this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2025
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[–] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.ca 60 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Good info for the five cat owners who don't already know this.

[–] SanctimoniousApe@lemmings.world 20 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Seriously. I learned this a long time ago from Jackson Galaxy on My Cat From Hell.

[–] dingus@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Lol I have been watching this show a lot lately (recommended from a friend when I first got my cat!) and I have been doing the slow blink with my cat lol. I love when I can get him to slow blink back at me. Jackson seriously has a lot of cool tips.

The owners on that show are usually mildly infuriating though lol. Most of them are like "I am playing rough with the cat why does he swipe at me" or "the cat is pooping outside the litterbox for some reason and I only clean the box weekly" or "my cat is peeing everywhere and trying to escape and I don't know why oh btw he is not neutered" or "why is my cat scratching all of my furniture but cat scratching posts are ugly so I don't want them in my home".

Very occasionally the cats do seem to have a real problem tho that isn't the fault of shitty owners. Like there was one episode I saw where a cat went blind (owner couldn't tell!! Seems like when animals go blind it can be actually hard to sus out sometimes) and got PTSD from getting scared while blind.

It is appreciated though that even though these owners are ignorant or unrealistic that a majority are willing to actually take Jackson's advice and teachings to heart and learn from it. I guess if they weren't willing to learn then they wouldn't have agreed to be on the show in the first place.

[–] bear@lemmy.blahaj.zone 52 points 2 weeks ago

Partially closed eyes and slow blinking

[–] Krompus@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago

Yep. Been doing this with my cats forever, and constantly when I worked at an animal shelter. Once got in trouble with an ex girlfriend when I did it to her involuntarily. :3

[–] fodor@lemmy.zip 12 points 2 weeks ago

tl;dr Smile at them more – cat style. Not in the human way, by showing your teeth, but by narrowing your eyes and blinking slowly.

[–] nullPointer@programming.dev 12 points 2 weeks ago

AKA: kitty kisses

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 6 points 2 weeks ago

The slow blink. Works great with all cats, but especially new, or frightened ones.

[–] Nikls94@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You can also see it in happy cats that their mouth smiles as well

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 3 points 2 weeks ago

Some. We've had some who are very expressive, and make all sorts of facial expressions, and we've had others whose expressions never change.