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What Does It Mean When A Cat Slow Blinks

Your Cat Nibbles You A Lot

Cat Says “I Love You” With Slow Blink – Jericho

One less common sign of a cat’s fondness is habitual nibbling or soft biting.

According to Care2, a cat will sometimes deliver agentle, tickling bite to those it loves. This is definitely distinguishable from a real bite, as one hurts and the other doesn’t. If your cat is using you as a chew toy, it could be a sign that you guys are best buddies.

What Does A Cat’s Slow Eye Blink Mean

Many cat owners assume that their feline friend is just sleepy when this slow blink occurs, and sometimes that may be true. But most cat behavior experts agree that this gesture is actually part of your cat’s communication arsenal. It means that she is relaxed, happy, and content, and she wants to convey that information to you. It’s like a kitty kiss!

Cats that are in groups seem to use the slow blink to let their buddies know that everything is calm and cool . . . no need for any fighting here. Even big cats use this behavior to communicate relaxation and love.

Now that you know what your cat is trying to tell you with her adorable winks, you can try to respond to her in the same way, with your own “Eye Love You” kitty kisses.

If your cat is continuously holding one eye in a squinting position, even when she is not in a relaxed state, if there is abnormal drainage from one or both eyes, or if she is rubbing at her eyes, take her to the veterinarian right away. She may have an eye injury or infection.

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Why Do Cats Slow

29 June 2021
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Dr Lauren Finka explores the latest research into the role of slow blinking in cat-human interactions.

Many cat aficionados out there will already be familiar with the special type of slow blink that cats often seem to perform in the presence of humans. It is commonly thought that when cats blink in this way they are in effect smiling with their eyes the slow blink being an indication they are feeling relaxed and happy in our company. Many cat owners might also be regular slow blinkers at their cats . Indeed, when we perform this behaviour towards cats, they can often respond positively .

However, those of us who study cat behaviour for a living, may have also noticed cats sometimes performing these sorts of blinks when the rest of their body language and behaviour would suggest they are uncomfortable.

For example, I have seen many cats slow blink when they are also displaying a range of subtle indicators of discomfort or conflict, such as a tense posture that is angled or leaning away from the person they are blinking at .

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‘you Can Start A Sort Of A Conversation’ With Cats

It’s not clear why cats view slow blinkers more warmly than people who stare, but the researchers have some ideas.

Cats may perceive direct eye contact from humans as threatening, Tasmin Humphrey, a co-author of the new study, said in a press release.

“It is also possible that slow blinking in cats began as a way to interrupt an unbroken stare, which is potentially threatening in social interaction,” she added.

Slow blinking is a great way to get your cat to relax, according to McComb.

“It is something you can try yourself with your own cat at home, or with cats you meet in the street. It’s a great way of enhancing the bond you have with cats,” she said. “Try narrowing your eyes at them as you would in a relaxed smile, followed by closing your eyes for a couple of seconds. You’ll find they respond in the same way themselves and you can start a sort of conversation.”

You Really Need To Stop Staring At Me Right Now

What does it mean when my cat blinks at me?

Since an intense, wide-eyed stare denotes fear or hostility, the larger the cats pupils, the more alarmed or afraid she may be.

If you are staring into her eyes, she believes that you, like another cat, are asserting your dominance and hostility.

She will either meet your gaze with haughty defiance and be ready to defend herself, or she will accept your dominance and try to avoid eye contact by running away.

A cat who stares, unblinking, at another creature may also be hunting it. Cats are therefore uneasy if you stare at them for too long. The cat will probably avoid you and try to get away in this situation.

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What Does The Cat Slow Blink Mean

As theorized by animal behavior experts, the slow blink is how a cat tells her human family that she feels safe. According to The Cut’s interview with veterinarian Gary Weitzman, author of How to Speak Cat: A Guide to Decoding Cat Language: “The slow blink really is an acceptance gesture. do that when they’re absolutely comfortable with you.”

If you’ve ever had a cat gaze lovingly into you eyes and blink slowly, consider yourself lucky. Although it may seem like an ominous gesture, slow blinking is cat code for “You are my entire world!”

Think of the cat slow blink as the “butterfly kiss” of the cat world. While humans gently flutter their eyelashes against someone else’s cheek to communicate their love, cats delicately flutter their eyelashes at their people. Cat friends will even slow blink at each other as if to say “We’re cool.”

Your Cat Licks Your Hair Or Ears

You probably know that some animals groom each other as displays of care and affection, and cats are no different.

