Cat Ears
Not long ago, we came home to a strange sight. All our cats had gathered all around the refrigerator and were totally entranced by its bottom. On moving the refrigerator, we found cockroaches! The high-pitched communication of bugs or rodents that falls on our”deaf” ears is music to cat ears.
A cat’s superb hearing ability begins with the sound-gathering flap called the pinna. The inner surface of the pinna and the beginning of the ear canal (which you can see) should be light pink.
The cat’s ear canal is L-shaped, going down (vertical canal) and then in (horizontal canal). The eardrum is at the end of the horizontal canal. Sound waves (the cock-roach talk, for example) travel down the canal and beat against the eardrum like a stick beating a drum.
The cockroach-talk vibrations are amplified in the middle by three small bones called the auditory ossicles, which pass the sound on to the inner ear’s snail-shaped and fluid-filled cochlea via the oval window (a vibrating membrane). The waves produced in the cochlea are converted to electrical sages that travel to your pet’s brain via the auditory nerve. Your cat ears interpret the message as cockroach talk and sit in front of the refrigerator, patiently waiting for a roach snack.
Above the cochlea are three small, fluid-filled semicircular canals. These loops of tubing contribute to your cat’s remarkable sense of balance. If your cat starts to fall, fluid in one of the canals is displaced. Hair cells in the canals detect the change and immediately inform the cat’s brain, which orders muscles to tighten and keep your cat upright.
Cat ears Infection
The ear canal is L-shaped, going down (vertical canal) and then in (horizontal canal). The cat’s ear canal (which you can see) should be light pink. You may see a small amount of yellow wax and a few hairs at the canal opening. These act like flypaper, trapping dust, insects, or other potential irritants, and guarding against infection. If this area is reddened, foul-smelling, or has pus-like or brown, waxy discharge, an ear infection may be present.
Symptoms
- If you see your cat shaking her head most of the time, there might be an infection in her ears.
- There may be black discharge in the ears cat which may lead to even bleeding.
- If the cat scratches its ears, again and again, this indicates that she is uncomfortable. There may be detritus or trashes in your pet cat’s ears.
This may lead to a serious disease called ear mites. Ear mites may cause serious damage to the ears of cats if they remain for a long time.
How can you cure them?
Taking care of the ears of a cat is very necessary as this is one of the utmost important organs of your pet. If you find any of the symptoms mentioned above in your cat’s ears it’s better to consult a nearby veterinarian. The veterinarian can check the rest of the ear with an otoscope, a special instrument equipped with a light source, and magnifying lens. He can remove the waste from cat ears by some other methods also which he finds appropriate.
See more: Cat Breeding and Pregnancy