- The researchers timed how long it took the cats to approach after they offered signals.
- They got there faster when the experimenter provided both visual and vocal cues.
- The findings are expected to improve the quality of human-cat relationships.
Cats are famous for their independent and aloof nature, but a new study has revealed the path to the heart of even the most aloof feline.
Scientists from the University of Paris Nanterre sat down in a ‘cat cafe’, where kittens roam free and can get close to customers, to test different ways to win them over.
They found that the cats responded more quickly to strange humans when they offered both visual and vocal cues together, such as calling their name while holding out their hand.
But when the human ignored the animals completely, they were more likely to wag their tails, a sign of frustration or agitation.
The researchers hope their findings will improve the quality of human-cat relationships and the well-being of cats.
“People should be encouraged to use appropriate visual communicative cues when interacting with cats, especially unfamiliar people,” the authors wrote.
Cats are known to have developed the ability to interpret and respond to human signals through their domestication.
Recent studies have found that they can recognize the voice of its owner when they are talking to them directlyand also see a slow blink like a smile.
However, according to the authors of the new paper, research on human-cat interactions is currently limited.
For their study, published in animalsThe team wanted to find out how sensitive cats are to human signals, which ones they are most receptive to, and how they respond.
They recruited 12 cats for the study, who had lived in one of two cat cafes in Bordeaux and Toulouse in France for at least three years.
One at a time, the cats were led into a quiet room with their owner, where a researcher they had never seen before waited.
After 10 seconds, the investigator would do one of four things; provide a visual signal, a voice signal, a visual and voice signal simultaneously (bimodal) or no signal.
Examples of visual cues were reaching out and blinking slowly, while examples of vocal cues were calling the cat by name or making a ‘pff pff’ sound, which is widely used by the French to call cats.
The time it took for the cat to come within 10 cm (four inches) of the researcher was recorded, as well as how they responded, such as vocalizing, blinking, or tail wagging.
After analyzing the results, it was found that the cats approached the researcher much faster when they provided a visual or bimodal signal.
“Short approach latency is thought to reflect greater attraction,” the authors wrote.
They say the vocal communication itself may not have been appealing because cats aren’t used to being called to without humans making eye contact.
Furthermore, of all the different responses the cats gave, only tail wagging was found to be significantly affected by the type of human communication signal given.
They wagged their tails much more when not given a cue than when given a visual or bimodal cue.
“Lateral tail wagging tends to occur when cats are faced with a frustrating situation,” the authors wrote.
“Therefore, our data suggest that being in a room with an unfamiliar human ignoring them can be uncomfortable for cats, if not frustrating.”
There was also more movement in response to the vocal cue than the bimodal one, suggesting that this was more frustrating for them.
Lead author Dr. Charlotte de Mouzon said gizmodo that the cat may be especially stressed because it had previously played with humans in that same room, but was now ignoring them.
They conclude that cats show a preference for visual and bimodal cues expressed by strangers.
They say this is evidence that cats have evolved specific ways of communicating with humans through their domestication, which have proven to be effective and beneficial to the species.
Previous research has found that dogs trained does not respond as well to vocal cues from unfamiliar people as they do family.
The authors suggest this could be the same for cats, and would explain why they were not so attracted to the unknown researcher’s vocal cues alone.
“The results emerging from the present study may serve as the basis for practical recommendations for navigating the codes of human-cat interactions,” they wrote.