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It's the confirmation that cat-lovers the world over have been waiting to hear - our furry feline friends can talk to us.

Of course, we already knew that, what with the lengthy conversations we hold when no-one else is around.

But now an American scientist had produced the evidence to prove that we're not all going mad.

Sharon Crowell-Davis, a professor of veterinary behavior at the University of Georgia, believes cats are as expressive as dogs.

(Image: SWNS)

The International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants' 2015 Feline Behaviour Conference - yes that's a real thing - heard that humans are the problem: we don't understand what cats are saying.

Dr Crowell-Davis said: “When you’ve been at work or school all day, and your cat comes up and rubs back and forth against you, and he may wrap his tail across your calves — what your cat is doing is taking a friendly greeting behaviour that normally functions within their species and moves it to relating with the human species."

Watch vet Steve Leonard explain cat chat to the BBC:

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Mikel Delgado, a PhD candidate in animal behavior at the University of California, Berkeley, told New York magazine: "I do think that, over time, we’ll see that cats aren’t that mysterious."

The research concluded that while there is no universal cat language, every cat and its owner can develop their own understanding.

John Bradshaw, a University of Bristol anthrozoologist, said: "You can have cats that are happy and content purring, but also a cat that’s injured or sick will purr.

“They haven’t got a good way of asking for help — it’s not in their language — so they do the next best thing, they do the purring thing.

“The meaning is not exactly right, but it’s the closest they can get to it.”

Dogs: move aside. Cats are coming to take their rightful place as man's best friend.