Research overview: the upper frequency limit of feline hearing

Among terrestrial mammals, cats have one of the highest upper hearing limits, extending well into the ultrasonic range. This overview surveys audiogram data placing the feline ceiling far above the roughly twenty-kilohertz human limit, allowing detection of sounds many octaves higher in pitch. The survey discusses how cochlear mechanics and the small size of the cat support sensitivity to such short-wavelength sounds, and how the upper limit compares with other carnivores and with rodents. The high ceiling is widely interpreted as an adaptation for detecting and localizing small prey that produce ultrasonic signals. By quantifying just how high cats can hear, this body of work corrects the common underestimate of feline hearing and explains behaviors such as a cat's sudden attention to sounds that humans, and even dogs to a lesser extent, simply cannot perceive.