Features of hearing in cats
From a physiological point of view, hearing in humans and cats is not so different
. For example, if you compare the scent of a dog and a person, the difference will be much more noticeable. We have far fewer cells in the nasal cavity and a much smaller part of the brain responsible for recognizing smells. In this regard, the auditory sensory system of cats does not have such obvious differences from human hearing. However, there are important differences:
1.Development of spatial hearing
. Only blind people can navigate in space solely by sounds, and for any cat the slightest rustle and echo is enough for it to identify its location. It clearly registers the noise at a specific point in space with an accuracy of several centimeters. This makes it much easier to catch mice, which inevitably make noise while moving.
2.Larger frequency range of perceived sounds
. The baby can hear sounds with a frequency of up to 20 kilohertz. By the age of 50, sensitivity is guaranteed to decrease to 15-16 kilohertz. In this aspect, cats are much more developed. The upper limit of frequency sensitivity in these animals is not known for certain, but it is definitely at least 60 kilohertz. It is significant that this feature of the body also exists to facilitate the capture of mice, since rodents “communicate” with each other in a frequency range of 20 to 50 kilohertz.
What a disgusting thing, your harmonica
Another sound that cats don’t like is a high-pitched squeak or whistle. For example, they may not like playing the harmonica or the sound coming from speakers or speakers. Very high and also quite low sounds can offend a cat so much that it causes physical pain.
Some cats, according to their owners, reacted negatively to the sounds made by children's squeaking toys. Or, for example, sounds from musical cards or music boxes. Hearing these melodies, the cats were clearly nervous. By the way, low frequency is also a sound that cats don’t like. Some cats don't like playing the guitar if the notes are too low or too high. In this case, cats may hide or try to stop the unwanted sound. Cats may run away from the sound of a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner or electric drill.
How is ultrasound used for cats?
Since cats perceive more acoustic information from the environment than humans, this can be used to achieve the following goals:
- elimination of four-legged animals
- a sound that scares away cats, but is inaudible to people, will protect the flower garden from encroachment by animals, or thanks to it you can discourage homeless four-legged animals from visiting the lawn in front of the house; - basic training of an animal
- a cat cannot be trained like a dog, but with the help of ultrasound it can at least be weaned from performing certain actions, for example, taught to sharpen its claws with a special scratching post, and not with the help of upholstered furniture.
The iron snorts - I mutter too
In general, cats are unique creatures. And they have the same unique attitude towards life. What is natural and acceptable for a person may cause surprise on the part of a cat: “How can you even listen to this?” For example, a simple doorbell can drive a cat under a closet. And in response to the intercom signal, the pet may snort or growl. Cats really don’t like the sounds of firecrackers, fireworks and other pyrotechnics. Actually, they are right about this; there is nothing good in such entertainment. It's a pity that people don't understand this yet.
However, the sound that cats do not like can be not only dangerous, but also harmless - for example, the sound of steaming with an iron. Some tailed animals will swear at him, snort, express everything they think about him, then lift their tail and sidestep around an unknown and such an unpleasant object that makes an equally unpleasant sound. Even the sound of a neighbor's drill can cause a cat to grumble, snort, grumble, and then hide in a shelter.
What specialized devices exist?
You can and should buy cat repellers in our store. All products are safe for animals and people. To understand the variety of offers, you need to determine what exactly an electronic cat repeller is for:
1.Remove the animal from your territory
. This could be a front garden, flower garden or home lawn. Cats can make such a place their own toilet or destroy crops there. Under these and similar circumstances, it is best to opt for stationary repellers. For example, the EcoSniper PGS-046B will create an ultrasound propagation zone that will be absolutely unacceptable for any four-legged animals, while the device is not afraid of rain, and is powered by a solar panel and a built-in battery. There are models that are powered from a 220 volt network, for example, a new and equipped device at a low price - Grad Duos S. When choosing a stationary device, we recommend paying attention to the following factors: scaring area, the presence of a motion sensor and protection from precipitation, the nature of the power supply.
