Understanding How Cats Communicate
Many cat owners know that although our cats may not speak English, they have many other ways of communicating their wants and needs to humans. These can include meows and other vocalizations, tail movement and position, or knocking items off a desk to get our attention! One cat behavior that many cat parents may not be consciously examining is facial signaling.
Evolutionary psychologists believe that cats likely evolved their variety of facial expressions over 10,000 years of interactions with humans. Some studies have compared domestic cats with wild cats and found that the more domesticated the cats are, the more expressions they show.
The Feline Grimace Scale (FGS) was developed in 2019 by researchers at the University of Montreal to help cat owners and veterinarians assess whether a cat is in pain. This is particularly useful because cats are skilled at hiding their pain – a survival skill that evolved in wild cats due to the dangers of being perceived as weak by predators.
Other indicators of cat pain can be a decrease in activity (including grooming, eating, and moving around the home), avoidance of petting, straining at the litter box, and hiding. However, understanding cat facial expressions is another useful tool that pet owners can consider.
Interpreting cat expressions is not as intuitive as you might suppose. Prior to the development of the FGS, a study found that participants who were shown facial images of pain-free cats and cats in pain were often unable to reliably assess which cats were in pain. Indeed, only 13 percent of observers were able to identify more than 80 percent of painful cats.
The FGS is based on five distinct features of cat facial expressions: ear position, orbital tightening (i.e., partial or total eye closure), muzzle tension, whiskers position, and ear position. This tool has been validated by other researchers and found to have good inter-rater reliability and excellent internal consistency. Plus, it is now available as an app for your phone (both Android and Apple).
Similar grimace scales have been developed for other animals including dogs, horses, rabbits, mice, and rats.
Recent behavioral research has expanded the study of feline facial expressions beyond pain assessment, focusing on topics such as relationships between cats and humans, and analyzing how cats interact with one another.
This research has utilized a more complex facial expressions tool, the Facial Action Coding System, which identifies 26 unique muscle movements that contribute to 276 distinct facial expressions. Researchers using the CatFACS system have categorized 46 percent of these facial expressions as friendly, 37 as unfriendly, and 17 as variable (both friendly and unfriendly).
Behavioral researchers are using CatFACS not only for pain assessment but also to infer emotions, increase the probability of successful bonding between domesticated cats, and examine factors influencing adoption rates. For example, studies found that providing more space for shelter cats to roam can encourage more social and emotional bonding behaviors. Recognizing facial signals can also be helpful in recognizing signs of tension and in mediating conflicts.
BCC applauds all families who provide quality care for their pets. We would like to acknowledge all those people who knowingly take on the responsibilities associated with pets that have special social, emotional or health concerns. As Sigmund Freud said, “Time spent with cats is never wasted.”