Cats are fascinating creatures, and there are some pretty amazing functions in their bodies.
Much attention is given to the animals’ sense of smell and sight, their noses and eyes, but the cat’s ears and hearing deserve a little praise as well.
So, hearing is one of the sharpest senses of a cat. Cats can hear even those sounds that are inaccessible to humans.
Their head turns to the source of the sound. But their ears move forward, backward, or in a semi-circle to determine the source of the sound. They can also move independently of each other!
This combination makes cats great hunters, especially, despite the dark time of day.
You know that cats are twilight animals 💤.
And today we present 10 fun facts that you might not know about your cat’s ears.
By the way, if you are very partial to cats with big ears, you can also read more about these breeds!
Fact 1
Cats’ ears are very similar to the ears of other mammals and have the same three structural areas: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear.
The outer ear consists of the auricle (that outer triangular part you see on the top of the head, and what we usually think of when we talk about ears) and the ear canal.
The job of the auricle is to pick up sound waves and route them through the ear canal to the middle ear. Cats’ auricles are quite mobile, and they can turn them independently in the right direction.
“Cats largely control their ear with their muscles, — Says Dr. George Strain, a neuroscientist at the University of Louisiana School of Veterinary Medicine. “They can use it as radar, turn it toward the sound source and increase their auditory sensitivity by 15 to 20 percent“.
The middle ear contains the eardrum and auditory ossicles. The ossicles vibrate in response to sound waves and transmit these vibrations to the inner ear.
In the inner ear, sensory cells in the ossicles respond to the vibrations. They then send electrical signals through the auditory nerve to the brain for processing.
The inner ear contains the vestibular system, which is involved in providing a sense of balance and spatial orientation.
Fact 2
Despite all the similarities to the ears of other mammals, feline ears have some anatomical differences. And one of these can be upsetting to ourselves and our veterinarians.
“Cats with middle ear infections have a problem with the fact that they have a bony septum that separates their middle ear into two parts,” says Dr. Christine Kane, head of dermatology and allergy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
“Because of that, it can be quite difficult for us to treat middle ear infections because cats have a compartment that you just can’t get into.“
Fact 3
You may have noticed that cats have skin folds that form a small slit at the outer bases of their ears. Very often it seems as if the skin on a cat’s ear is split open.
These small structures are formally called skin marginal pouches but are more commonly known as Henry’s pockets. What is known is that veterinarians are not sure what these pockets are for.
We hadn’t noticed these folds before. Or rather, it seemed to us that it was just an insignificant separation of the skin. That was until we got Abyssinian cats – their Henry’s pocket is very visible.
See the photo below – our beloved cat Patricia is showing us her ear crease.
There are several theories as to why our pets have these skin slits on their ears.
Theory 1. One theory is that Henry’s pocket can help animals pinpoint the location of a sound. This is especially important for predators to give them a better chance of locating their prey.
Theory 2.
Another theory is that the pouch helps to improve the perception of sounds. When a cat tilts its ear, the pouch helps to make this action more effective.
In addition, each ear has its own 32 muscles, which makes it possible for the ears to move independently of each other.
This allows the predator to move its body in one direction while pointing its ears in the exact opposite direction.
Theory 3.
The third theory is that these cute little slits add some flexibility to the cat’s ears. And it helps cats express their discomfort, fear, anger, or satisfaction just by the position of their ears.
Of course, there is the possibility that this slit serves no function at all, but that’s probably not the case. Perhaps we just haven’t yet discovered the true reason for Henry’s pocket 🐱.
Fact 4
Most cat owners can confidently tell you that their cat has very good hearing. But how good is it really?
“Cats hear lower frequencies and higher frequencies than dogs and humans,” Strain says.
A cat’s hearing range is about 45 to 64 kHz, compared to 67 to 45 kHz for dogs. Whereas the range of human hearing is typically 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
“Among pets, cats have the best hearing,” he says. “It helps that cats are predators by nature. So the ability to hear a wider range of sounds helps them detect a wider range of prey types, and gives them the ability to hear and avoid their predators.“
Fact 5
White cats with blue eyes more often suffer from congenital deafness due to genetic abnormalities. Such problems usually lead to the degeneration of some important sensory parts of the ear.
