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Cats are not shown to hear infrasound: the published lower limits of feline hearing are above the conventional infrasound boundary of 20 Hz. Cats do hear much higher frequencies than humans, extending into ultrasound. Those figures describe results from particular tests, however—not a guarantee that every cat hears every sound within a stated range.
The distinction matters because “hearing range” describes the frequencies detected in a test, not how loud a sound must be, how well an animal locates it, or whether it can feel a vibration through another sense. Here is what the available cat and human measurements do—and do not—show.
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What are infrasound and ultrasound?
Infrasound is sound below 20 hertz (Hz); ultrasound is sound above 20 kilohertz (kHz), or 20,000 Hz. Hertz counts cycles per second, so these labels describe a sound’s frequency, not its loudness. A very low-frequency sound is not automatically quiet, and a high-frequency sound is not automatically loud.
That boundary makes the answer to the title question straightforward: the cited measurements put the low end of cats’ hearing at roughly 45–48 Hz, which is above 20 Hz. Their upper hearing limit, by contrast, reaches well into ultrasound. A 2022 overview of acoustic research uses the same conventional distinction between infrasound and ultrasound in its discussion of sound frequencies (Frontiers in Veterinary Science’s guide to acoustic research).
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Can cats hear infrasound?
The published measurements cited here do not show cats hearing infrasound as sound. The commonly cited feline lower limit is 45 Hz, and a separate behavioral study reported 48 Hz at its test condition; both are above the 20 Hz infrasound cutoff.
This is a conclusion about measured auditory hearing thresholds. It is not proof that a cat cannot notice a low-frequency vibration by touch or through some other sensory pathway. The cited sources do not test that question, so it would be too broad to turn “not shown to hear infrasound” into “cannot sense anything associated with infrasound.”
Nor does a range establish that every cat detects every frequency between its endpoints. The figures come from tests with specific methods and sound levels. They are useful for describing the findings, not as an individual hearing guarantee.
What hearing ranges have researchers reported?
Several sources give similar lower limits for cats but different upper limits. The ranges should be attributed to their sources and test bases rather than combined into one apparently definitive figure.
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| Species and source | Reported range | Test basis or context |
|---|---|---|
| Cat, 2017 review | 45 Hz–65 kHz | Commonly cited range; behavioral responses below 60 dB SPL, with maximum stimulus intensity of 60 dB SPL. |
| Human, 2017 review | 64 Hz–23 kHz | Human comparison reported by the same review. |
| Cat, Heffner and Heffner, 1985 | 48 Hz–85 kHz | Behavioral audiograms for two cats; reported for sounds at 70 dB SPL. |
| Cat, Louisiana State University chart | 45 Hz–64 kHz | University chart compiled from published references. |
| Human, Louisiana State University chart | 64 Hz–23,000 Hz | Human range in the same chart. |
The 2017 review in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery gives the 45 Hz–65 kHz range for cats and 64 Hz–23 kHz for humans. The original 1985 study by R. S. Heffner and H. E. Heffner reports a broader upper endpoint—85 kHz—but its behavioral audiograms involved two cats and sounds at 70 dB SPL. The Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine chart lists 45 Hz–64 kHz for cats and 64 Hz–23,000 Hz for humans.
The cat upper endpoint therefore varies across these sources: 64, 65, or 85 kHz. These differences are a reason to name the source and conditions when quoting a number, not a reason to assume that one of the figures describes every cat in every circumstance. The lower limits, meanwhile, remain above 20 Hz in all the cited feline ranges.
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On the ranges reported by the 2017 review, cats’ measured hearing extends to lower frequencies than humans’ (45 Hz versus 64 Hz) and to substantially higher frequencies (65 kHz versus 23 kHz). The LSU chart likewise gives cats a higher upper endpoint than humans, though its feline maximum is 64 kHz rather than 65 kHz.
The important contrast for infrasound is not that cats hear “everything better.” It is that the cited cat lower endpoints—45 or 48 Hz—remain above the conventional 20 Hz boundary. The important contrast at the high end is that the reported cat ranges extend above 20 kHz, into ultrasound, while the human comparison tops out at 23 kHz in the review and LSU chart.