2.Wean off unwanted actions
. A cat and cat repeller for the street is no longer suitable here, because such products are very bulky. There are no dedicated products yet, but portable dog elimination devices are great for this purpose. For example, a high-quality model Typhoon LS-300+ will cost a very modest amount, but its capabilities are enough to make the cat “realize” that it is unacceptable to be on the kitchen table when people are eating there. Before purchasing such devices, we advise you to look at the following nuances: ultrasound range, type of batteries used, ergonomics of the case.
Cat hearing
Moreover, by the direction, strength of sound and its frequency, a cat is able to very accurately determine the location of its source. This allows the cat to hunt in the dark, “by ear.” The range of frequencies perceived by a cat is much wider than that of a human. The cat's ear is capable of perceiving ultrasounds produced, for example, by small rodents.
Each ear (as an organ of hearing) is clearly divided into three parts: outer, middle and inner.
The outer ear is the same pinna (a cartilaginous plate covered with skin on both sides). In cats, the ears are quite large and most often have the shape of a half-cone. Elastic cartilage supports them in a standing position (although there are breeds with recumbent and folded ears - the Scottish Fold, for example), so that they, as nature intended, can perform the function of locators. Several groups of small muscles provide such expressive movements of the cat's ear.
In the middle of the base of the auricle there is a small hole that passes into the external auditory canal; the latter is a curved cartilaginous tube lined with skin. There are special glands in the skin that secrete ear lubricant (earwax).
Earwax
Earwax
Earwax is not dirt. It serves to lubricate and naturally cleanse the ear canal. Sulfur consists of proteins, fats, free fatty acids, and mineral salts. Some proteins are immunoglobulins that perform a protective function. The pH of earwax is acidic, which counteracts the development of bacterial and fungal flora. Normally, earwax, along with the impurities accumulated on it (dead cells, sebum, dust and other impurities) are removed from the ear canal to the outside without human help.
Nevertheless, sulfur is a sticky substance, and if it is produced a little more or there is hypersecretion of the sebaceous glands, then the ears will collect dirt many times faster. Even in the absence of inflammation, infection and parasites.
But perhaps the most important thing is to remember that discharge may be a sign of an infectious disease. The use of hygiene products in such a case can locally improve the picture, but that’s all. And the disease will progress, and the patient’s condition as a whole will worsen. If your cat's ear is red and hot; there is a strong coating or crust on it, it is scratched; the cat shakes its head, often spins in place and constantly scratches behind the ear until it bleeds - consult your veterinarian!
in cats it is usually dark brown in color and should not be confused with dried blood. The secretion of sulfur can increase significantly in some diseases (as a protective reaction).
The auditory canal abuts the eardrum, which serves as the border with the middle ear. The delicate eardrum at the end of the ear canal is well protected—the vertical ear canal curves 90 degrees at the base to meet the horizontal ear canal. The eardrum is located at the base of the horizontal canal (which is about 1cm long). Thus, the cat’s eardrum is located “around the corner”, so if you carefully clean the ears, there is no danger of damage to it. However, you should not place anything in your cat's ear unless specifically directed by your doctor, and you should only clean the parts of the ear that are within direct line of sight.
If the auricle and almost the entire ear canal border on soft tissue, then the following sections are protected by the bones of the skull.
The middle ear of a cat is visually invisible, it is located in a bone pocket at the base of the skull. In the cavity of the middle ear there are three successively connected auditory ossicles (hammer, incus and stapes), which transmit vibrations of the eardrum to the membrane delimiting the inner ear. The bones are located at an angle (zigzag) and are equipped with two muscles, which makes it possible to regulate sound transmission.
inner ear is closed and protected by a special, hard bone at the base of the skull, the temporal bone. The inner ear consists of many closed tubes that contain fluid. The snail helps the cat hear. Sound vibrations are transmitted to the fluid that fills the cochlea and washes the organ of Corti - a cluster of special sensitive hair cells that, through vibrations of the perilymph, perceive auditory stimuli in the range of 16,000 - 20,000 vibrations per second, convert them and transmit them to the nerve endings of the vestibulocochlear nerve, according to to which the nerve impulse goes to the auditory center of the cerebral cortex.