It is proved, that there is some statistical relation between white color, eye color, and the probability of deafness in such animals (according to the Cornell Cat Health Center, USA). So the situation is as follows:
“The gene that is responsible for the white coat and skin suppresses the pigment cells in the coat,” Strain explains, including in the inner ear tissue.
If these pigment cells don’t function, he says, the tissue degenerates. And the sensory cells, which are responsible for hearing, die – resulting in deafness in the cat.
Fact 6
Yes, it happens!
Some cats have four ears that are often placed behind their normal ears.
These extra ears are the result of a genetic mutation. “These cats usually have other abnormalities as well,” Kane says. “Their eyes are smaller, and they have an altered bite (where the lower jaw protrudes slightly forward).”
Fact 7
Kane says that cats have a self-cleaning mechanism and generally don’t need your help to keep their ears clean.
In fact, your attempt to clean a cat’s ears can cause problems.
“Cats are pretty sensitive creatures and tend to develop things like irritation when we get in their ears,” Kane says.
“If your cat has a problem with their ears, you’d better go to the vet – I wouldn’t clean them at home.“
Fact 8
Cats are an altricial species, which means that for some time after birth, they are relatively immobile, and not all of their sensory systems are working to their full potential.
Strain says cats are born with sealed ear canals and an immature auditory system. “Cats respond to sounds only after their ear canal opens and their hearing threshold improves,” he says.
Fact 9
A cat’s ear temperature can help you determine if it is under stress.
Cats’ responses to fear and stress include an increase in adrenaline and other physiological changes that result in energy production in the body.
Some of this energy is released in the form of heat, raising the cat’s body temperature in several areas.
Scientists have found that the temperature of a cat’s right ear (specifically the right ear) is related to the levels of certain hormones released in response to stress, and may be a reliable indicator of psychological stress.
Fact 10
Testing a cat’s hearing is considered a rather difficult activity, but it is possible.
According to Strain, all behavioral tests in which veterinarians make noise and expect feedback from the cat have several problems. For example, they cannot detect unilateral deafness in an animal with such a test.
Also, cats are often stressed at the vet appointment and therefore do not respond in any way during sound tests.
“The most objective test we have is the BAER test. After all, it determines hearing through the brain’s response,” says Strain.
Murmeo’s comment! What is the BAER test? The BAER test (Brainstem auditory evoked response) is a method of assessing hearing in cats and dogs. It is based on recording the electrical responses of the brain in response to sound stimulation.
In these BAER tests, electrodes are placed under the skin on the top of the cat’s head in front of each ear.
Sound is then applied to each ear, and the electrodes detect electrical activity in the ear canal.
Sounds (90-decibel clicks) are applied to each ear, similar to a human hearing test.
In turn, a recording is made from the skin over the head to get the waveforms shown in the diagram.
The first two curves tell us how the ear and nerve work and the remaining curves tell us how well the brain stem is functioning.
On the left is an example of a positive BAER test (with multiple waveforms).
On the right is an example of a negative BAER test (no waveforms).
“It’s similar to the way a TV antenna picks up a signal deep in the brain,” the specialist says. A series of activity peaks indicates that the ear is hearing sounds, while a lack of activity peaks indicates that the ear is deaf.
We love our cats’ ears, especially the Abyssinian ones! What about those great locators of theirs, spinning in all directions, don’t they?
And as it turns out, our pets’ ears are also quite a tricky “device.”
And that’s it for today.
If you liked our stuff about our beloved cats’ ears, the best way for us to thank you would be to share the link to the article with your “cat moms and cat dads” ❤️.
The article partially used materials:
1. Site: https://www.petmd.com/
Murmeo link to the article: https://murmeo.com/en/curious-facts-about-cats-ears