It has been discovered that cats have 276 different facial expressions

Scientists at the University of California in the US studied 53 adult "British Shorthair" cats from August 2021 to June 2022.

Using a "Facial Action Coding System" developed for cats, the researchers examined the "facial signals" produced when cats interacted with each other by looking at the number and types of movements in their facial muscles.

DIFFERENT LIVING BEINGS HAVE DIFFERENT FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

Recording 186 interactions between cats, the researchers coded a total of 688 facial signals produced by the cats, 413 of which were by males and 275 by females.

Examining these signals, the researchers discovered that cats use 276 different facial expressions when interacting with one another.

Although they could not assign a meaning to every expression they recorded, the researchers determined that 45.7 percent of the coded expressions were friendly, while 37 percent were aggressive.

Stating that cats with ears and whiskers moved forward and eyes closed were being friendly, the researchers noted that cats with constricted pupils and ears flattened against their heads were being aggressive.

It was stated that muscle movements associated with biological processes such as breathing and yawning were not included in the study.

Brittany Florkiewicz, one of the authors of the study, said in an interview with CNN, "Our study shows that cat communication is more complex than previously assumed."

Florkiewicz stated that domestication has had a significant impact on the development of cats' facial signals.

Researcher Florkiewicz noted that because cats live in close proximity to humans, they are more socially tolerant and therefore have more facial expressions, but added that they were surprised when they identified 276 facial expressions.

The results of the study were published in the journal Behavioural Processes.