Scientists have told how to understand a cat’s “tongue” by the expression of its face — UNIAN
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Cats use about 300 different expressive muzzles for communication.
Scientists have discovered that cats can use not only sounds such as purring and meowing, but also facial expressions to communicate.
As independent.co.uk writes, until that time, the facial expressions of a number of mammals had been widely studied, however, studies of the communication of cats, except for their purrs and meows, were almost not carried out.
In a recent study, scientists from the University of Kansas in the United States observed spontaneous interaction between 53 adult domestic cats in a pet cafe in Los Angeles, recording their facial expressions.
Scientists discovered 26 movements of facial muscles in cats, including open mouth, expansion or contraction of pupils, blinking, licking the nose, bending the corners of the mouth and different positions of the ears, which the cats used to create 276 different combinations. Cat faces conveyed everything, from playfulness to aggression.
It is noted that the majority of cats in the study were either clearly friendly (45 percent) or aggressive (37 percent). About 18 percent were ambiguous and fell into both categories.
Although it remains unclear what exactly cats say to each other with these expressions, scientists have discovered some common patterns in their communication.
“For example, researchers say that cats move their ears and whiskers in the direction of another cat during a friendly interaction and try to deflect them away from others during an unfriendly interaction,” the article says.
According to scientists, some of these were expressed not only for communication between cats, but also a product of 10,000 years of co-evolution between cats and humans. Thus, the researchers indicate that domestication probably had a significant impact on the development of facial signals in cats.
Earlier, UNIAN told why cats purr when they are petted, and in what cases purring should alert. For example, there are cases when cats and cats purr non-stop – this may be a sign of a serious illness.
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