this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2023
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It really looks like he's smiling in his sleep 🥺

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 10 months ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I guess I should clarify that I meant that cats don't "smile" like people.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

they smile better

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

But they do

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

That's really cool! I have been convinced for a while that cats have really expressive faces based on how easily I understand my own cats, nice that there's some evidence of it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

There was evidence of it when you saw it with your own eyes.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Heh I guess so but it could also be in my head.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I just think you gotta give yourself credit for being able to see what’s clearly happening in front of you. Science is great but it can be faked and mistaken so you also gotta be able to trust your own perceptions.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

You're so supportive that's sweet thank you :)

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

this is cool, thank you for sharing

[–] [email protected] 12 points 10 months ago

What do you mean cat’s can’t smile. Of course they can smile.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I’m pretty sure cats have several facial expressions.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah but AFAIK they don't have one that is similar to a human smile.

(In appearance not in meaning)

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

But they do? I mean, here’s an example if you’re skeptical: https://lemmy.world/post/9686610

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm sure its just the lighting, his face being smooshed into the blanket and also part of his face being obstructed by the blanket.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Could be. But that seems more elaborate than “as you’d expect, cat smiles look like human smiles and mean the same thing”

It just means smiling appeared before our common ancestor, or that we co-evolved like bees and flowers to have a working interface for emotional communication.

It’s in all organisms’ best interest to succeed in communicating with other organisms. There’s a universal selective pressure toward universal empathy. Like you can tell when a hornet’s anxious or a spider is scared.

It just so happens we’ve been next to cats for long enough we got highly specialized at reading each other.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I appreciate this thoughtful explanation.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

It's not that they can't smile, it's that they rarely want to. They're little murder machines because they are just full of spite under all that floof. Probably only smiling because he is dreaming about murdering something.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

My cat would beg to differ, he always smiles when I grab his treat container, then he proceeds to shout at me until he gets his treats.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

That's the "I know I look extremely cute" cozy content smile 😊

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

He looks very comfy. 🥰