It’s no coincidence that cats are adorable – we’ve bred them selectively between generations for maximum tenderness. But this breeding has one drawback: it has left some of our feline friends with frowning, permanent faces who can’t show emotions.
In particular, new research published in December in the journal Frontiers of veterinary science suggests that selective breeding for the “brachycephalic” or flattened face type (Persian and Himalayan think) has curbed the ability of these cats to accurately communicate fear, anxiety, or pain.
These flat-faced breeds have their faces stuck in a permanent grimace that suggests pain, even when they have no pain.
“This result was a real eye-opener. I didn’t exactly expect to find that the brachycephalic faces had pain-like expressions,” said Lauren Finka, lead author of the study, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nottingham Trent. in England.
Permanent grimaces
These permanent grimaces could mean cat owners won’t be able to know when their cat mates are really suffering, Finka told Live Science.
Thanks to the selective breeding of humans, the faces of cats have changed as much as possible any of their physical characteristics. However, despite the importance of faces for nonverbal communication in animals, little research has studied how this offspring has changed feline facial expressions.
To answer this question, Finka and colleagues used a computer algorithm to analyze facial data from more than 2,000 cat photos and assign each one a score from neutral to complete grimace.
By comparing the neutral facial expressions of various breeds of cats with the jellyfish facial expressions of domestic short-haired cats recovering from routine surgeries, Finka and colleagues found that while cats are not terribly expressive for to begin with, flat-faced cats seemed to show “pain-like” facial expressions even when completely relaxed. One breed in particular, the Scottish Fold, scored even higher on facial expressions that looked like pain than short-haired cats that actually had pain.
Forever young
So why do we prefer cats that seem to be in pain? One theory is that we create animals to stay longer in a childish state, a process called neotenization. And babies and young people cry a lot.
“We’re likely to have an innate preference for pain-like characteristics, so they’ll probably take advantage of our drive to feed,” Finka said. “We’re sorry”.
Our preference for baby faces can end up hurting our furry companions. Previous research has shown that extreme facial modifications in cats come with many diseases, from restricted airways to excessive skin folding to breathing and vision problems. And all this is due to our predisposition to soft faces.
“Unfortunately, what this means for our pets is that we can continue to prefer and even encourage the existence of breeds with serious health problems that may also have difficulty communicating with us and potentially with other animals,” he said. write Finka in The Conversation.
That’s okay. Cushioned faces, as cute as they may be, could interfere with the way cats communicate with their owners, meaning cat owners might find themselves missing when their cats are in pain.
“If you’re buying a cat, be sure to do your research,” Finka said. “It’s important that we consider the abilities of our animals to communicate.”
This article was originally published by Live Science. Read the original article here.