A known fact is that we humans are bad at reading the cat’s body language and facial expressions. Maybe your cat shows you more love than you think? This is how you can recognize your fur lover’s different ways of showing appreciation to you.
In a study at the University of Guelph in Canada, researchers investigated whether cats use different facial expressions to show different emotions – but also whether we humans are able to read our cats. To find out, 6,300 people from 85 different countries were used to watch 40 videos of cats’ faces.
The study showed that the majority had difficulty reading the cats, only 13 percent succeeded.
The women in the study did better as did professional groups such as veterinarians.
The cat’s loving body language
Since cats can not convey their love in words, you need to pay attention to mind play and body language.
Have you noticed that your cat sniffs or that it strokes you and wraps its tail around your legs? It is a sign of affection. When the cat flashes towards you slowly with tapered eyes, it corresponds to a smile or that the cat feels positive emotions. Additional loving behaviors to look out for are these:
- High spinning: Cats spin for various reasons, including to be able to relax and to show satisfaction. If your cat spins extra high, it means that it shows extra love for you.
- Exposing the stomach: Cats show their stomach when they are comfortable with someone and feel confident, they do not show their vulnerable body parts to someone they are restrictive towards. When your cat rolls around and exposes its stomach, it means that it is safe with you.
- Following you: If your cat follows you wherever you go, then you know that it thrives in your company and wants to be close to you.
- High tail: Cats’ tails reveal a lot about what mood they are in. If your cat sways its tail high around you then it is happy and satisfied with life.
- Licking your face: Do you get a lot of kisses? Then your cat wants to show how much it likes you. Kissing is a clear sign of friendship and trust.