A new international study led by researchers from the Tech4Animals laboratory at the University of Haifa succeeded with the development of artificial intelligence to diagnose that cats quickly imitate the facial expressions of other cats, especially in positive situations." Identifying rapid imitation patterns can be used as a tool to diagnose levels of connection between cats, which is especially important when housing cats together or adapting them for adoption," the researchers said.
A new development of artificial intelligence was able to diagnose for the first time that cats quickly imitate the facial expressions of other cats, especially in positive situations, a phenomenon known to humans and other social mammals, according to a new international study involving researchers from the University of Haifa, published in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports From home NATURE. "With the help of the new development, we found that cats are much more social than we thought until now. Their facial language is an important tool for communication and strengthening social ties," she said Prof. Anna Zemansky Head of the Tech4Animals laboratory bDepartment of Information Systems at the University of Haifa, conducting the research.
Cats are known as independent and sometimes distant animals, but it turns out that they are also social creatures with complex communication patterns. Humans as well as many mammals in nature use changes in facial expressions to promote social connections and share emotions. In cats, most studies have focused on interactions with humans or pain detection, rather than intrasexual communication between cats themselves.
In the current study, the doctoral student George Martebel, Prof. Zemansky, Prof. Ilan Shimshoni From the Department of Information Systems at the University of Haifa, together with a team of researchers from Ariel University, universities in the United States and Great Britain to examine for the first time how the facial expressions of cats contribute to their social interactions with the help of innovative artificial intelligence tools and facial movement recognition systems.
The study took place in a cat cafe in the United States, a place where people can watch the interactions between resident cats. Using a video camera, the researchers filmed 186 social interactions between 53 cats, which were divided into two types: positive interactions - play, physical contact and open body movements, negative interactions - fights, defensive or aggressive posture. The researchers developed two AI models to identify the interactions. The first, DEEP LEARNING which uses all the information in the image of the facial movements, the second identification and analysis of 48 unique points on the cats' faces such as the angles of the eyes, the position of the ears and the movements of the mouth with which they analyzed the facial expressions of the cats.
The developed models were able to identify with an accuracy level of over 77% in identifying the types of interactions. According to the researchers, it was found that rapid imitation of facial movements, such as turning the ears or opening the mouth, is mainly common in positive interactions. For example, a cat that saw another cat turn its ears up imitated the movement in less than a second, leading to cooperative play. In negative interactions, such as fights, defensive resistance or expression of aggression, it was found that cats were less likely to show rapid mimicry of facial movements. They often expressed independent and deliberate movements, such as staring, turning the head to the side or quick defensive movements. "Understanding the facial language of cats can help cat owners better understand their pets' emotions and improve interactions with them. Identifying rapid imitation patterns can be used as a tool to diagnose levels of connection between cats, something that is especially important in housing cats together or in adapting them for adoption", Prof. Zemansky concluded.
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