Cats Can Make Nearly 300 Facial Expressions

A gray cat gazes at an orange tabby, squinting and licking its lips. The tabby responds with a glare, wrinkling its nose and pulling back its whiskers. Observers know what this signals: a potential fight. If mutual looks fail to mitigate tension, they may resort to claws and fur.

However, the faces cats make extend beyond aggression. A recent study in Behavioural Processes identified 276 unique facial expressions among felines. These expressions convey a range from hostile to friendly intent. Interestingly, humans may have influenced this evolution, enhancing the communicative repertoire of cats over the past 10,000 years.

Daniel Mills, a veterinary behaviorist at the University of Lincoln, points out that many erroneously label cats as largely nonsocial beings. He notes that the array of facial expressions detailed in this new research contradicts that view, indicating a level of social complexity previously unrecognized.

The Social Nature of Cats

Though cats can be solitary, they form bonds, especially in domestic and feral settings. Feral cats sometimes inhabit large colonies, even populating entire islands. Lauren Scott, a medical student at the University of Kansas, pursued research on feline communication, questioning whether love mixed with aggression existed among them.

During her time at UCLA in 2021, Scott studied at the CatCafé Lounge, where visitors interact with adoptable cats. She recorded 194 minutes of feline facial expressions directed at one another. Alongside evolutionary psychologist Brittany Florkiewicz, Scott analyzed these expressions, omitting those linked to non-communicative actions like breathing or eating.

Their findings revealed 276 distinct facial expressions, rivaling the chimpanzee's 357. Each expression comprised various combinations of 26 unique facial movements like whisker positions and lip shapes. In contrast, humans possess 44 unique facial movements, while dogs can create 27, although the total expressions for dogs remain unclear.

Friendly versus Aggressive Expressions

The analysis showed that 45% of observed expressions conveyed friendliness while 37% expressed aggression. The remaining 18% of expressions were ambiguous, embodying elements of both categories.

Florkiewicz notes the meanings behind these feline expressions remain elusive. Generally, during friendly interactions, cats direct their ears and whiskers toward each other. Conversely, unfriendly situations prompt them to move these features away. Constricted pupils and licking lips accompany aggressive interactions.

Interestingly, friendly facial expressions among cats share similarities with those of humans, dogs, and other species, suggesting a potential shared "play face." Although comparisons to wild cats remain unavailable, findings hint that domestic cats might have developed friendly expressions as they gathered near humans awaiting food scraps.

Implications of the Findings

Georgia Mason, a behavioral biologist at the University of Guelph, finds the study impressive. Future applications could include developing an app for cat owners, enhancing understanding of subtle feline communications. The study may aid potential pet adopters in selecting cats likely to integrate well with current pets. However, if these pets include dogs, interpreting cat expressions remains uncertain.

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