cat ears

[ellen 59]

Does anyone know what and why cats have a wee extra bit on their ears?

[natalie_1982]

What do you mean?  That little flappy bit just up from where the ear sticks on the head?

[Steph84]

It's probably something to do with capturing sound waves. They're predators and need good hearing to track mice or other prey.

[peanut]

wee bit of what?

[Clanad]

It's called an acoustic tubercle, which provides a diffraction of acoustic waves and improves aural orientation of the animal in complete darkness. You actually have a similar structure, which is the crease just in front of the back, outer edge of the ear...

[ezapf]

Clanad, is this the same as what dogs have? I googled "acoustic tubercle" to find the answer myself, but the reading turned my brain to mush.