When it comes to cats, their nature is somewhat mysterious and moody, especially when it comes to understanding their emotions and desires.
But did you know that there is also a simple technique that could completely transform how we communicate with our cats?
As per the study published in Scientific Reports in 2020, it's easier to build a bond with your cat.
The secret is to smile at your cat but not in the human way, with bared teeth.
Instead, mimic a cat’s natural gesture of affection by narrowing your eyes and blinking slowly.
This behaviour is a sign of trust for cats and doing this can help improve your connection with them.
Research:
To understand this behaviours, researchers conducted two experiments.
In the first experiment, 21 cats from 14 different households were observed. Once a cat was calm and settled in its home environment, the owner was asked to slow-blinked at the cat.
At that time, both the cat’s and the owner's faces were recorded. These videos were then compared with recordings of the cats blinking naturally without human interaction.
In the second experiment, 24 cats from 8 homes were observed and this time, instead of the owners, researchers, who the cats had never met before did the slow blinking.
Result:
Scientists reached this conclusion after the study that when people use a certain facial expression like slowly blinking at cats, whether the cats know the person or not, they are more likely to approach and respond in a friendly way.
