Cats' squinting: a smiling signal paving the way for a human-feline bond, researchers find

Contrary to the notion that cats are such individualists, making it difficult to bond with them, the reality couldn't be further from this. A lot is indeed dependent on the pet's personality, but cats also have the potential to be wonderful human companions. Once you've learned their unique mode of communication, cohabitation becomes significantly more straightforward.

Cats interact with humans not only through their sounds but also via body language. A great deal can be conveyed solely through the movement of the eyes or tail, particularly noticeable when our feline friend begins to squint at us.

You might initially think that the squinting signifies a predisposition to attack, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Squinting in cats is, in fact, equivalent to a human's smile. In this manner, cats communicate that they feel safe and comfortable in our presence.

Studies conducted by psychologists from the universities of Sussex and Portsmouth in the UK and presented in the Nature Scientific Report show cats are also remarkably perceptive of similar behaviour from humans.

The researchers made their deductions based on two separate experiments. In the first one, cats of various ages and their owners participated, with the psychologist instructing them on methodical blinking. The results revealed that cats blink more frequently when they observe slow, deliberate blinking from their owners than when there are no interactions.

Psychologists participated in the exercise in the second experiment, and the findings were similar to the first. Cats approached a human's extended hand more frequently following slow blinking. Thus, The researchers posited that slow eye-squinting could be a positive communication between a cat and its owner.