The small flap on a cat’s outer ear is called the pinna. Cats have an amazing ability to hear even the faintest sounds. Their superior hearing would not be possible without the ear flap.
Appearance
The ear flap is located toward the base of the cat’s outer ear. It will be upright on most cats, with the exception of breeds like the Scottish Fold which have folded ears. It is usually covered in short, fine fur like the rest of the cat’s ear.

Purpose
The ear flap is an important part of a cat’s superior hearing system. According to Washington State University, the ear flap helps funnel sound into the cat’s ear canal to help them hear better.

Ear Canal
Cats have a longer ear canal than humans, with nearly a 90 degree turn, making it more challenging for sounds to reach the ear drum.

Rotating Ear
Cats also have the ability to swivel the ear flap and the entire outer ear toward the source of a noise.

Hearing
Cats can hear sounds up to five times farther away than humans, according to TheCatSite.com. And despite the dog’s reputation for being able to hear high-pitched frequencies, cats can actually hear even higher frequencies. 4 months ago

what is it??? Do they pack their lunch in there??? 4 months ago

The ear pocket, or pinna helps enable a cat’s exceptional hearing ability. The pinna performs two functions; it funnels sound into the ear canal in the middle ear, and it also helps the ear flex and rotate up to 180 degrees to better pinpoint and funnel sounds.

Groovy. 5 months ago

Whenever I touch them on my cats eats, he flicks his ears back and eventually gets so annoyed that he walks off. 6 months ago

I call them “delicate ear folds”.
Cool that other people are curious about them, too.
:) 8 months ago