Cat-Human bond, The Feline Purrspective

The big eyes and round heads of kittens may elicit a caregiving response in humans.

It is often said that cats are not fully domesticated. There is that streak of wildness in them – they can be aloof and take care of themselves. We don’t control the breeding or hunting habits of the cats that live in the shadows of our neighborhoods and cities.

To some, this offers an opportunity to study the process of domestication. Some of the easy to see hallmarks of domesticated animals are the changes in their faces and shapes of their heads. In selective breeding of foxes, rounder heads, white pigmentation, and droopy ears became apparent after 10 generations of allowing less aggressive animals to mate [“Changes in Cat Facial Morphology are Related to Interaction with Humans”, Hattoi et al, Animals 2022, 12, 3493].

Domestic cats have short noses and rounder eyes

These changes in face and head make the animals look more juvenile. The noted ethologist, Konrad Lorenz, defined these traits (the round face and big eyes) as the “baby schema”. The “baby face” of human infants is said to stimulate the premotor cortex and activate the basic emotion of CARE in human adults. Likewise, animals with round heads and big eyes are “cuter” and more appealing to humans.

A research group in Japan [Hattoi et al. see above] compared the facial structure of 1) feral mixed breed cats, 2) owned domestic mixed breed cats, and 3) owned domestic purebred cats with the facial structure of 4) the African Wildcat, the ancestor of our domestic cats. They hypothesized that cats that interact with people would show changes in their faces, and this could be a marker of the process of domestication.

The team mapped facial dimensions to find a measure of the “baby schema” they could use. Since the size of the cat’s eye is dependent on brightness, the researchers chose the nose length and the angle of the eyes to compare the faces of the 4 categories of cats.

The nose length (B) was reported relative to facial size, the distance between the inside corners of the eyes (A). Eye angles measured the slant of the eyes, from the inside corner to the outside corner.

Analysis of 3295 photos revealed:

Domestic cats have short noses and rounder eyes.
African wildcats and feral mixed breed cats have longer noses and slanted eyes when compared with domestic cats.
The study also found that people preferred cats with shorter noses – they were “cuter” than cats with longer noses.

	Nose Length(B/A)	Angle of Eyes
African Wildcats	1.34	25.61
Mixed Breed Feral Cats	1.32	25.10
Owned Mixed Breed Cats	1.23	25.31
Owned Purebred Cats	1.14	22.77

Humans prefer cats with shorter noses and eyes that are not so slanted. These features may elicit caregiving behavior in humans. Domestic cats have short noses and rounder eyes; this suggests that domestication or interaction with humans has changed the facial structure of domestic cats.

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Cat under the bed — Myrddin, my sister’s cat, stayed with her as she passed away.

From ancient Egypt where cats were mummified and sometimes buried with their owners, to the Salem Witch trials, cats have long been associated with death. A quick search of the Internet will turn up all sorts of superstitions linking cats with the afterlife, the sick and dying. The bond between cats and humans is more than just providing food and shelter – this bond can persist even as one or the other is dying.

Cats in nursing homes are not uncommon these days. Oscar, a cat who lived in a Rhode Island nursing home from 2005-2022, is credited with accurately predicting 100 deaths. Oscar would choose to nap with people a few hours before they died. He was the subject of the book, Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat, authored by geriatrician Dr. David Dosa.

My eldest sister was suffering from cancer and entered the hospital in the end of September this year. She was too weak for chemotherapy and chose to spend her final days in her home. During her hospital stay, her Siamese cat, Myrddin, was cared for by family nearby. He seemed somewhat shy with people when he arrived at his interim home and was gradually starting to come out from his refuge under the bed in a guest bedroom when I visited a week later.

My sister was released from the hospital a few days after my visit and asked for her cat when arriving home from the hospital. He was brought to the house and after a short acclimation period in the guest bedroom, was brought to my sister’s bedroom. I worried that he would hide but he seemed to know just what to do – he jumped up on the bed, sitting on her and kneading her stomach.

She passed away early in the morning a few days later – Myrrdin woke family staying at the house who found that my sister was no longer alive. He went back to stay lie next to her until hospice arrived.

The bond between cats and humans is more than just providing food and a warm place to sleep. We don’t know why cats like Oscar choose to nap with the dying. As for me, I am so glad my sister had the comfort of her cat at the very end of her life.

Domestic Cats have Short Noses and Rounder Eyes Than Wildcats

Domestic cats have short noses and rounder eyes

The Bond Between Cats and Humans