, anyone who lives with a cat would have a hard time listing more than a dozen different facial gestures, that is if we’re being optimistic. However, a team of researchers has determined At least 276 different facial expressions In domestic cats, a number that places the species much higher than was thought possible, this indicates a… A richer social and emotional life Than he thought.
The discovery is the result of a project led by evolutionary psychologist Britt Florkiewicz and doctoral researcher Lauren Scott, in collaboration between the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Lyon College in Arkansas. CANZ (Companion Animals New Zealand) recently joined this effort, which is exploring how humans interpret these expressions and what their consequences are for cats’ health. Together, both lines of business want a better understanding How do cats communicate and how can we respond More suitable for its signals.
Unexpected facial repertoire
The original study was born in the exotic environment of the CatCafé lounge in Los Angeles, a space where dozens of adoptable cats live in groups while interacting with human visitors. For about a year, researchers They recorded more than 190 minutes of interactions between the catsOutside of general working hours, to observe their gestures and facial movements normally.
Analysis of the recordings allowed us to establish an identity 26 specific muscle movements of the cat’s faceSuch as the position of the ears, the curvature of the vibrations, the dilation or contraction of the pupil, partial or complete blinking, or ringing of the lips. By combining these movements in different sequences, the cats were able to give birth 276 different expressions, Almost as high as those identified among chimpanzees (357) and much higher than what has been documented in dogs.
According to the researchers, 45% of these expressions were friendly or cooperativewhile 37% showed signs of tension or aggression. The rest, 18%, were gestures that were impossible to fully classify, like a sort of feline “Cheshire smile.” In friendly interactions, cats tend to Pointing the ears and whiskers towards the other animalWhile in hostile exchanges they backed away from it or moved it in the opposite direction.
The role of coevolution with humans
The fact that cats are able to modify their faces in such a complex way prompted scientists to do so Suggest a possible process of communicative co-evolution With humans. Over the past 10,000 years, cats have learned to live closely with people, adapting their behavior and, perhaps, Adjusting facial expressions makes it easier to communicate with us.
In fact, some of cats’ friendly gestures, such as slow blinking or slight head tilts, are strikingly similar to those of other social species, including humans and dogs, suggesting a common “play expression” among social mammals.
From laboratory to symbiosis
CANZ investigation (Pets New Zealand), in cooperation with Lyon College, starts from that scientific base to take another step forward Find out if people are able to correctly interpret cat facial expressions.
The study, conducted by researchers Josiah Zobel and Levi Neal, asks participants to watch videos of cat interactions and predict whether they will end in a friendly confrontation or a conflict. The results will help determine Which signals do we easily understand and which do we tend to misinterpret?.
“Misinterpretations can generate tension or even confrontations between cats sharing a household,” explains Josiah Zobel. “If we can get more people to learn to read cat facial signals, we can improve their well-being and strengthen the bond in cohabitation.”
The project also seeks to achieve the practical goal of: Create a visual dictionary of feline expressionsl Public accesswhich serves as a guide for owners, veterinarians, and other animal care professionals. In this way, scientific findings can be translated into real-world tools that help reduce conflicts in homes with multiple cats and facilitate the adoption of compatible animals.