Infographic on slow blink communication between cat and human

A lot has been written and said about slow blink communication between cat and caregiver but it’s still ‘work in progress’, I’d suggest. The usual topic is that cats make the slow blink towards their human caregiver when they are content and relaxed. This is essentially one way traffic from cat to person, but can it be two-ways? And a study found that when an ‘experimenter’ made the softened face ‘smize’ followed by a slow blink the cats were more likely to (1) reciprocate and (2) approach the person. So there. According to science it works. However, in my opinion (and in the personal experience of many others), a domestic cat will provide a slow blink without the human doing the slow blink provided they substitute it with body language and actions which are equally friendly.

The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat–human communication

The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat–human communication. Infographic by MikeB at PoC. Click the image to see it larger.

This is an interesting topic. My personal opinion is stated in the last section of the infographic. A slow human blink without more will not normally elicit one in response. The study contradicts that.

Here are some more articles on ‘strange’ cat behaviour. Strange cat behaviour is actually behaviour that some people don’t understand but it is not strange per se.

Cat humps family dog or tries to!

Picture of a cat trying to mate with the family dog is priceless

I love the photo although I doubt whether the owners of this cat and dog are as delighted. Or perhaps ...
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Infographic on 'strange cat behaviour'

Infographic on ‘strange cat behavior’

Here is an infographic on strange cat behaviour. Due to its size, it is limited to six forms of strange ...
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Ticklish cat

Ticklish cats!

Cats can be ticklish. Discuss. We see this quite a lot in videos. Cat owners think that their cat is ...
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Cat needs to sit on a piece of paper when on the couch or bed

My cat refuses to get on the couch or bed unless paper is provided to sit on. Why?

This is an interesting phenomenon which is discussed on the Reddit.com website. One of the users says that their cat ...
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My cat eats bird seed

My cat eats bird seed

My cat eats birdseed. Here is the proof in a video! Although, it is important to note that he only ...
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Note: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified.

Michael Broad

Hi, I'm a 74-year-old retired solicitor (attorney in the US). Before qualifying I worked in many jobs including professional photography. I love nature, cats and all animals. I am concerned about their welfare. If you want to read more click here.

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