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Did You Know That Cats Have Almost 300 Facial Expressions?

Cats are known for their mysterious nature. But a groundbreaking study, published on October 18 in the Journal Behavioural Processes, has revealed that cats possess a wide array of facial expressions, shedding light on their intricate system of communication.

Source: @BBC/YouTube

Researchers embarked on a year-long investigation at a cat cafe in Los Angeles, where they observed and recorded a total of 276 distinct facial expressions among a colony of 50 cats. These expressions ranged from playful and friendly to aggressive and everything in between. This study, one of the first to delve deep into the world of feline communication, challenges the conventional belief that cats are emotionally elusive creatures.

The world of animal facial expressions has been widely explored in species like dogs, chimpanzees, and humans, with humans having 44 facial expressions, canines having 27, and chimpanzees astonishingly boasting 357. However, there has been a noticeable lack of research on feline expressiveness.

According to Brittany Florkiewicz, an assistant professor of psychology at Lyon College in Arkansas and co-author of the study, “The literature is so sparse, and many studies only focus on the connection between cats and humans over the course of 10,000 years of domestication. At the cat cafe, we were able to document spontaneous interactions between the cats and record their facial expressions.”

The findings of this research suggest that each cat expression is a combination of approximately four out of 26 unique facial movements. These movements include parted lips, dilated or constricted pupils, blinking, curled corners of the mouth, nose licks, and different ear positions.

In one interaction witnessed by the researchers, a pair of cats swiftly transitioned from a playful mood to a confrontational one. One cat crouched down and hissed at its littermate before fleeing the scene. These changes were visually evident in their facial expressions. Initially, one cat’s eyes were relaxed, and its ears and whiskers were pushed forward, indicative of an attempt to approach its companion. However, the situation escalated, leading to a change in its demeanor. Its ears and whiskers moved backward, signaling its aggression.

The researchers’ analysis revealed that more of the cats’ expressions were friendly (45%) than aggressive (37%), with an additional 18% falling into ambiguous or dual categories. Interestingly, some facial expressions, such as what the researchers called a “common play face” characterized by the corners of the mouth drawn back and the jaw dropped to create a laugh-like expression, were found to be similar across various species, including humans, dogs, and monkeys.

While this study has unveiled the rich tapestry of facial expressions in cats, there is still much to learn about what these feline expressions mean. The researchers are optimistic that their work will serve as a valuable resource for animal shelters and humane societies. Understanding cats’ facial expressions could help these organizations assess the emotional well-being of the cats in their care more effectively.

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