In addition, in the inner ear, in addition to the cochlea, there are three tiny semicircular fluid-filled canals located at an angle to each other. They provide a vital function - balance. Nerve endings located in these canals record changes in the position of the fluid filling the cochlea. Thanks to this, the cat is able to maintain balance and spatial orientation.
Path of sound
The cat's outer ear rotates 180° in the direction of the sound source, and the right and left can move independently of each other. The ability to turn, bend or press both ears is achieved by approximately 30 muscles. This ability helps animals not only extremely accurately localize the source of sound, but also express their mood.
Once in the auricle, sound waves pass through the external auditory canal and cause vibrations of the eardrum, which serves as the border with the middle ear.
In the middle ear cavity, three successively connected auditory ossicles (hammer, incus and stapes) transmit vibrations of the eardrum to the membrane of the oval window, which delimits the inner ear. Next, sound vibrations are transmitted to the fluid that fills the cochlea of the inner ear and washes the organ of Corti - a cluster of special sensitive hair cells that, through vibrations of the perilymph, perceive auditory stimuli, transform them and transmit them to the nerve endings of the vestibulocochlear nerve, through which the nerve impulse goes to the auditory center of the cortex brain.
The cat has the finest hearing. She is able to hear high-frequency sounds far beyond the perception of not only humans, but also dogs. At the same time, on the lower frequency scale it is only slightly inferior to both of them.
Cats' amazing hearing is adapted to the perception of high-pitched sounds made by small animals. Rodents communicate using sound signals in the range of 40,000 Hz. Cats easily catch them and quickly react to the movement of their potential victims in space.
The cat is able to distinguish sounds of low intensity (5 decibels). The perceived frequency range of purrs is 3 times wider than that of humans. At the same time, cats can hear sounds while being 4-5 times farther from their source than a person, and they are much better at determining the position of the sound source in space. If the cat and the sound source are separated by 3 meters, then it takes the cat only 0.06 seconds to determine its coordinates with an accuracy of 3 cm, after which it is completely ready to jump.
Cats can detect minute deviations in sound of any intensity; they detect differences of only 1/10 of a tone. This ability helps them determine the type and size of prey that makes only minor noise.
Acute hearing is especially important in the wild, it helps the cat in hunting and ensures survival. But cats do not like high vibrating sounds.
Materials used: My friend cat 2012-10, 2014-01/02
What is not allowed when using ultrasound for cats?
When using ultrasound on cats, keep the following things in mind:
- It is forbidden to point the speaker of the repeller directly at the animal’s ears
- this will not cause physiological injury, but the cat may become very frightened, and it may even develop a persistent fear of the owner; - It is not necessary to constantly use ultrasound all the time in order to avoid the animal becoming addicted
- specifically for this purpose, in most stationary repellers, expulsion waves are generated in series; accordingly, it is worth creating ultrasound in portable products thanks to user control.
Any additional information regarding the nuances of ultrasonic influence on animals can be obtained during business hours by calling the contact phone number of our website 8-800-100-18-36.
We vote for silence and order
In general, who said that cats are chaotic and spontaneous creatures. Not at all. They are with all four paws and two ears for order and silence to reign in the house. And they will maintain this order from their observation points-shelters, from time to time running up to the owners and trying to reason with them in their cat language, with the help of intelligible meows, snorts, growls and even the use of a more significant weapon - teeth. But this is already an extreme case. How else can a pet draw the owner’s attention to a sound that cats don’t like?
Frequency ranges of cats purring
A little over a year ago, the Internet exploded with a flood of videos of cats purring. Not to say that the Internet has previously experienced a shortage of videos with cats, but the appearance of 10 hours of purring is something special. Actually, let's talk about cats.
