Do you know why cats and dogs like to tilt their heads?
I often see pets looking at you at home with their heads tilted when I call them. In addition to cute, ‘head tilt’ has other meanings.
- Tilt the head to make the pet hear better.
Cats and dogs can receive sound by rotating the auricle and finding the sound’s direction. At the same time, the two ears collect the difference of sound through the adjustment of head position, and the pet can judge the distance between the source of sound and themselves. - Cats and dogs are trying to understand you
Animal behavior experts say that when it listens to us, it tries to distinguish familiar language, such as “going out to play” or “eating meat,” etc. They also observe our facial expressions and body movements to judge what we want to express. You know, cats and dogs are very smart animals. - Sick
If cats and dogs tilt their heads for a long time, they are mostly uncomfortable, just as people tilt their heads for a long time, their cervical vertebrae will be painful. For example, ear mites breed in the ear canal, itching in the ear, and often shaking the head and ear, which can gradually cause inner ear infections and affect the nervous system. Or encephalitis caused by the cerebral echinococcosis parasite. Symptoms: pet’s head is tilted to one side (possibly the side of the diseased ear), hearing is impaired, and it can’t respond to our calls. Nystagmus (nystagmus): The eyeball can involuntarily vibrate from side to side or up and down at a fixed frequency. Excessive lethargy or coma. Behavior change: spin, walk in circles.
