Cruiser, the name of my short-haired tabby and white cat I picked up at the Alpena County Humane Society five years ago thinks she is a dog. I had two big dogs (Ollie and Cher) but for some unknown reason I thought I needed a housecat to complete my animal family. On appearing at the Alpena County Humane Society, I asked the young helpers to find me a baby kitten that had lots of life. They picked out 3-month old Cruiser and informed me ‘they couldn’t keep him in his cage”. These comments lead me to believe my dogs might like Cruiser
Yesterday, I observed Cruiser snoozing on the front porch in the noon day sun, all stretched out and totally relaxed. I closely noted his small-pointed funnel-shaped pinna (external ear flap) as his facial expression told me he was gathering information about the noise situation. It occurred to me even during cat naps, our cats keep those ears pointed towards even subtle noises. While a few minutes later my two dogs came onto the porch and Cruiser’s ears then were swiveling. She was listening to every sound made by the dogs. The tall lanky Ibezan Hound made a dash for Cruiser on the porch and all (H—-) broke loose as Cruisers ears quickly went backwards and flat like airplane wings jutting from each side of Cruiser’s head. She started hissing at Ollie the dog. Needless to say the once peaceful and tranquil front porch was no longer.
I had never really paid attention to my cat’s ears and I have had a number of cats over the years. Shame on me. I did a bit of research and learned, if you gently scratch the skin at the top of the head between the ears or twist and pull the ears they will begin to purr with satisfaction. I scratched Cruiser’s skin at the top of her head between the ears and low and behold she did start purring as a very content cat. I suddenly realized just as cats watch and try to understand us, we should watch them and learn. Research from Wikipedia was a bit of an awakening call for me. I found it fascinating to learn that cat’s ears are very mobile and have over 32 individual muscles in each ear allowing for a manner of directional hearing. What else was amazing at least to me was learning that a cat can move each ear independently of the other ear. They can also literally turn the ears through 180 degrees. Who would have known that the position of Cruiser’s ears would be a very good indication of her mood?
The ears straight up slightly facing forward and the whiskers relaxed are the signs of a happy and alert cat. Of course, like humans, the movements of Cruiser’s ears don’t always give me an indication of her mood. The ears are mainly for listening. So Cruiser will turn her ears towards the incoming sound. Because the ears can move independently, I can see one of Cruisers ears facing forward as the other moves sideways to get a better reception similar to the way you and I as humans react. I found it fascinating to watch the slight movements of my cat’s ears and to learn what these movements might be telling me. Simply fascinating.
weberwoods 