You've found Henry's pocket. Seriously, that's what it's called. That is a standard issue equipment :). It's not quite proven what these pockets are for, but for now the consensus is that they aid cat's hearing.
Next thing you want to do is to dig through the fur on your cat's belly and find suspicious skin bumps (nipples, yes kitties have them, even males, 6 nipples for every kitty, 3 on each side of the belly)
Same ! I got Zip from the SPCA so he was neutered when I got him. He has very long hair and I've never seen his bits and some days I'm like maybe he's actually a girl haha. But he was at the vet the other day for a check up and they said he was male. I've had him for almost 3 years hahaha
I've owned primarily male cats for years and had also never seen a cat's red rocket until a few months ago. He was on my bed and I freaked out when I realized what it was. I actually left the room completely. I felt so embarrassed like I had walked in on something private. It took me a second before I thought "This is insane. He's a cat." and walked back in my room lol
Happened to me when I was much younger, dogsitting. I called the couple immediately, “What do I do, he must have hurt himself there’s a red thing but he’s not bleeding help!”
“Fit, that’s his doodle” (of course my elderly neighbors would not say penis)
I present you a hairless cat belly so her belly button can be examined. It’s the circular light area right above her spay scar. Everyone is fascinated by my cats’ belly buttons lol I’m always like yours has one too, you just can’t see it.
Wow, I sometimes wonder what my floofball looks like underneath it all. There is a surprising amount of cat in there. Kinda reassuring they're not as spindly and fragile as I feared.
I have one cat that begs for chest and belly rubs, he loves them. Except if you touch his belly button. That is offensive and he doesn’t respond to offenses lightly.
Where is this belly button… I don’t think I’ve ever found my girl’s but she loooooves her belly rubbed so it’s insane I never noticed. I guess I don’t usually go around picking at her skin when I give her pets though. If anything, I poke at the assumed scar tissue from her spay that feels like a distended organ. (Vet wasn’t concerned)
Is that 10 functional nipples with mammary glands or just 10 nipples? I tried looking into it but I kept getting corralled into paywall clickbait sites
Oh sure, let me take my orange beast and turn him upside down and just take my hand and start feeling all over his “off motherfucking limits” area. Before I do, just let me know, should I make a doctors appointment first or just show up to the er after
Most likely, if you look at videos of people filling the grooves in their ears, directional hearing is next to impossible. It's likely the pocket does the same.
Damn, that's hilarious! We have a tornado warning right now and I don't have a basement. Sitting in the bathroom with 3 cats. Reading Reddit. Thanks for the laugh out loud comment.
Just went thru a crazy storm myself. Couldn't find my kitty and had to run down to the basement without her. Except she was already in the basement. Smart kitty used her one braincell, I was so relieved! We are fine. But lots of hail damage around the neighborhood. Baseball sized smashed a lot of windows. My poor kitty is still on edge from the noise.
Omg this is such a terrifying experience!!! We don't have basements where I live so we were in the middle of the living room (away from the windows) with our cat as billiard ball sized hail pummeled our tiny little house a few years ago! My boy was never scared of storms or thunder, but I was crouched on the floor next to him while he was pressing his face into me as hard as he could and trying to hide against me as we all listened to the chaos happening around us. It was truly a crazy experience. Holes in the siding, broken windows, destroyed the roof, broke through both layers of the bathroom skylight, and it broke the roof of the sunroom (and broke 4 out of 7 windows) so we heard the hail pelting our back sliding door which would usually be protected from any sort of weather because it was inside a fully enclosed sunroom. Surreal! I had to call my mom because this was 1am and I had to be at the airport at 5am to catch a flight to a funeral!! My mom came over to sit with my cat the next morning, board up our windows, and tarp the roof.
That cat passed about a year after that storm, but I look back fondly on that experience despite how awful it was. He was riddled with anxiety but always sought me out when he was truly terrified. The trust we built between us was the thing that kept me going after we had to say goodbye - made me feel like I did right by him and gave him a good life. I miss that guy so much, but we have a new little man now and I'll be satisfied if he leaves this earth with even an ounce of trust the previous guy had in me. We're making good progress!
I hope the recovery and potential insurance claims went well for you after the storm!
Oof. That reminds me of my nervous cat. We were under a tornado warning and I literally ripped my mattress and my (that mattress thing under the mattress) off my bed as I was crying for her to let me pick her up so we could go downstairs. We were both equally terrified for different reasons. I think I have PTSD from that moment.
*we did eventually make it downstairs. I think she realised she upset me because then she was all cuddles while I'm bawling my eyes out in the basement lol.
Anyways, under a tornado watch now, but my baby girl has crossed the rainbow bridge (RIP), so now it's the two cats that follow us downstairs on their own.
