Why are kittens so cute

Emma is passionate about rescuing animals and providing them with a new life after being abandoned or abused. As well as their own four rescue dogs, she also fosters dogs for re-homing, providing them with love and training while searching for their forever homes.

From their appearance to their ability to communicate with us, cats are just irresistible! Large eyes Snub face High and round forehead Rounded ears Soft body shape. Contents Overview 1. Their appearance subliminally appeals to us 2. We want to keep them safe 3. Their purrs have healing properties 5. They blink to communicate with us 6. So what else is it about kittens that trigger this cute reflex? For instance, babies have disproportionately large heads and eyes compared to their eventual adult form, thanks to the uneven ways the brain and body develop.

Kittens and puppies also have large heads and huge eyes, so are considered cuter than the more evenly-proportioned beady-eyed rodents nature provides us with. Younger animals generally provoke this cuteness reflex more, even if the adult version is still relatively small and fluffy. Their furry small bodies with the huge heads and eyes tick all the right boxes, so we find them so cute, we let them get away with murder. This article is more than 3 years old.

Dean Burnett. Fish or feline? Sixth, kittens are tiny. Even an older kitten is small enough to sit comfortably in your arms without weighing you down. Kittens are easy to carry around, and they are so small that they tend to elicit a protective urge from people. Seventh, kittens have a rounded, soft, podgy abdomen, just like human babies. This further adds to the sense that they are baby-like. Eighth, kittens are endearingly submissive.

If you engage with them, they may be fearful if they are not used to you, but they will rarely be aggressive. They are far more likely to just to gaze at you with those big eyes, as if saying "OK, you win". Ninth, kittens sleep a lot. So while they can be energetically playful in short bursts, they're likely to stop soon enough, falling asleep in your lap or somewhere nearby.

And if an energy-loaded kitten is cute, and sleeping kitten is even cuter. Tenth, kittens are vulnerable. Their defencelessness brings out our nurturing instincts: we feel driven to protect them. The message is "pick me up and protect me from the badness in the world".

This combination of "cute" factors has been shown by scientists to have a profound effect on human brains, causing the release of the feel-good neurotransmitters, dopamine and oxytocin. Please enter email address By submitting email you agree to get Bored Panda newsletter.

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