Every cat owner has probably wondered what their pet’s face is trying to say. Now researchers have put decoding feline facial expressions on a scientific footing. In a study published in the journal Behavioral Processes, researchers identified 276 different cat facial expressions. “Our research shows that cat communication is much more complex than previously thought,” said Brittany Florkiewicz, an evolutionary psychologist at Lyon College in Arkansas. She says domestication appears to have shaped the development of cats’ facial signals.
How the Study Was Conducted
The study, led by Florkiewicz and Lauren Scott of the University of Kansas Medical Center, focused on domestic cats. From August 2021 to June 2022, the researchers filmed the behavior of 53 cats in a Los Angeles cat cafe. From 194 minutes of video footage, they extracted 186 interactions among the animals. The cats were adult domestic short-haired cats of both sexes, all neutered or spayed. They used a Cat Facial Action Coding System to score facial expressions, according to CNN. They measured the number and types of facial muscle movements and excluded movements tied to biological processes like breathing and yawning.
Although not every expression could be interpreted, 45.7 percent appeared friendly and 37 percent appeared aggressive. The rest were either mixed or ambiguous, the team says.
In their report on the study, Florkiewicz and Scott described a friendly facial expression in cats as ears and whiskers moving forward and the eyes squinting. In contrast, an aggressive cat will have narrowed pupils and ears pinned back. The team hopes to expand their sample to include cats living not only in human homes but also in shelters or in the wild. They also hope to decode as many feline facial expressions as possible.
