Cat ear positions

How to read it

International Cat Care says relaxed cats tend to hold their ears facing forward, and the AAFP and ISFM guidelines for vets list ears up and forward among the signs of a relaxed cat. As a cat becomes less comfortable, its ears turn outwards and then flatten: the RSPCA draws a worried cat with its ears slightly swivelled sideways, and a cat that wants people to stay away with its ears flattened to its head. The pupils change with them. International Cat Care reads ears held flat with dilated pupils as fear, and ears erect and turned out with narrow pupils as frustration. The ears are read with the tail and the eyes: the same organisation pairs the tail-up greeting with ears pricked up.

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Cat ear chart

What do airplane ears mean on a cat?

Airplane ears, ears turned out flat to the sides like a plane’s wings, usually mean a cat that is uneasy, and the rest of the cat shows how uneasy. International Cat Care reads erect ears turned outwards, with narrow pupils, as frustration. The RSPCA draws a worried cat with its ears slightly swivelled sideways, and a cat ready to swipe, its teeth showing, with its ears lowered and pointing out to the side. Cornell Feline Health Center describes a fearful cat with its ears flattened and held outward. The AAFP and ISFM guidelines for vets picture an “inhibited” cat, one that is passively gathering information, with its eyes half-shut and its ears rotated to the sides. International Cat Care also lists rotating or flattening one or both ears among the signs that a cat is not enjoying being stroked.

Ears turned outwards and pain

The Feline Grimace Scale, developed at the Université de Montréal’s veterinary faculty and published in Scientific Reports in 2019, scores five changes in a cat’s face to detect acute pain. The first is ear position: the tips of the ears pulled apart and rotated outwards. The others are narrowed eyes, a tense muzzle, whisker position and head position. Each is scored from 0 to 2, for a total out of 10. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association notes that the scale has proved reliable in the hands of cat owners as well as vets, veterinary students and technicians. If this is new or comes with other changes, check with your vet.

Ears back or ears flat

Ears turned back and ears pressed flat are easy to confuse, and Cornell separates them by what the cat is about to do. Its aggressive cat has its ears flattened backward on the head; its fearful cat has its ears flattened and held outward. The ASPCA puts both in one line of its defensive postures (ears flattened sideways or backward), and describes tom cats facing each other in a stand-off with their ears swivelled backward. Cornell also lists ears moved backward, with dilated pupils and a lashing tail, among the signs a cat gives just before it turns on a hand that is stroking it.