Humans Can Communicate with Cats by Blinking an Eye Slowly

VIVA – Recently, a study said that humans could interact and communicate with cats only by blinking their eyes. It was revealed by Karen McComb as psychologist from the University of Sussex in the UK.

According to McComb, the act of blinking slowly will make a pet or stray cat will approach and accept human presence.

"As someone who has studied animal behavior and cat owners, it's great to be able to show cats and humans can communicate in this way," Karen McComb explained, as quoted from ScienceAlert, November 28, 2022.

McComb also said this blinking is actually similar to when cats get pleasure for example when they are rubbed and so on. Usually, cats will blink and partially close their eyes to squint.

This is the expression of a cat’s smile. Anecdotal evidence from cat owners suggests that humans can mimic the expression and aim to convey to cats that we are friendly and open to interaction, Karen McComb said.

Karen and a team of psychologists designed two experiments to determine whether cats behave differently from slow-blinking humans. In the first experiment, owners blinked slowly at 21 cats and 14 different households.

Once the cats were settled and comfortable in one spot of their home environment, the owners were instructed to sit at about one meter and blink slowly when the cats saw them.

Their cameras captured the faces of the owners and the cats. Results showed cats were more likely to blink slowly at humans after blinking at them.

The second experiment involved 24 cats from eight different households. This time, it was not the owner who blinked, but the researcher who had not previously made contact with the cat.

The cats were successfully recorded responding to a no-blink condition where the human stares at the cat without blinking. The researchers performed the same slow blinking process as the first experiment, adding an outstretched hand to the cat.

Results showed that not only were the cats more likely to blink back, but they were more likely to approach the hands of a human. This study is the first to experimentally examine the role of slow blinking in cat-human communication. Karen McComb says it's something cat lovers can try for themselves at home.

“It is something you can try yourself with your cat at home, or with cats, you meet in the street. It's a great way of enhancing the bond you have with cats. Try narrowing your eyes at them as you would in a relaxed smile, followed by closing your eyes for a couple of seconds. You'll find they respond in the same way themselves and you can start a sort of conversation." Karen McComb explained.