Grooming behaviors such as licking a human’s hair or ears signals that a cat trusts that human andconsiders it a close companion, according to Care2. It’s a sign of friendship and shows that your furry friend cares about you.

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Why Is This Research Useful

These studies indicate that both cats and humans may perceive being slow blinked at by the other as a positive social signal. These special eye messages from humans seem to be consistently understood by cats, even when the blinks are performed by someone they dont know and in less familiar or more unstable environments .

In response to the slow-blinking humans, cats performed similar blinking behaviours and were also keener to approach and interact with them. Humans also seem to respond positively to cats slow blinking, as those that blinked for longer appeared to be rehomed quicker.

Interestingly, the studies also suggest that for some cats, slow blinking at humans might be linked to them feeling anxious. However, as these studies only focused on the cats eye movements, its not possible to know if the slow blinking in the anxious cats was also accompanied by other behavioural signs of anxiety or discomfort.

This would certainly be an important line of future investigation and potentially help us to better understand the differences between a comfortable and uncomfortable slow-blinking cat.

A Cat Slow Blink Is Worth A Thousand Wonderful Words

Why do cats slow blink?

A cat blinking with soft eyes says, Im relaxed and happy, Delgado says. While cats are typically thought of as predators, they are prey animals, too. To conceal their vulnerability, they may hide that they are in pain or stressed out. Cats are masters of subtle body language, but a cat blinking is a really solid indicator that hes communicating his current state of contentment.

Jackson Galaxy, cat behavior expert, says there are some pretty strong feelings behind the cat slow blink. He calls it the I Love You Blink. Galaxy says the cat slow blink is when cats and people are wholly opening up to one another in sharing affection because when the cat closes his eyes he is allowing himself to be vulnerable to his person.

Cats also greet their kitty cat friends with the cat slow blink, aka cat kisses. Cat blinking is one way for sure to know your cat loves and trusts you completely which is what every cat parent wants to hear! So, your next question is: How do you get your cats to slow blink?

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What Does It Mean When A Cat Slow Blinks

What Does It Mean When A Cat Slow Blinks? When a cat greets another cat or a person with slow, languid blinks, its communicating affection. Because in the feline world, closing ones eyes in the presence of another is the ultimate sign of trust. By blinking slowly at your cat, you are communicating that you are aware of its presence and pose no threat.

What is your cat thinking? Their body language may give it away. When a cat greets another cat or a person with slow, languid blinks, its communicating affection. The upright bottle-brush tail is an unequivocal sign that your cat is feeling threatened. The more fearful a cat becomes, the wider its pupils expand, says Myrna Milani, DVM, an animal behaviorist at Tipping Point Animal Behavior Consulting Services in Charlestown, N.H. When dilated, the pupils take in as much visual information as possible. Cats eyes also respond to ambient lighting, Sueda says, so its important to observe the body language as a whole and not single out any one element. Even the most mild-mannered cat may retaliate if feeling threatened or aroused by too much play or petting. Purring usually signals contentment and may also be a comfort-seeking behavior when the cat is recovering from illness or close to death.

What Does A Slow Blink From A Cat Mean

When a cat greets another cat or a person with slow, languid blinks, its communicating affection. Because in the feline world, closing ones eyes in the presence of another is the ultimate sign of trust. By blinking slowly at your cat, you are communicating that you are aware of its presence and pose no threat.

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A Kitty’s Point Of View: Why Does My Cat Slow Blink And Wink

Meow! Meow! Blink! Blink! I wonder if my humans can understand what I am trying to say to them? Its very important that they understand my body language, but my guess is that they think that us cats can only meow and purr and look cute they have a lot to learn!

I am quite sure that I can let my humans know how I am feeling. For example:

  • If Im scared, I will run off and find my favourite hiding place where I know I will feel safe and secure. I do this when there are lots of firework celebrations , or if a stranger comes into the house .
  • If Im alert, I will hold my tail upright with a little kink at the end, and this means that Im aware of whats happening and happy to say hello.
  • Im on my guard and ready to pounce if Im wagging my tail – this normally means that Ive spotted something lurking under the sofa maybe its my favourite toy mouse!

And, although humans dont think that our facial expressions change, let me put you right! They may be subtle, but if you look carefully you will learn that my whiskers and ears will tell you just how Im feeling:

And, then theres my eyes!

Revealing Her True Feelings

What does it mean when my cat blinks at me?

Cat behavior expert Jackson Galaxy calls it the I love you blink, suggesting that the slow blink is a way for your cat to express her love. He recommends reciprocating the message by mimicking your cats slow blink. Cats might slow blink at the people they love as well as other cat friends. The slow blink is one way to know your cat fully accepts and trusts youa message every cat parent hopes to receive from their kitty!

