A new study by researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles has investigated the different types of facial expressions that cats use to communicate with each other.
The researchers discovered a total of 276 unique facial expressions from the cats they studied – by comparison, chimpanzees have around 357 different facial expressions.
The study also shows that cats’ expressions are common to humans – which the researchers suspect is an effect of cats having lived side by side with us for up to 10,000 years.
Like what humans, dogs and monkeys do
The researchers filmed and examined 194 minutes of different facial expressions that cats use to communicate with each other.
45 percent of the recorded expressions were friendly, while 37 percent were described as more aggressive or angry. The others were an unclear mix of the two.
Cats’ friendly facial expressions—where their mouths are drawn back and their jaws open to form a smile or laugh—are similar to those made by humans, dogs, monkeys, and other animals.
The researchers do not know exactly what the cats are trying to tell each other with their facial expressions. They hope that the work can lead to pet owners and animal shelters understanding cats better.