I actually use this trick all of the time now and it's actually pretty effective.
A slow blink when looking at a cat signifies that you don't see them as a threat. So it can help relax strange cats, and it is also a cue from the cat that they are okay with you approaching them.
Yawning probably goes back at least to the first mammals, it's pretty hard-wired as a standard mammalian social cue signifying a calm and relaxed affect and being in the "rest and digest" parasympathetic mode. It's contagious across species, and even thinking about yawning makes you want to yawn!
Absolutely! Dogs use yawning a lot in their communication if you look close enough. They also have other messages like smelling around, looking away, etc. I think they all might mean something along the lines of "I don't see you as a threat to me so we are good"
My wife uses this approach with our cat and it works. However, when I try it he pays no attention - could be that I've been his main servant for 18+ years so of course I don't see him as a threat or I have glasses any my wife doesn't or sheer feline contrariness ....
I think the cat's slow blink is functionally related to a human smile, which when truly felt, also causes the eyes to close and then open slowly.
I've noticed that my two Siamese cats often combine the slow blink with either a bowing of the head or lifting of the chin. They also very often yawn while making eye contact when my wife or I enter the room.
Not a cat person, but I've worked with raptors. Staring at them tends to mean "I intend to eat / fight you". I understand this to be true of lots of mammals as well (e.g. you should avoid making eye contact with wild bears that you encounter). I can therefore interpret the slow blink as 'defusing' the aggressiveness / threat of a direct stare.
> Cat’s eye movements were coded using actions defined in CatFACS, an anatomically based system designed to objectively measure facial actions based on their underlying muscle movements.
Whoever named this system was clearly aware of the meme. I'd like to remain subscribed to CatFACS, please!
I have heard (and perhaps misremembered) that the only taste receptor remaining to whales detects saltiness, which seems a bizarre outcome given that their mouths are constantly filled with brine.
Literature says cats can't understand it when you point at something. That's because they don't have fingers. You can point at things using your eyes and they understand. One day I was eating some fruits and a stray cat came to me and started meowing. I gave it a piece which it rejected and started meowing again. I stared for a couple seconds at my plate and then at the piece on the ground and the cat looked like it understood and stopped meowing.
This is interesting. I've had both cats and dogs, and with the theory "they don't have fingers" I wonder why do dogs understand human pointing? Dogs of course communicate with a direct gaze (looks at empty food bowl, looks at human, looks back at empty food bowl) and can understand us communicating back with a directed gaze, but at the same time my dog definitely understands me pointing at something.
Thanks for pointing - ha - that out! It totally makes sense to use visual communication because of course no fingers! Made me chuckle because it seems obvious yet, no, gear shifting for cats makes sense.
Maybe cats in general don't understand pointing, but both of my cats do. One of them is quite intelligent, so I'm not surprised there, but even the stupid (but adorable) one gets it.
The persistent eyes-half-open state means they're relaxed and resting and yes, consider you a friend so they can afford to be relaxed and resting. They're usually also affectionate and very receptive to pets in that mode. Slow blinks can accompany the half-open-state, or a cat may use a slow blink to go from wideish to half-open eyes.
I had a siamese mix cat that did this. It seemed to mean "hey. I see you." A kind of recognition with a touch of affection. Its definitely part of the cat language.
I've been explaining this to my kids for years when they meet the neighbourhood cats. Angry cats glare at each other, and this is basically the opposite. I guess science has caught up!
That show and his Youtube channel are always a recommendation of mine to any new cat owner or person who doesn't have cat experience but wants to learn cat culture.
I watched a marathon of 'my cat from hell' around when I first got my two boys (they are 8 now) and I really think what I learned from watching jackson break down cat issues has helped me raise them into the sweeties they are today.
My wife and I did this when we adopted our first cat. It's been incredibly helpful. As someone who had never interacted much with cats before that, and who was kinda afraid of them, Jackson Galaxy helped me see cats as little cute killing machines that can be as affectionate - if not more - than dogs.
Readit News
A slow blink when looking at a cat signifies that you don't see them as a threat. So it can help relax strange cats, and it is also a cue from the cat that they are okay with you approaching them.
Your friends will think you're crazy, but cats will love you.
I've noticed that my two Siamese cats often combine the slow blink with either a bowing of the head or lifting of the chin. They also very often yawn while making eye contact when my wife or I enter the room.
Whoever named this system was clearly aware of the meme. I'd like to remain subscribed to CatFACS, please!
https://animalfacs.com/dogfacs_new (dogs)
https://animalfacs.com/equifacs_new (horses)
https://animalfacs.com/chimpfacs_new (chimpanzees)
https://animalfacs.com/maqfacs_new (rhesus macaques)
https://animalfacs.com/gibbonfacs_new (hylobatids / lar gibbons)
https://animalfacs.com/orangfacs_new (orangutans)
https://animalfacs.com/callifacs (marmosets)
I'm looking forward to more funny looking facs:
probofacs (proboscis monkey)
axolotlfacs (mexican walking fish)
alpacafacs (alpaca)
starfacs (star-nosed mole)
batfacs (bat)
blobfacs (blobfish)
frillfacs (frilled lizard)
Might be at maximum "P," especially if it was darting toward you immediately preceding this.
Next time try hanging some spinning pieces of catnip from your rafters to see if your cat can temporarily levitate in order to collect them.
For example, what we would traditionally see as a grumpy or angry face (eyebrows down, eyes narrowed slightly) is the relaxed face of a cat
An angry cat's face on the other hand is wide open eyes, ready to attack back
I watched a marathon of 'my cat from hell' around when I first got my two boys (they are 8 now) and I really think what I learned from watching jackson break down cat issues has helped me raise them into the sweeties they are today.
His book is also very good!