Is Slow-Blinking Cat Talk?

Have you heard this statement? "Make sure to slow-blink at your cat.  If you do that you'll be communicating something like happiness, calm, and trust."  Is it true?  Haven't tried it?  Well you might want to because there is science that says it actually works!

Cats have always been called aloof, distant and even disdainful in the way they view their human companions. This could be because we aren't speaking the same language.  Scientists say we just need to smile at them more!  However, the trick is knowing the best way to smile at them.  When humans smile, we generally show some teeth, which is not the best way to greet a cat who sees something else in bared teeth besides a greeting!

By watching how cats behave, scientists observed cats' expressions and how they communicate with each other.  A psychologist researcher in the UK conducted some experiments based on these observations.  In one study, they asked 14 cat owners in different homes to slow-blink at 21 cats over a period of time.  This had to be done when the cats were happily settled in their favorite place in the house.  When the cat was looking at the owner, he or she would slow-blink back at them.   To capture the expressions of both cats and people in these exchanges, the researchers placed cameras in each house.  Then they compared those results with what they had observed when cats blink without a human interaction.

A second similar experiment used researchers as the human side of the experiment rather than the cat owners.  People who didn't know any of the cats at all.  Cameras were again used to capture the reactions.  To make sure they'd get a true response, the researchers first recorded humans staring at the cats without blinking.  Then they followed the same process as in the first study, slow blinking at a relaxed cat.

Get ready to blink a lot at your cat because it turns out that it is an effective way to "talk" to your cat!  The results of both studies showed that cats are more likely to slow-blink at their humans when the human has slow-blinked at them first, which means we actually are communicating.  Not only that, cats are also more inclined to approach an outstretched hand for pets after this process.  So, if you meet a standoffish cat, the problem may be the way you're communicating!

Why do cats slow-blink at all?  No one knows for sure. Scientists have noted that, like some other animals, cats can interpret staring eyes as a threat so narrowed eyes that slow-blink at them seem to send the opposite message.  If you have cats, you've probably seen that expression on their faces - partially closed eyes - when they're happy and relaxed. 

So, if you truly want a cat - your own or a friend's or even a stray you meet - to relax and see you as a friend, narrow your eyes and blink slowly at them with a closed smile.  This small gesture can go the extra mile to create a positive bond with the cats you encounter!

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