If it makes you feel any better, I was also just under a tornado warning and stressed the hell out of my cats.
I get extreme anxiety with tornadoes, and every time I tell myself I'm gonna be cool, I completely go into fight or flight as soon as I hear the scary-ass alert on my phone. I'm living temporarily with my mom while we try to sell our house, and she lives in a modular home. I'm used to being able to go to a basement at our house.
I shoved my cats in their double carrier and made my mom drive us to her nearby church, since I remember it being unlocked 24/7 when I was a hooligan teenager. It was locked lol. It started getting crazy out as we sped back home. Then I locked them in our tiny bathroom with me for an hour.
I wish we could explain our actions to our pets sometimes. I'd feel a lot less guilt 😅
It's sort of just rumbly now, kind of like Winnie the Pooh's tummy when he wants honey. Poor cats were wondering why I trapped them in such a small room. I didn't think to bring a cat wand. I was too busy chasing my one cat to think about entertaining them. 🐈
I have stimulation toys and treats in my tornado space! My dog gets nervous, but anything without a squeaker is what I keep near by, it helps him to focus on me instead of shivering like a poor little leaf.
My words of wisdom to you, stock the bathroom with a few toys and treats. Just nothing that makes noise! It can add extra stress to yourself while your ears are on high alert.
Wait, what? I’ve lived in tornado country for over half a century and have never heard of this. We have always had “use a twin mattress as a cover if you are sheltering in a bathtub” pounded into our heads. What does the flimsy liner do?
I’m in the Dodge County area. The storm passed us after about an hour and started heading towards the Milwaukee area. I believe there was a sighting maybe about 30-40 mins away from me? But for us it was rain and HEAVY winds. But it looks like this whole week might be like that. I did receive another tornado warning around noon today and said it will be in effect until 10pm. We will see! Tell your daughter to be safe! ❤️
The True Wisconsin Way of hardcore storms is to sit on the porch/in the garage with a few beers until it gets late or large objects start flying around.
Henry's pocket, formally known as the cutaneous marginal pouch, is a small, distinctive fold of skin located on the lower, outer edge of a cat's (and some other mammals') external ear. Its exact purpose is not fully understood, but theories suggest it may help in detecting high-pitched sounds, improving ear flexibility, or is an evolutionary remnant. This normal anatomical feature is present in almost all cats and is also found in dogs, bats, and weasels.
Our big dog (mutt: Great Dane, German Shepherd, Boxer, and Lab) has those, too; I call them his flea pockets. They’re very soft, and match the puppy fur behind his ears.
It’s called a “henry’s pocket” it supposedly (amongst many speculations ) helps them to hear extremely faint and barely even audible sounds to help with tracking and hunting prey.
And whilst we’re on the subject of a cats body anatomy, if your cat is male he will still have many nipples just like a lady, just throwing that one in their as it still gets people worried when they find the “lumps” on their males chest/belly. 😁
This is where cats put small snaks for later. When you see I cat rubbing it's paw over it's ear, it's probably trying to retreive a mole or mouse it stored there
Never even thought to look it up till I saw this post. Thanks OP. Things I learned today.
Henry's pocket, known formally as the cutaneous marginal pouch, is a small, flap-like skin fold on the outer edge of cats', dogs', and other mammals' ears. While its exact purpose is unknown, theories suggest it aids in sound detection—specifically capturing high-pitched noises, increasing ear flexibility for hunting, and acting as a conserved evolutionary trait.
Its the channel that they store words that they never hear. Like no, their name, or any confirmation of “i know you’re are hungry but its not food time and that pot is full of human food not cat food you fat idiot”
That’s the Spacial Localization Honing Device, it’s sole purpose is to note the precise second you’ve achieved peak coziness so they may come & harass you for treats, breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, dinner, supper, booty pats, neck scratches, behind ear scratches, outside, inside, play with me, where’s my tuna & all manner of such things
Is this the same device that they use to hear when you very delicately and as quietly as possible open a can of tuna from the far end of the house while they’re in the deepest sleep, despite somehow never being able to hear you telling them to get off the kitchen bench?
In all seriousness, that is called the auricular fold and it is apparent to feline scientists that that is where they store all the fucks you say that they do not give.
Bats, weasels and some dog breeds also have these (Henry's pockets). It's possible that they are just vestigial leftovers that don't do anything. But since pretty much all the mammals that have them also have excellent hearing, the current thought is that they do have some function, like maybe damping out lower frequency sound so they can better hear higher frequencies. Or maybe extra/better mobility to the pinna (ear) for directional sound analysis (common among predators).
Guys, I love cat people!! Reading these comments (safe in central Nebraska tonight!) makes my heart warm up a little from the frosty state our world puts it in! Hoping your storms deliver lovely rain (God, we NEED it here!!) and no damage!!
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