With a tendency to view our animals, their needs and emotions through a human-centric lens, a new study has revealed people often misinterpret what a cat is trying to say.
The research, conducted at the University of Adelaide, asked 368 Australians to watch a series of human-cat interaction videos and determine whether the cat's behaviour suggested the interaction was positive or negative for the cat.
Half the participants were shown a training video about cat behaviour and body language cues while the other half watched a control video, but all were asked how they would interact with the cat in the video.
Lead researcher and School of Animal and Veterinary Science PhD Candidate Julia Henning said participants mistook negative videos for positive 25 per cent of the time, even when the cat was showing overt behaviours like hissing, biting or trying to escape.
"Subtle negative behaviours like freezing and avoiding touch were even more challenging. When trying to recognise these signals, participants performed slightly worse than chance (48.7 per cent). That's about as well as a coin toss," says Julia.
"Of more concern, even when people correctly recognised a cat was not enjoying an interaction, more than 44 per cent still chose to try and interact with the cat."
Julia said the misinterpretation of cat behavioural cues could be dangerous for both human and cat.
"Cat bites can be serious risk for human health; 30 to 50 per cent of bite cases result in rapid infection and can lead to serious complications including sepsis, long term health issues and, in rare cases, death," she says.
For cats, unwanted interactions cause significant stress and, if this is prolonged it can increase a cat's risk of health issues and behavioural problems."
The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Ethology.
While most people selected the appropriate feeling whether it was negative or positive, more than 54 per cent selected positive emotions rather than negative where the cats were subtly negative.
The research highlights the need for improved education around cat behaviours.
"We encourage people to take notice of early warning signs a cat is not enjoying an interaction, like avoiding touch, pushing away, stiffening or putting their ears back, and to stop as soon as these signs are noticed," says Julia.
Even when play is positive for both cat and human, the researchers suggest using appropriate toys instead of hands to reduce to chance of accidental injury.
"The best thing you can do for a cat who has become overstimulated or stressed is to give them space to themselves," says Julia.
