Cats have big ears as compared to the rest of their heads and with good reason. The larger than life ears of your cat serve as good receptors for picking up the tiniest of sounds while cats hunt at night. Domestic cats may not have as much of a need for night hunting as wild cats, but the evolutionary development of their ears lends to fantastic senses for hunting.
The muscles of a cat’s ear allow it to rotate around from the front of its head to the back so it can hear in any direction for detecting the tiniest rustle of movement. The large membrane of the outer ear is ideal for collecting sound that comes from under the brush or on the other side of plants when cats may not be able to see what is making the sound.
A cat’s reflexes are also tuned to the ears as a cat can leap upon something it hears at a very precise distance. Try rustling a piece of paper in your hand and see if your cat pounces on the correct hand that the sound is coming from. Your cat will surprise you every time. Again, this ability comes from an innate need for the cat to hunt. In the wild where competition for food is fierce, a cat needs every advantage over other predators to get the kill. These instincts are still in your domestic cat even if they aren’t stalking rodents in tropical jungles.
Ears are also vital to a cat’s balance. Thousands of tiny hairs in a cat’s ear respond to instant movements and coordinate a cat’s balance when the signals from the hairs are relayed to the brain. Combined with the tail, these tiny hairs in the ear are responsible for a cat’s amazing ability to turn in midear and land on their feet. So the saying a cat always lands on their feet is partially due to their ears making a midflight course correction so they land right side up. This evolution comes from cats needing to leap out of trees to catch prey.
If cats are having any trouble with their ears you should see a vet as soon as possible since ears are perhaps most vital to a cats sense of balance and agility. Domestic cats could probably do fine with diminished sight and smell but a problem with their ears could pose more of a threat since a cat’s ability to walk and not bump into things may rely more on their balance then their sight.
