[New York Bureau] The Calming Stare

So one of the things that I do in my nutty cat training project is try to calm the cat down with a Calming Stare. Supposedly, when a cat stares at you it is asserting its dominance. You aren't supposed to try to stare a cat down because that will make it more feisty and dominant (and believe me, my cat doesn't need the help). So instead of staring at her or looking away (which would imply submission), I read in a book that you are supposed to maintain your gaze into the cat's eyes and slowly blink.

Earlier this week, a guy in my office looked sort of tense and twitchy. He caught my eye - and without even thinking, I gave him the Calming Stare complete with Slow Blink. It must have looked like I had a tic or something.

I just did it to a lady on the subway today too. It's really quite embarrassing.