Did you know that cats purr much more often than they hiss or meow? These animals are able to purr for a very, very long time, and the process itself can be divided into inhalation and exit, which allows cats to do this for a very long time.
Scientists are still arguing about the reasons for cats purring, but it is believed that they do it for three main reasons: having fun, experiencing stress or feeling bad. However, cats can purr at other times: during mating, childbirth, and feeding kittens. For example, the sound of purring during feeding is very quiet and in order to hear it you need to be very close to the cat - the average sound frequency is 26 Hz. The purring sound itself lives in the range from 20 to 150 Hz, but transmitting such vibrations through YouTube or SoundCloud is too difficult, almost impossible.
You will be surprised, but not all cats can purr: for example, lions, tigers, jaguars and leopards can only growl. Among all the species of these animals, with the exception of the domestic cat, cheetahs, pumas and lynxes can purr. The snow leopard also knows how to make similar sounds, unlike its closest brother the tiger.
Of course, a cheetah is much larger than a domestic cat and it does not purr quite like an ordinary cat. Its sound is more like a motorcycle engine, although it does not lose its original purring character. Below are two pictures in which the authors of the website purring.org compared the purring frequency of a cheetah and a regular cat. The circuits are simple: green is the main purring frequency, gray is too high a frequency that cannot be transmitted to the piano. The cheetah's fundamental frequency is the note D, while domestic cats produce the note F.
Cheetah purr range
Range of domestic cat purring
Cats produce their signature purr using a special signal coming from the brain. After the impulse comes from the brain, the cat's internal organs begin to move. The sound passes through the larynx, and the intercostal and diaphragmatic muscles are actively involved in the process - they create that very characteristic sound.
It is worth noting that rumbling is not an unconscious mechanism, but a reflex. Another amazing fact: purring heals wounds and strengthens bones. Domestic cats, cougars and bobcats purr in the 25-50 Hz range (the low end where the bass drum usually lives), and these are the frequencies needed for better wound healing and bone growth. With more effort, cats can increase the purring frequency to 100 Hz - this is how they purr when they feel unwell or something hurts.
Purring is by no means a useless function. His abilities are much richer than we think - nature thought of everything in advance when creating cats. One recent study found that the rumbling pattern is similar to a baby's cry. With very low purring, scientists were able to detect a special sound signal that resembles a baby’s cry (range 300-600 Hz). This signal was caught at the moment when cats persistently ask for food. The funny thing about this fact is that this signal most likely appeared during the course of evolution and thousands of years of living with people: apparently, cats noticed that babies usually get food after crying, so they learned to make a similar sound in order to get food.
Complain
Sounds that cats are afraid of
Let's figure out why cats are afraid of the sound of a vacuum cleaner and some other sounds.
In the old days, many believed in various nonsense that was presented on the pages of many sites. I myself went through this period of naivety and stupidity. I remember reading with great interest the article about sound drugs. The names of hallucinogens were loud and alluring: “heroin,” “hand of God,” “marijuana,” “LSD,” and so on. Being an opponent of chemical poison in real life, I fell for audio drugs: I paid, downloaded and prepared to travel to the land of dreams. The trip didn't work out. Some kind of rubbish was pouring out of the headphones, there was no buzz, and after half an hour I realized that I had been scammed. I remembered this story to my stupid self when I came across a site that offered to download relaxing music for cats. You would have to be a complete idiot to offer any music, even calm music, even classical music, to our pets as a way to calm them down. We have already written about sounds that irritate dogs, now let’s talk about sounds that cats and cats hate.
Content:
What is good for a person is terrible for a cat!
The principle of anthropomorphism
Be careful, vacuum cleaner
There is such a long and abstruse term “anthropomorphism”. This is when objects or animals are endowed with human qualities.
Note!
Cats hear completely differently than humans. Therefore, there is nothing strange in the fact that they can react completely unexpectedly to seemingly normal acoustic signals
Watch a child talk to a doll or turtle. The little one is sure that the turtle sees, hears and thinks just like him.
