The gears of their ears

Do we want to know what our cat is thinking? We watch their ears.

There is considerable connection between the thoughts the cat has on the inside, and the behavior of their ears on the outside.

Many people think of a cat’s face as something inscrutable, while I find it to be very easy to read. Part of my advantage comes from realizing that when it comes to understanding a cat’s expression, there’s an easy trick to try.

Think of their ears as their eyebrows.

Yes, it’s delightful the way their ears swivel like radar dishes when there are sounds that catch their attention. But I’ve observed their ears doing that when they are not listening. They are thinking.

When we humans think, we fiddle with pencils or sprawl on couches or pace in patterns. Cats use their ears. Knowing a cat’s love of indirection and camouflage, it makes so much sense to me. They are thinking in a way that no one can tell.

Now that we know, we can talk to our cats and get a sense of what they are responding to, what they are feeling, and yes, what they are thinking. Because what we say is being processed. It’s the sounds, plus their reaction.

When I talk to stolid RJ, I get occasional flicks of his ear. A human would be nodding to let me know they are still listening. When I talk to theatrical Tristan, I get ear swiveling and posture changes and, soon, him flinging his body into my chest for a cuddle. Which is kind of the way I listen.

But no matter how they do it, our cats react to our conversation. They will send signals to show they are engaged with our meaning, and still listening.

Even the most stoic of our cats can’t help but respond with their ears.

It’s our song

I simply don’t know of a better way of touching our cat’s heart than with song.

Cats love to be sung to, and if we can slip their name and nicknames into it, all the better. Keep our voices sweet and soft, and no matter how less-than-perfect our singing voice may be, our cats will be touched and happy.

Let our voices fill with emotion. Be as silly as we like. Do gestures. If we want to pick up on our cat’s expressions, we will see some emoting during the song.

Try this demonstration: first speak to our cat in a robotic monotone, then say the same thing with a lot of cooing sweetness in our voice. This will illustrate how our cats respond to our voice tones. Their super-hearing picks up even more notes than we can hear.

This also means a raised voice to our cats is like using a megaphone on a human. We should never try this and expect good results. With cats or humans.

Touch their ears, touch their heart

There’s another way we can reach them through their ears. We can pet them there.

Since their ears are so delicate, we have to use small motions and gentle moves. I love petting cat ears when they lie on my lap or otherwise near me. From the scritching at the base to “tiny petting” at the tips, it’s a special way of petting them.

My favorite move is to use both thumb and forefinger to pet both sides of their ears at once, being careful not to reach into their ears at all. Stick with the upper third of their ears, and stroke with the fur, not against.

Cat ears are like human baby toes. They have uses that are not immediately apparent.

And they are absolutely irresistible.

Of course, we can get clues from their ears about their breeds and personality.

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