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Cats Are Creatures of Mystery

Cats Are Creatures of Mystery
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January 22, 2026
in Humane Education Column
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By: Judy Hamontre, AVHS Vice Chair

Cats can be full of surprises. They also are considered to be rather mysterious, largely due to their fascinating connections to the worlds of folklore, mythology and witchcraft. However, their enigmatic behaviors, such as staring into the nothingness of space, with whiskers and ears twitching also contribute to their air of mystery.

Those eyes are seeing, the whiskers acting like radar are detecting, and those active ears are tuning in to sounds people cannot hear. Cats have extremely keen senses. Living in their uniquely heightened sensory world can make them appear quite mysterious to us humans who adore them.

Although cats are near-sighted and have limited color perception, they have excellent eye sight in low light and to detect movement within a broad field of view which is ideal for their instinctual, predatory stalking and hunting during dawn and dusk.

Felines require about one sixth of the light humans need to see, due to their large pupils, wide corneas and a light-reflecting tapetum lucidum. They have excellent peripheral vision with a 200 degree field of view, better than human’s 180 degree view. Cats also have a high concentration of rod cells making them extremely sensitive to subtle movements.

When cats stare into space at what looks like nothing, they are not watching spirits dance. They are instead very likely spotting teensy insects or the movement of tiny dust particles.

While our cats stare into space, they are also listening with their ears twitching. Felines have exceptional hearing that extends to higher frequencies (up to 85 kHz) than humans or dogs can hear. It allows them to hear high-pitched prey like rodents. They also have a particular sensitivity to middle frequencies, detecting sounds at intensities much lower than humans can hear. This ability can make them more alert to subtle environmental changes and warn them of danger or a refrigerator door opening.

Their ears, each with 32 muscles, are able to rotate 180 degrees to help them precisely pinpoint sounds and allow them to hear the faintest noises, even those far away. They are able to move their ears like antennas, pointing them toward a source for better amplification. The cone shape of their ears funnels sound waves, helping them focus on specific noises while filtering out others.

Cats’ hearing is intelligently designed, and so are their whiskers. These vibrissae are high tech sensors located most prominently on the muzzle but also above the eyes, on the chin, cheeks and back of their front legs. “They are like built in radar,” says veterinarian Dr. Ambika Vaid. They are more receptive and sensitive than dogs’ whiskers.

Whiskers help cats balance and navigate, aid with spatial awareness and judging distances, detect dangers, sense changes in air currents and vibrations, and detect prey. Deeply rooted with nerves and blood vessels, they are an additional way cats “see” their surroundings. They also convey your cats’ moods and emotions, if you learn how to interpret the meaning of their positions.

These essential whiskers shed which is normal but should never be cut because it is painful for cats, leaving them disoriented, anxious, and unable to navigate properly. It can take weeks or even months for them to grow back to a functional level.

Although you may not notice it as cats become entranced, gazing into space, they have an exceptionally powerful sense of smell. It can enable them to detect familiar scents, such as those of you, their owners, as far away as four miles. Their sense is 14 times stronger than that of humans because cats have 200 million odor receptors while people have a mere 5 million and an extra organ for pheromones. It is the primary way cats identify people and objects and map their world. It adds to their mystery, and creates an aura around them that charms and fascinates us, their humans.

You can experience that mysterious beauty by adopting a cat from the Ark-Valley Humane Society. The website is www.ark-valley.org and phone, 719-395-2737.

 

 

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