In a new study published in the journal Behavioural Processes, researchers from the University of Kansas Medical Center and Lyon College documented the various facial signals that domesticated cats (Felis silvestris catus) produce during affiliative and non-affiliative intraspecific interactions.
Lauren Scott & Brittany Florkiewicz show that cat facial signals correspond to different social functions, which have likely been influenced by domestication. Image credit: Sci.News / Makieni777 / Rise-a-mui / Alexas_Fotos / Dorothe / Vaclav Zavada / Artem Makarov / Daga Roszkowska / Birgit / Pasi Mammela.
“Like domesticated dogs, the domestic cat has experienced significant socio-ecological changes due to domestication,” said Dr. Lauren Scott and Dr. Brittany Florkiewicz.
“In recent years, there has been increased interest in studying domestic cat facial signals to improve their welfare.”
“Facial muscle movements produced during pain have been used to establish assessment scales and automated recognition systems for domesticated cats. Facial signals directed toward humans have been used to infer the emotions of domesticated cats and assess their adoption rates.”
“The closest living relatives of domesticated cats, wildcats (Felis silvestris), are territorial and are likely to use non-affiliative facial signals for resolving disputes,” they added.
“Wildcats are solitary mammals that tend to avoid both humans and conspecifics. While domestic cats have adapted to a more varied diet, wildcats are facultative carnivores who prey upon small-bodied mammals.”
“Wildcats establish hunting territories that seldom overlap, while domesticated cats frequently overlap territories but hunt alone. Wildcats also produce territorial behaviors, such as scent-marking and vigilance postures, more often than domesticated cats.”
“These non-affiliative facial signals may have been preserved among domesticated cats, who often engage in aggressive interactions. However, domesticated cats display greater social tolerance and engage in more affiliative behaviors than wildcats, including play, social resting, grooming, and allorubbing.”
“The transition to intraspecific sociality among domesticated cats could also result in a greater reliance on affiliative facial signals that aid in reducing stress and strengthening bonds.”
“Our current study examines the physical form and social function of domestic cat facial signals that are produced during intraspecific social interactions.”
For the study, Dr. Scott and Dr. Florkiewicz observed the behavior of 53 adult domestic shorthair cats at CatCafé Lounge, a non-profit rescue organization in Los Angeles, California, the United States.
The authors defined a facial signal as facial muscle movements that a cat produces during a communicative event.
To accurately code signals directed at conspecifics, they coded facial signals only when the signaler’s eyes and body were aimed towards the intended recipients.
“The CatCafé Lounge was established in 2018 to increase cat adoption rates through intra- and inter-specific socialization,” they explained.
“The lounge features an open indoor floor plan where visitors can interact with approximately 20-30 group-housed cats who are available for adoption.”
“During the warmer months, cats and humans can also interact in a fenced-in outdoor patio area connected to the lounge.”
“We collected our data from August 2021 to June 2022 across 150 visiting hours,” they said.
“Over the 10 months, we were able to observe the facial signaling behavior of 53 adult domestic short-haired cats.”
The researchers were able to gather 194 minutes of video footage that featured 186 communicative events.
“In these events, we coded 688 facial signals: 413 that were produced by males and 275 by females,” they said.
“Out of the 688 coded facial signals, 354 (51.45%) were produced in an affiliative context and 334 (48.55%) were produced in a non-affiliative context.”
“We observed 26 distinct facial muscle movements that were used to produce a total of 276 distinct combinations.”
The findings indicate that domestication likely had a significant impact on the development of intraspecific facial signaling repertoires in cats.
“Taken together, our findings indicate that domestic cat intraspecific facial signals are not exclusive to agonistic interactions,” the scientists said.
“Domesticated cats can produce affiliative and non-affiliative facial signals that exhibit differences in their morphological composition.”
“These results provide greater insight into the impact domestication has on facial signaling repertoires.”
“As intraspecific sociality became more prevalent, cats may have incorporated affiliative facial signals into their repertoires.”
“Using affiliative facial signals can be beneficial in situations where there is a higher likelihood of stress, conflict, and competition. For example, lip smacking (an affiliative facial signal produced by primates) is commonly deployed in stressful grooming situations to avoid conflict.”
“Additional research is needed to understand the origins of these affiliative facial signals, as domestication has taken place for a relatively short amount of time (around 10,000 years).”
“On one hand, the affiliative facial signals produced by domesticated cats during intraspecific interactions may be uniquely derived.”
“It is also possible that other members of Felis silvestris produce affiliative facial signals towards conspecifics, which may have been further developed through selective breeding in domesticated cats.”
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Lauren Scott & Brittany N. Florkiewicz. Feline Faces: Unraveling the Social Function of Domestic Cat Facial Signals. Behavioural Processes, published online October 18, 2023; doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2023.104959
