What does it mean when a cat slow blinks at you?

Ask a human what it means when a cat slow blinks at you, and you’ll probably get answers like:

“A slow blink from a cat means he trusts you.”

“A slow blink means a cat is feeling relaxed.”

“A slow-blinking cat is saying that she loves you.”

Ask a cat what the slow blink means, and you might get a slightly different answer. In fact, science has been hard at work trying to find out EXACTLY what slow blinking means to a cat.

Let’s find out more!

What is a slow blink in cats?

First, we all have to agree about what a slow-blinking cat looks like. Scientists actually call it a “slow-blink sequence,” because a slow blink is not just a single eye movement.

The slow blink starts out as a series (in other words, more than one) half blinks. The half blinks are followed by a much longer narrowing of the eye, or complete closing of the eye.

So, a slow blink might actually look like this:

Half blink.

Half blink.

Half blink.

C—L—O—S—E the eyes.

The difference between a blink and a slow-blink

An ordinary blink is an involuntary reflex. You don’t have to decide to blink, although you can. It happens automatically, like breathing.

Cats and humans blink to spread tears across the eyeballs to keep them lubricated. Blinking removes dead cells and other debris from the eyes. Blinking sends oxygen and nutrients to the eyes, too.[1]

There’s even some thought that blinking (at least in humans) can help us see better because our neurons respond better when the scene in front of the eyes changes, even just momentarily fading to black during a blink.[2]

But the slow blink isn’t an involuntary reflex and it doesn’t really serve any of these purposes. A slow-blink is a choice. It’s a completely deliberate action on the part of your cat.

As we’ll discuss below, a slow-blink reflects a decision by your cat to communicate with you.

Why do we even notice what cats are doing with their eyes?

As gestures go, moving the eyelids seems awfully subtle to me. Honestly, I’m surprised anyone even notices that a cat is closing her eyes halfway. But we do. Why?

We look at faces for information

In humans, a face can tell us what another person is thinking or feeling, and can help us respond to them appropriately.

Research suggests there are actually seven universal human facial expressions. That means that all humans everywhere agree that certain facial expressions mean certain things. This is true no matter what country you live in, what time period in history it is, or what race, gender, nationality, religion, or culture you are or come from.

These universal facial expressions are anger, contempt, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, and surprise.[3]

Facial expressions are truly a universal language among people. This fact probably explains why we are so interested in exactly what our cats’ faces are doing, too.

Cats also look at faces

We’re not the only ones trying to read a person’s emotions by looking at her face. Cats are doing it, too.

One fascinating study showed that cats change their behavior based, at least in part, on the look on their guardians’ faces (their voices and gestures count, too – but that’s a story for another day).

In this study, researchers put green ribbons on a large fan, and observed the behavior of 36 cats and their guardians with this weird object in the room.

Nearly all (79%) of the cats in the study looked to their guardians for guidance about how to react to the fan.

If a guardian had a scared, worried expression on his face, his cat was more likely to try to head for the door.

If a guardian had a positive reaction to the fan, cats were more likely to stay where they were, or meow at their guardian. A few of these cats even approached the fan.[4]

But eye expressions seem to have special meaning

So, facial expressions are important to communication, not just between humans, but between humans and cats, too.

But why are we so focused on reading subtle eye movements, like the slow-blink?

It turns out that our special interest in eye movements might also be a clue as to the meaning of the slow blink.

A slow blink could be a sign of happiness in cats

The slow-blink seems to have something in common with something called the “Duchenne smile.”

The Duchenne smile is the kind of smile that we all recognize as an expression of true happiness. It’s not the smile you use for school photos; it’s the kind of smile that happens spontaneously when the smiler is experiencing pure joy.

The Duchenne smile doesn’t stop at the mouth. A Duschenne smile is a smile so wide that it makes the corners of the eyes wrinkle up.

The Duchenne Smile was named for Guillaume Duchenne, a 19^th-century scientist who mapped all of the muscles of the human body, including the facial muscles.[5] And the difference between a Duchenne smile and a regular smile in humans is one tiny, tiny muscle, called the orbicularis oculi.[6]

The orbicularis oculi wraps around the eye and causes little wrinkles to form at the corners. This is an important fact to remember in trying to decipher the slow-blink in cats. Keep reading.

Animals might “Duchenne smile” too

Animals have their own versions of the Duchenne smile. Horses get a little wrinkle in the corners of their eyes when they’re feeling extra good, like when they’re getting groomed or given treats.[7]

Cows have a version of the Duchenne smile, too. Scientists have actually measured how much white in a cow’s eye is visible during various emotional states. Cows who are feeling positive – like when they’re being fed, or ruminating, show less white than less-happy cows who, for example, can see food but can’t it. [8]

Cats also have the orbicularis oculi muscles, and these are the muscles they use to perform their slow blinks.

So, it’s possible, that like humans, horses, and cows, a slow-blinking cat is feeling genuine happiness or contentment.

Cats might slow-blink because humans slow-blink

When I first learned about slow blinking in cats, I assumed that it was something that cats just do, like purring, or grooming themselves.

But it turns out that they might be thinking the same thing about us: that slow-blinking is just something we humans do.

One study, involving 18 adult cats in an animal shelter in the United Kingdom, showed that cats are more likely to slow-blink at a person who has first slow-blinked at them.[9]

In another study, involving 18 owned cats, cats were more likely to slow-blink or narrow their eyes when their guardians slow-blinked at them, versus just gazing at them.

These owned cats were also more likely to slow-blink at researchers, whom the cats did not know, when the researchers slow-blinked at them. And they were more likely to approach a researcher who had slow-blinked at them versus a researcher who had maintained a neutral facial expression.

A conclusion of the research is that the slow-blink seems to be a kind of positive emotional communication between cats and humans.[10]

Wow.

Cats might slow-blink because they are anxious

The shelter-cat slow-blink study revealed one more possible reason that cats slow-blink: nervousness.

Cats who were identified by the animal shelter upon intake as anxious cats (because they were hiding or refusing to eat or drink), were put in a special program to improve their confidence. These cats received extra time and attention from shelter employees and volunteers, in an effort to make them more adoptable.

Eight of the anxious cats were included in the slow-blink study. Researchers discovered that these cats spent more time slow-blinking overall than the more confident cats.

So, is slow-blinking a way for cats to reduce their anxiety? Or is slow-blinking a submissive behavior?

More research is needed.

Cats who slow-blink more get adopted more quickly

Interestingly, cats in the slow-blink shelter study who slow-blinked more often, got adopted more quickly.[11]

It’s likely that we humans just like “happy faces.” In fact, 69% of of 1,100 cat guardians who were surveyed in the United Kingdom said that a slow-blinking cat is a relaxed cat.[12]

So, we humans apply positive emotional qualities to slow-blinking cats, which makes them more appealing to us.

But do we choose slow-blinking cats, or do the cats slow-blink to be chosen by us?

While I’m certain that cats don’t understand the adoption process and slow-blink on purpose to increase their chances of getting adopted, an ability to read human cues is something many domesticated animal species have learned to do.

Dogs, as we know, are highly skilled in reading humans. Horses and goats have been shown to change their behavior after reading human emotions.

It would be no surprise that cats have learned to do it, too.

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Dawn LaFontaine

Dawn LaFontaine is a lifelong animal lover who always seems to have a little pet hair in her keyboard. Her blog, Kitty Contemplations, helps cat guardians better understand and care for the special beings they share their lives and homes with. Her cat-products business, Cat in the Box, sells beautiful, well-made, and award-winning products that she designed to meet the biological needs of cats.