Facial
and vocal expressions of animals and cats
From the childhood we
have been thought that animals cant smile. animals dont have a facial
expression. WRONG. facial expressions are communication method for
animals. they know exactly what your eyes are, where your nose and
noistrils is and know that you are human. every specie knows humans
diffrently and every single animal has their own opinions about it,
based on their species treatment upon humans. For example sheep know
that they are used for fur, milk and meat. therefore a wild sheep is
neutral to a human while a trained one will always follow the flutes
noise and go away from the loud noise.
When an
animal looks at you suprised or angry, you may think that the
expression is there by chance, something natural and randomly occured,
therefore would find it funny. No the expression means exactly what it
says. most animals will give you eyes opened like mad if they gonna
attack you. Birds are a bit exception to this. They tend to close their
eyes by half, instinctively thinking the fight will include claws and
beaks. Another thing is different animals show different levels of
expressions. Those that show it less doesnt mean they are more stupid.
Monkeys are easiest to study expressions as you can imagine. Though I
will talk about cats.
First of
all know that cats know much more than they show. They know much more
than an average human. They are mystic and hold secrets. most of the
time they act more mature than average human. These things lead to the
conclusion that cats are the number one reincarnation animals.
A cat will
communicate with a human if only it wants. If they dont want to talk
then the only thing you can get out of them is a shriek. They have a
sense of justice so trying to kill one and failing it will never
forgive you. They mostly talk with meows. Wild cats are known to try
and roar. But its almost same as an angry meow. Tsss ing is another
method of communication too. So meows first:
- The food begging meow. This is the most valid one.
the begging tone. Like a low miiiiuuuuuwwwww. Like as if they are dying
in hunger and they spend their last breath in asking for food. The rate
of repetation fastens and becomes louder as they get more hopes of
getting food. Theres also the food demanding meow. The style is the
same but the tone is more louder and it gets slightly out of control to
towards the end.
- The love me meow. This is more like a "weep", its
cute and short. They say it when you show them that you want to pet
them, or for hosuecats, they demand the petting and say it always in
the same tone and way. And mostly at the same hour of the day. How do
you show to a cat that you want to pet them? well first of all see if
they are in the love-me mood. Female street cats are the most common
ones to use this mood.
You might want to use that certain voice or word to call
the cats. This word differs in every country/region. English mostly say
"kitty kitty". You might also want to use your sweet voice and say
"coome hereee" and rub your thumb and the closest finger to it
together. Saying "pay me". This is the universal code for cats to say
here is food. Though you will be tricking them into petting. Once you
reach out quickly start stratching their head instead of rubbing their
back. Dont worry cats dont mind you touching on their head. Once you
dazzle them with this comforting move you might start advancing towards
their cheeks and under their chins. They love this allot.
Also note that sometimes cats let you pet them so that you
become happy. They like this thought. But it doesnt mean that they wont
claw mania you if you exert in the petting a little. Just know when to
stop.
- The I want to pee but cant find a place to do it
meow. Its like a eee-ow. This is a long meowing. Its a disturbing tone
so its not hard to recognize. Some cats wont pee on the carpet if you
dont give them a soil spot. Their intestines will get bigger and
bigger, and evantually demage the cat. So this voice is important.
- The usual chatter and complaining meows and other
sounds. Well this is fun to listen. Its like a cat talk with
uncomprehendable words except psychicly. Continiuing meows and "mrrrm"s
and "aauu"s and other variations that sum up to be words. Complaining
can be understood by the long "meeeEEEeeEEeeeEEE". You can understand
the toning and what emotions they are trying to surface with the words,
but I failed to completely make out the meanings. if you know about it
please say as I think its meaning in pain.
- Im in pain/wounded meow. this can vary from a loud
"waaaaaaa" to a tiny tint tiny "miiiiiyuv", or it may be that their
throats have dried as a result of their pain and might come up with a
catly roar. Or a desperate "whhhh". Dont let this sound discourage you.
Take the cat to a veterinary as soon as possible. You will not be asked
to pay for anything though you may volunteer to pay for additional
medical treatment. Also unless the wound is crawling with maggots (cat
metobalism is very fast and some wounds might rot even before the cat
dies) their open wounds wont harm you or infect you with microbes in
any way. Their wounds are clean for us but harmful for them.
- Im stuck meow. This is a very loud "miyuv!". Usually
heard from a sought place thats impossible to be found at 3 am because
the sound is mirroring. They're usually in a trash bin or a truck trunk
or lost their way in a car motor. Help these cats because they dont
start giving this sound unless they make sure that they cant get out
and will starve there.
