Jan 18, 2021 20:00:00

A study that the facial expressions of cats became scarce after breeding by humans

There are various breeds of cats, which are pet animals, and some breeds have achieved maximum prettiness through breeding by humans. However, according to a paper published in December 2020 by a research team

at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom, some cats have less facial expression changes due to breeding.

Frontiers | The Application of Geometric Morphometrics to Explore Potential Impacts of Anthropocentric Selection on Animals' Ability to Communicate via the Face: The Domestic Cat as a Case Study | Veterinary Science
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.606848/full

Cats with smooshed faces can't express emotions, and it's all our fault | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/smooshed-cat-faces-stunt-emotions.html

A postdoctoral fellow at Nottingham Trent University, Lauren Finka and colleagues used computer algorithms to analyze more than 2,000 facial photographs of cats and score different facial expressions for comparison.

As a result, it was found that the small and flat seeds showed a painful expression even in a completely relaxed state. For example, Scottish Fold, which features bent ears, had a higher facial pain score than the face of British Shorthair , who was actually in pain.

Based on this result, the research team found that varieties such as Persia and Himalayan that selectively bred small-headed, flat-faced varieties have fear, anxiety, and pain fixed to their facial expressions, and their emotions and sensations accurately expressed by their facial expressions. It is said that it will not be possible to tell.

In addition, the research team suggests that humans tend to prefer cats to show pain-indicating frowns, and that breeding may have been based on that tendency.

Regarding why humans like the frowning face of cats, Finca said, 'I'm sorry for cats, but when we humans are born and see the painful behavior of others, we want to raise and care for them.' Is stimulated. '

However, Finka said, 'If the cat is frowning all the time, the owner may not be able to notice if the cat is really in pain,' breeding said, and communication between the owner and the cat. Points out that may not work.

'If you have a cat, do some research on it in advance. It's important to consider communication with animals,' said Finca.