It seems like one of the typical features of the cat, the whiskers. It’s just part of it and doesn’t seem special, but nothing could be further from the truth. The cat’s whiskers mean more than people often realize. The whiskers are extremely sensitive and very useful to the animal.
How does that work with the cats whiskers?
Cats whiskers
In a general sense, whiskers, which we also usually call tactile hairs, occur in animals that either cannot see well or are mainly active at night (such as the cat by nature). The whiskers serve to find the way in search of food, for example.
The cats whiskers take over a kind of task for the senses, the moment there is a reason that they cannot be used properly.
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One animal uses it in a different way than the other because this way the house mouse can detect movements in the air with the whiskers. Prey animals use them to find the hunter and hunters, such as the cat, can find the prey with i
The cat and her whiskers
Although the cat can see well, the whiskers are also important for the cat. They are one of the most important sensors for the animal. The sense of touch ensures that everything in the immediate vicinity is ‘perceived’ and, if applicable, can also act as a warner.
This allows the cat to effortlessly walk through a narrow dark corridor without touching anything. The cat measures the distance to the wall or other obstacles, as it were.
The cat can also use the whiskers to estimate the prey in total and to find the place to make that all-important deadly bite.
Location and Application
The whiskers are basically around the nose and are also found on other parts of the body to a limited extent. They are thicker than other hairs and at the end of the hair is a hair follicle with blood, we call this blood sinus.
The cats whiskers are directly linked to the brain because they are important and so the brain must be able to process the impulses from the whiskers directly. It is the movement of the hair that makes the blood move. It even strengthens the movement. The nerves at the ends, we also call them receptor cells, are now ‘alarmed’.
It is important never to clip whiskers. However, if you find a whisker once, that’s okay. A new whisker will grow on its own.
The mustache or tactile hairs are mostly above the lip. They also occur, to a lesser extent, in the following places:
- on the chin
- above the eyelids
- on the back of the front legs
Especially above the lip, the whiskers are very prominent on the head of the cat. However, the cat can also conveniently lay them back during a fight, because they must not be damaged. But also while eating, because then they don’t get dirty.
What do whiskers say?
If you look closely at the cat, you can tell how the cat is feeling from the position of the whiskers. The whiskers are put forward during a greeting, but also when she is playing. However, if the cat is frightened, vulnerable, or shy, the whiskers will be drawn together and lie flat against the cheeks.
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If the hairs are perpendicular to the cat’s head, she is relaxed and content. Just pay attention when she is lying quietly on your lap or has found a cushion in which she can ‘knead’ with the front legs. They can also do the latter when they are in pain, they reassure themselves with this. But then you see the whiskers clearly different.
Young cats whiskers
A kitten is born deaf and blind, but the whiskers work from the first moment after birth. A kitten will soon try to crawl and walk around the nest. After all, in addition to being a mother for drinking, warmth, and safety, a kitten also immediately seeks out ‘the world’. At least that’s what a kitten will try and for that reason, there are sometimes cat mothers who bite off parts of their kittens’ whiskers.
In this way, the freedom of movement of the young kittens is temporarily considerably restricted and the mother cat does not have to constantly look for her kittens. This is good for the mother cat’s mood and safer for the kittens.
Finally
The cats whiskers say more than we often realize. It may say something about her state of mind, but she also navigates with it. In short, the cat uses those apparently ‘difficult’ hard hairs almost continuously and that makes them very important for the animal.
