Sad Cats Look Sad. Discuss

Here is a picture of a cat that looks sad. Is (s)he sad? Are we interpreting a cat’s expressions correctly?

The face is actually more “concerned-and-sad” than plain sad. I’ll tell you why I think we are encouraged to make that interpretation from looking at this kitten’s cute face.

I am not saying this cat is not sad or happy or whatever. What I will say, as a discussion topic, is that we can pick up on a cat’s facial features, which can mislead us.

If we look at this cat’s face carefully we see:

1. Between the eyes on the forehead, light colored and dark colored fur, in a pattern, that encourages people to think of a human frown. A human frown is present when the skin, in the same position as this cat’s, is pulled together forming peaks and troughs that are darker and lighter to the eye;
2. To the outer edge of each eye we see a dark line of fur extending away from the eye towards the side of the face, which connects to the area….
3. Just above the eye, where there is lighter and darker fur, which, when taken all together gives the impression that the cat is frowning.
4. The mouth is turned down slightly.

All these factors give the impression this cat is sad and worried or concerned. However, a number of these factors are “impressions” due to fur patterns and coloring. This is a tabby cat and the pattern is due to that.

In conclusion, what I am saying is that this cat gives the impression that he or she is sad and concerned when, in fact, he may not be.

I think we have to be careful when we interpret a cat’s expression. We should be careful that we don’t totally depend upon our experience of looking at a human face and using that as a way of interpreting a cat’s facial expression. It may mislead us.

Note: the picture comes from Reddit and I don’t have a credit. I would love to give one but can’t. The owner of this cute cat says he or she looks sad, which gave me the idea for the post.