Cats Have Hundreds of Distinct Facial Expressions We Never Knew About

Puppy dog eyes might exist to tug on our heartstrings, but a new study suggests cats may have also evolved quite a few facial expressions under our care.

When researchers in the US analyzed the after-hours footage of a cat cafe in Los Angeles, they counted up to 276 distinct facial expressions made by domestic shorthair cats to each other – way more than they expected to find.
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The new study builds on the idea that domestic cats are more social than we give them credit for. The research was conducted by ethologist Lauren Scott and evolutionary psychologist Brittany Florkiewicz while they were both at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

To analyze the expression of cats in the LA cat cafe, the duo used a facial coding system, which is designed to measure discernible facial contortions and break them down into specific muscle movements.

https://www.sciencealert.com/cats-have-hundreds-of-distinct-facial-expressions-we-never-knew-about

Any one who thinks cats are antisocial has clearly never lived with a cat.