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Frequency range is only one aspect of hearing. It does not, on its own, tell you how softly a cat can hear, how accurately it can locate a sound, or whether it hears every frequency in that range equally well. The evidence summarized here supports a comparison of frequency endpoints and test methods; it does not support ranking overall hearing ability with a single “better” label.
Why do the reported ranges vary?
A hearing range is a result of a measurement procedure, not a universal boundary independent of test conditions. One feline range in the 2017 review is based on behavioral responses below 60 dB SPL and a maximum stimulus intensity of 60 dB SPL. The 1985 study reports 48 Hz–85 kHz for sounds at 70 dB SPL. Those are distinct test bases, so their upper limits should not be blended as if they came from one identical measurement.
SPL means sound pressure level, expressed in decibels. The cited figures include the test level or stimulus limit because a frequency endpoint without its measurement context can give a misleading impression of precision. The review’s “commonly cited” 45 Hz–65 kHz range and the two-cat study’s 48 Hz–85 kHz result are both findings with stated contexts—not proof that all cats share precisely the same cutoff.
Animal hearing tests also differ from relying on a person to say whether a tone was heard. LSU explains that animal testing typically trains a subject to respond to presented tones, whereas a human test can rely on the person reporting whether they heard a sound. That distinction helps explain why a published range should be read as a result from a particular assessment method, not as an exact line between hearing and silence for every animal.
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Does a low rumble prove that a cat hears infrasound?
No. A cat reacting to a rumble does not establish that the sound was below 20 Hz or that the cat heard it as infrasound. The reaction alone does not identify the frequency or the sensory route involved.
The documented feline lower limits in the review, study, and LSU chart all sit above 20 Hz. A low sound can still fall above that cutoff, and a vibration might be noticed through a pathway the cited hearing-range sources did not examine. Without a measured frequency and evidence about how the cat detected it, the behavior cannot settle the infrasound question.
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Hearing contributes to cats’ awareness of potential predators, pursuit of prey, and communication with cats, people, and other species, according to the 2017 review on feline hearing disorders. These functions help explain why hearing is important without implying that infrasound plays a role in them.
The practical takeaway is modest but useful: the cited research describes a broad feline frequency range, especially at its high-frequency end, while placing the low-frequency hearing limit above the infrasound cutoff. It does not make every sound audible to a cat, or every feline response evidence of hearing.
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How should you interpret a cat hearing-range number?
Read a range as a measurement with a source and conditions attached. When comparing figures, check the species, the lower and upper endpoints, and the test basis. If an article gives a cat’s range without naming its source or qualification, it may conceal meaningful differences between published results.
- For the infrasound question: compare the reported lower endpoint with 20 Hz. The cited feline endpoints are above that boundary.
- For the ultrasound question: compare the upper endpoint with 20 kHz. The cited cat ranges extend well beyond it.
- For comparisons with people: keep the source’s human and cat figures together, and do not silently mix endpoints from different sources.
- For an individual cat: do not treat a species-level range as a diagnosis or assurance that a particular animal detects every sound within it.
For a fuller account of the commonly cited ranges and their measurement context, see the 2017 feline hearing review. The 1985 behavioral study is the source for the two-cat 48 Hz–85 kHz finding, while LSU’s hearing-range chart provides another cat–human comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Hz mean when reading a cat hearing range?
Hz, or hertz, means cycles per second and describes frequency. It is separate from loudness, so a number of hertz alone does not tell you how loud a sound is.
Does a cat hearing-range chart predict what one particular cat can hear?
No. These are reported ranges from population-level research and specific testing conditions, not a hearing assessment for an individual pet. A chart should not be used to diagnose a cat’s hearing.
Why do sources give different maximum frequencies for cats?
The cited sources report different upper endpoints and do not all use the same test basis. For clarity, quote the range together with its source and stated conditions rather than treating the endpoints as interchangeable.
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