Can cats smile?

Almost every owner is sure that scientists, and people who are simply far from cats, underestimate these animals and their ability to feel and show their emotions. At the same time, researchers have already managed to find out that animals, including cats, are capable of experiencing a wide range of emotions: fear, sadness, anger, surprise, joy.

However, the facial expressions of felines, and indeed of any other animals, except, perhaps, monkeys, are far from human. And, most likely, what owners and cat lovers take for a smile is not. It is unlikely that cats know how to consciously imitate people, expressing joy by stretching their lips and exposing their teeth.

But this does not mean at all that cats do not know how to express their emotions, including joyful ones. Imagine that you are stroking a pet, he lies on your lap and … purrs. Of course, it purrs! It is purring, measured and quiet, that is the best indicator of the mood of a fluffy pet. When cats feel good, they purr. However, purring cats can express not only the approval of your actions, but also their indignation. Only the tone here will be completely different.

In the expression of emotions in cats, which are quite social animals, in fact, the whole body is involved. If a cat is angry or ready to attack, it flattens its ears, groups up and twitches its tail furiously. Unlike dogs, in which tail wagging indicates positive emotions or a desire to make friends, a cat begins to lash its sides with its tail in a fit of aggression or expressing displeasure. If the cat is happy, then the tail is raised with a pipe, and when it is calm, it simply lies next to it or is wrapped around its paws.

No less expressive is the cat’s belly – more precisely, the fact that the cat opens it, turning on its back. This is a sign of the greatest trust, because the stomach is one of the most vulnerable places, usually cats do not allow to touch it.

A pet expresses his emotions and wiping himself on his master’s feet. It can be both joy from the fact that the beloved owner has returned home, and a request. Rubbing themselves on their feet, cats very often ask to be fed. Sometimes a request (for example, for affection) is accompanied by a kind of “butting”. The cat, having jumped on its knees, puts its head under the owner’s arm, trying to get him to scratch her behind the ear or stroke her back.

By the way, a smile is not a smile, but only a very inattentive person can miss the satisfied expression of a cat’s face. In the eyes of bliss, in movements, smoothness, languid purring – your pet enjoys life. “Haiti, Haiti… we are well fed here!”