Last Updated: 11 months ago
Find out and get cat health tips to help ease your scared kitty!
There are many endearing things cats do, but one of their behaviors that fascinates me the most is when they flatten their ears.
It’s always intriguing to me how animals communicate their feelings since we do not share a spoken language, and a very overt sign of how a cat is feeling is when those ears go down.
A cat’s ears are very expressive, partly due to a whopping 32 muscles in each ear (don’t feel bad if you can’t wiggle your ears; you’re only working with 6).
They can also rotate their ears a full 180 degrees, which lends the ears physiologically to being a great form of communication.
Why do cats put their ears down?
When you see their ears go down, it means one of three things: your cat is feeling irritated, scared/nervous, or angry.
If you assess the situation, you can usually figure out pretty quickly which of the three ear-lowering emotions your cat is experiencing, but for a little extra help, read other body language.
They Are Annoyed
Your cat’s tail is a great second point of focus if you’re trying to figure out why she’s flattened her ears.
If the tail is whipping around, it’s usually a sign of being annoyed. My parents’ cat, Riley, had an epic tail flip when my kids were toddlers.
His ears would start to flatten the minute we walked in the door, and as soon as they would come near him, that tail would start whipping around with vigor.
The poor thing wasn’t used to small kids!
They Are Angry Or Aggressive
When combined with flat ears, constricted pupils may mean that your cat is feeling offensively aggressive.
Another pretty clear indicator of aggression is the back arched with fur raised along the back or even just near the tail.
We’re all pretty clear what’s going on when hissing starts, but if you catch these other signs first, you might be able to help your cat calm down before it gets to that.
They Are Nervous Or Anxious
If a cat is feeling scared, it seems as though they try to make themselves as small as possible.
The ears flatten and he may tuck his head down between his legs. His pupils also may dilate.
You may be asking yourself if there is a benefit for a cat to her ears lowering when she’s feeling irritated, angry, or scared.
A cat’s hearing is very acute, and that ability I mentioned above to rotate the ears 180 degrees allows a cat to pick up very faint noises from quite far away.
It is highly likely that part of the reason a cat flattens her ears, particularly when she’s angry or scared, is to pick up on any sounds coming from behind her that could signal danger.
She also may lower her ears instinctually to protect them from an attack (a byproduct of her ancestry as a hunter).
Wrap-Up
Cats’ body language is very nuanced – often it takes observing a combination of several different things to get a good read on how your cat is feeling.
Remember that when your cat’s ears are down, it’s a sign that you should be cautious around him.
Try to help him feel calm, but don’t assert yourself too much – you may end up bitten or scratched.
He will settle down eventually and return to the loving cat you know!
Have you ever noticed your cat flattening his ears when he’s scared? Share your kitty tales below!
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I knew cats weren’t happy when their ears are down. Didn’t know about all muscles or rotations. Tail was interesting as well. Tons to learn about animals body language.
I miss having my cat around! I had to give him to my parents when I moved across the country. Cats have so many quirky attributes, but its interesting to learn the reasons why they do the things they do.
Good read. But I always thought when cats have their ears down that they were thinking.
Wow I had no idea cats can rotate their ears 180 degrees and have 32 muscles in each ear! That’s fascinating stuff!
Interesting to learn this. Cats can be tough to read but ears back are usually an easy guess. I didn’t know the reason behind why they put their ears back though.
Oooo now this is interesting! I have two furbabies and have always wonder this myself!!!
I had no idea…. Thanks for sharing this useful info. I am going to pass this info to my sister in law.
This is a really informative article! I had no idea that cats have 32 muscles in each ear. My sister-in-law just got a cat so, I’ll share this article with her.
Most cats are just…assholes, lol. I haven’t had a cat in a long time but every time I considered getting one it would do what cats(being aggressive) do and I would change my mind again.
Wow! 32 muscles per ear and rotating at 180 degrees. I didn’t know those things about cats until this post.