Human recognition of feline stress-related behavioral states from visual cues depends on observer characteristics

This study investigates humans’ ability to recognize cats’ stress-related behavioral states expressed through visual body language, including facial expressions, posture, and tail position. A total of 1,950 participants evaluated 12 videos of cats displaying three behavioral states—relaxed, tense, and fearful—and reported their perceived state. We examined whether recognition accuracy was influenced by individual observer characteristics, including age, gender, and prior cat ownership. Response accuracy exceeded chance level (33%) but remained relatively low, indicating that the task was challenging. No significant main effect of behavioral state was observed. In contrast, individual observer characteristics significantly shaped performance: participants identifying as female and those with prior cat ownership showed higher accuracy. Age also had a small but reliable negative effect, with accuracy gradually decreasing across adulthood. Overall, these findings indicate that humans show a general difficulty in detecting feline stress based on visual cues alone. Instead, recognition performance appears to be driven primarily by observer-related factors. This highlights the complexity of human–cat communication and underscores the importance of individual features in interpreting feline behavior. Improving humans’ ability to detect subtle visual indicators of feline stress may help foster more positive interactions and support companion animal welfare.