Cats might be known for their finicky ways, however in recent years it was widely circulated that by squinting your eyes and slowly blinking at you feline, you were essentially speaking their language. Now a new study provides scientific evidence that it actually works.
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00:00Cats might be known for their finicky ways, however in recent years it was widely circulated
00:08that by squinting your eyes and slowly blinking at your feline, you were essentially speaking
00:12their language, showing affection by exhibiting the equivalent of a cat smile to your pet.
00:17Well scientists have put that to the test, and it turns out it's actually true.
00:21This is something that cat owners have believed for a while, though that evidence is admittedly
00:25anecdotal.
00:26But now laboratory studies have put the theory through its paces, with two experiments.
00:30The first looking at cat owners blinking at pets from 14 households, and another with
00:35researchers who did not own any of the experimental cats doing the blinking.
00:38What they found was that in both experiments, the cats were more likely to slow blink at
00:42humans after they were blinked at.
00:44What's more, the cats were also more likely to approach the researchers after they performed
00:48the slow blink.
00:49With Karen McComb, one of the researchers saying about the findings, and it's something
00:53you can try yourself with your own cat at home, or with cats you meet in the street.
00:57It's a great way of enhancing the bond you have with cats.
00:59This is just the latest bit of new research about our feline companions, revealing they're
01:03much more in tune with us than previously believed.