Can a Cat Hear What Humans Hear?

Beasley. Note position of ears which are pulled to the side which denotes some anxiety.

Beasley. Ears pulled forward and pupils dilated. Appears interested but also a bit frightened.

A cat’s hearing is far superior to that of a human. On the low end of the scale, the cat and the human are about the same. When a sound becomes high pitched and goes all the way up to 64 KHZ, cats have humans and dogs beat, for their hearing is extremely acute.

If you are a reader who owns a cat/s or the cat/ owns you, watch the movement of the ears. Cats are able to move their ears forward, backward, or to the side to pin point a sound. The ear movement enables the cat to locate its prey within inches even if the sound is more that 3 feet away.

Cats also move their ears to denote anger or fright. The ears will be to the side of the head and almost
flat.

I’ve used Beasley, one of my favorite cats as the examples here. I ‘ve always said that cats have expressive faces since they use their ears and eyes to denote fear, anxiety, anticipation, happiness or when generally not pleased with what’s happening.

 

 

Beasley, 7/2015  Waiting for his bowl of food. Ears forward in anticipation.

 

 

Beasley not looking happy as he watched me prepare his medication. Head is down, pupils dilated. Seems to be frowning.