Here’s an easy way to improve your fur-friendship with your cat.
A team of psychologists has found a way to communicate positive emotions with cats using eye movements.
Researchers at the University of Portsmouth and Sussex in the UK found that in one movement they narrowed their gaze to a cat they described as a “slow blink”, then a long eye narrowed or closed which was like laughing for cats. The results of their two experiments with slow blinking on cats were published in the journal Scientific Reports this week.
Their study found that pet cats are more likely to slow down on their owners if the owner blinks before them and they are more likely to contact the researcher if the person blinks slowly before they offer an open hand. Than the researcher has kept a neutral facial expression.
For cats, “slow blinking” is like a smile, the researchers said. (Alex Milan Tracy / SIPA USA)
(AP Images by Alex Milan Tracy / SIPA USA)
The only cat cat with different colored eyes, the extra toes made of the established famous
According to Karen McComb, a professor at the University of Sussex School of Psychology and one of the authors of the study, the slow flicker in cat-human communication was the first.
“It’s great to be able to show someone who has both studied animal behavior and owns cats, that cats and humans can communicate in this way,” McCombe said in a press release. “It’s something that many cat owners already suspected, so it’s gratifying to find evidence for it.”
Cat owners can also try to mimic the experiment at home. (iStock)
Click here to get the Fox News app
Animal study scientist Tasmin Humphrey, lead author of the study, said a better understanding of cat-human interaction could help improve public understanding of the welfare of cats and cats. She also notes that cats have not been studied as much as some other human-friendly species, such as dogs.
“With regard to why cats behave this way, it can be argued that cats develop slow blinking behavior because humans considered slow blinking to be positive,” Humphrey said in a press release. “Cats must have learned that humans retaliate by blinking. It is also possible that the slow blinking in cats began as a way of intact disruption, which is potentially dangerous in social interactions. “
Cats respond with a slow blink from their owners and strangers. (iStock)
(iStock)
Click here to sign up for our Lifestyle Newsletter
Cat owners can also try to copy the experiment at home, according to McComb.
“This is a great way to increase bonds with cats,” McCombe said. “Close your eyes for a moment and try to narrow your eyes towards them as you smile. You get feedback from them in the same way and you can start a kind of conversation. ”