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Does A Cats Wink Ever Mean Anything Else

Of course, every cats wink or blink is not necessarily a sign of affection. The tell-tale sign of affection is the slow, deliberate wink or blink.

Anything else may mean that the cat has something in her eye, or that she has an infection or an eye injury.

Tell a cat that you love her, and maybe shell let you live.

So when confronted by your imperious cat, with all of her haughty indifference, try telling her that you really love her. Sit her down, gaze into her eyes, and blink slowly. Usually, a cat will blink back at you!

Some cat experts suggest that you only try this in a calm, serene environment. Loud noises or numerous distractions may prevent you from getting the desired result! Find a quiet place where your cat feels comfortable, and let her know your true feelings.

How To Get Your Cat To Slow Blink

First, dont overwhelm your kitty and dont stare. Direct eye contact or a hard, prolonged stare is perceived by cats as confrontational and isnt good kitty etiquette. Maintain a peaceful atmosphere and allow your cat to come to you on her own time. Keep your eyes relaxed and offer a slow blink to see if she reciprocates. If your cat is new and shy, give her time to acclimate and relax into this new life before expecting her to show vulnerability.

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What Does It Mean When A Cat Slow

When a cat greets another cat or a person with slow, languid blinks, its communicating affection. Because in the feline world, closing ones eyes in the presence of another is the ultimate sign of trust. By blinking slowly at your cat, you are communicating that you are aware of its presence and pose no threat.

Do Cats Blink And When

Why Do Cats Blink at You (this will make you happy)

Yes. Cats blink or squint. However, as Wikipedia states, they do not need to blink their eyes on a regular basis to keep their eyes lubricated . They can stay without squinting and this helps them while hunting as they can remain focused on their prey.

Perhaps a more precise way to put it is as PetMD says, cats upper and lower lids rarely meet completely, so blinking of a cats upper and lower lids is often referred to as squinting as opposed to outright blinking.

They squint for protection purposes especially as they walk through grassland or if something appears to want to poke them. They have eyebrow whiskers whose role is to help sense anything that may poke or strike their facial area.

Secondly, it is a means of communicating to their owners, something often known as kitty kiss which we need to talk more about including its meaning.

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How Your Cats Eyelids Work

As it turns out, your cat uses her eyelids for multiple purposes. The purpose of the upper and lower lids is not the same for cats as it is for people, whose lids spread tears and keep the eye moist, says Neely. While there are tear glands in the corners of the eyes that are always making tears, cats do not blink their upper and lower lids to clear the tears away. Instead, the tears evaporate after quickly cleaning debris from the eye.

The third eyelid, however, does help your cat move tears over the surface of her eye, which helps remove debris. Even for those cats who do not live in a sandy habitat, it may still protect the eyes when a cat is moving through tall grass blades or other potentially dangerous material, or when cats are capturing prey or even just chasing toys, says Neely.

In fact, according to Neely, this third eyelid probably developed because the practice of keeping cats as human companions began in the Middle East where a great deal of sand gets regularly blown around by strong winds. The third eyelid could very well be an adaptation that helps to protect cats eyes while still allowing them to see to some degree due to the thin membrane, she says. This same ability to see through this eyelid is also an advantage during hunting prey, due to the speed with which it moves.

More from petMD:

The Slow Blink: Why Cats Do This To Usand Even Other Cats

Modi Ramos21662

As they say, the eyes are the window to the soul. Our cats communicate via body language with us in a number of ways. Their tails will twitch or flip, and when it wags its a sign theyre irritated, much unlike when a dogs tail wags. Their ears are very expressive, too. These erect ears of theirs act like little mood barometers atop of their heads. Did you know that cats slow blink not just with humans, but with other cats, too? Fascinating, right? Lets dive in so you can learn why it is that cats do this interesting feline behavior.

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Want To Know Why I Slow Blink And Wink

Some clever people have been studying us cats to find out what it means if we blink and wink slowly at humans, and its quite interesting that they have worked out that when we blink slowly at humans, it means that we are smiling at them!

Very interesting! It certainly makes me feel happy if my human slow-blinks at me – so I will slow-blink back at them to let them know that I like them too and I trust them! My human has plugged in FELIWAY Classic Diffuser which makes me feel more relaxed and serene, so when we have visitors in the house, I might even approach a stranger if they slow-blink at me, but thats only if they dont try to pick me up when they see me. I like to get to know people well before I get up close and personal with them!

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