- The summoning meow. This might actually be a summon
for another cat or their master. Its a "maaaauuuuuuuv", it gets louder
and longer as it is repeated. So only god knows why they summon you.
Could be food or telephone or anything but its 90 percent looking for
attention/bored.
- Mating sound. Well they dont usually make sounds
while trying to find a mate. But when they do it its likely to be a
"eee" or "yip". Well after they start the mating possibly we all know
what kind of sounds they make.
- Greeting and hailing the master meow. This is a
normal meow. Professionally said, lowering towards the end. Quick and
solid, a sound that the master is very used to, as the cat being used
to the sight of their master.
- Calling for the kid sound. They make this sound to
call their kids. its a fast repitition of "woak!" sounds. Gets
worrysome and louder as the kid keeps being missing. This sound might
turn out to be a cry and begging for help. This isnt a fake like the
food begging tone. You can differ the two easily. Some cats might think
that you kidnapped their kids and demand you to release them. In these
situations don't kick them away, just let them search everything and
your house. If you dont do this they will stay in your door all day
yelling.
- The tsss in and mrrrr ing. Tss ing is a warning.
means "im angry just stop it." Might be in middle of a fight or just
not in the mood or feeling ill. Mrrr is you know the sound they make
when they are petted. If they make this without getting petted it
doesn't mean they've gone nuts but it means that they are in a really good
mood.
Another
thing to notice is that lions and small cats share the same psychology.
Big ones just rarely meow as your little cat rarely roars. Wild little
cats roar in their own capacity. So dont question your animal love when
your little furball lets our a "whhraaar" as a battlecry against
another cat. its just an instinctive roar. Most sounds are common
between cat species. As the wheres my son sound.
Most common
facial expression that you see in a cat is:
- The slowly closing of eyes. Like as if
they are petting you from a distance. Well I'm not really sure what
this means. People say it means "I accept your loving" but I seen cats
do this in completely diffrent situations. They do this when you meet
their eyes. Probably means "alright/whatever" in a cute way. Don't
forget that cats can be cute whenever they want. Whatever it means this
is an advanced level of communication. It might be that they are
psychicly communicating with you.
- Cats
go into alertness state from time to time. Well in fact most of the
time, their muscles become half tense, ready to jump. Their tails stop
moving, ears turn to front, whiskers lay towards the cheeks. They do
this when they are hunting, scared or curious. Dont confuse this with
the playful hunting mood. In alertness the cat gets all serious.
- While
hunting or sneaking cats open their eyes in full. Their eye dots open
wide when they are in darkness or very excited. It goes so wide that
the colored part of their eyes become like a thin circle on the cats
eyes. This brings their perception up.
- Cats
value perception alot when sneaking. So you can see them lsitening or
looking with projector-like eyes. You know that cats eyes glow in the
dark. Its not a glow that comes from the cat. Its the light mirroring.
They have so much phosphorus that even a tiny speck of light shines
from their eyes. You are right to be scared from this shine. They are
in hunting mood and if cornered they might tear your skin real bad. If
you see a lion etc like this... well dont move too much. make them know
that you noticed them. Dont turn your back and run. Cats have an
instinct of chasing everything that runs. Just try to see if there are
any more lions around and distribute your campfire around you, but dont
let it go off. if you dont have a camp fire you might try to direct
something like a flashlight light to the lions eyes. Well lion survival
is a whole another concept and im zero experience in this.
- Mostly the thing I wanted to talk
about was smiling. Cats have thin black lips. You can follow these lips
towards the sides of their mouth. if you look at their lips from this
side, you can see that they curve from time to time. The lips sometimes
curve up, in a more "C" like way. this is smiling. Idk what makes a cat
smile really except for the excitement. I never seen one smiling when
in a bad condition. Also while smiling their eyes tend to be like ^.^
they dont smile when they are comfortable. When they are comfortable or
being mesmerised by being scratched, their lips loosen in an "ooh
yeaah" way. Also not all curve-ups are smiles some are determination.
Theres also the "annoyed" curve-up. Its a little diffrent than the
smiling curve but the tail shakes in the same way. If a cat can smile
can they also make a bad face? no they dont know that you study their
facial expression, especially lips. But their lips curve downwards
sometimes. Its not loosening. It more like the mouth of a sad face
whhen they loose thier prey or when a brethrin or mother die. Again Im
not sure when they do this.
- Another thing I've noticed is their
front below lips tighten when they are curious. This is a very human
like move, or at least I find it that way.
nameless