Katharina Buczek
Furthermore, the researchers pinpointed what they call a “common play face” in cats, marked by a relaxed jaw and the mouth corners pulled back. This kind of expression is something humans, dogs, and monkeys also exhibit when they’re playing.
And although the study illuminates aspects of feline emotions and behavior, the precise meaning behind each expression still remains a mystery. So, Florkiewicz believes that unraveling these meanings could be an exciting direction for subsequent research.
However, the researchers did notice certain patterns of behavior. For instance, cats usually point their ears and whiskers forward in amiable exchanges and backward in negative ones. They also observed that cats often squinted their eyes and pinned their ears back during aggressive encounters.
According to Florkiewicz, this recent research could assist potential cat owners in selecting a new cat that might mesh well with pets they already have at home, or it could simply help cat owners better understand their furry friends.
There’s even the potential for this knowledge to fuel the development of an app that translates cat expressions. Right now, there’s already corporate interest in such technology.
“Our study demonstrates that cat communication is more complex than previously assumed. Our hope is to expand our sample size to include cats living in other locations… looking at the facial expressions of cats living in multi-cat homes, feral colonies,” Florkiewicz concluded.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Behavioral Processes, visit the link here.
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