Cats are known for their meticulous grooming; their soft and dense fur requires constant attention. But around the ears, the fur is much less dense. Is this a normal phenomenon?
According to specialists, bald spots on the ears are not just a normal phenomenon but an important aspect of the evolutionary history of cats.
Why Fur Does Not Grow on the Ears
Judith Stella, an animal welfare expert from Purdue University, asserts that fur is necessary for cats to protect against minor injuries, retain heat, and convey social signals. However, its distribution across the body is uneven.
The fur of cats consists of two layers: a fine undercoat that provides warmth and thins out in the summer, and a coarse guard hair that offers protection. This dual structure covers almost the entire body, except for a few key areas.
“There is no fur on the pads of the paws — it would collect dirt and moisture. The hair around the anus is also somewhat thinner, which helps maintain cleanliness,” explains Stella.
The area around the ears is another unique case. According to Stella, the sparse fur on a cat's face is normal. However, scientists are unclear why this occurs. “There must be some evolutionary, adaptive reason why this area looks the way it does. I suspect it has to do with hearing,” adds Stella.
This feature is observed not only in domestic cats (Felis catus); it is common among small species such as African wildcats (Felis lybica), ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), and lynxes (genus Lynx), all of which belong to the Felidae subfamily. Large cats, such as tigers (Panthera tigris), lions (Panthera leo), and jaguars (Panthera onca), which belong to the Pantherinae subfamily, do not exhibit such bald spots.
The presence of bald spots in small cats may indicate that this is a result of natural selection, as such patches may be advantageous for small cats but not for large ones.
Stella hypothesized that the advantage may lie in the hunting methods of different cat species. “Cats are capable of hearing ultrasonic sounds, and rodents emit sounds in this range,” she noted. “Perhaps the absence of fur helps better focus sound waves in the ear or determine the direction of their source.”
While small cat species hunt a variety of prey, including birds and snakes, studies show that the majority of their diet consists of rodents, making any adaptations for detecting them a valuable advantage. For large cats that hunt larger animals, such as antelopes or wild boars, detecting ultrasonic frequencies is less critical for survival — possibly explaining why they have not developed the same distinctive fur pattern.
