Have you ever wondered about the role of your cat's sense of touch in its daily life? It helps with hunting, eating, and stealthy creeping around. This article explores whiskers and why it's absolutely crucial that you never cut it.
© ладлен Чернышенко / stock.adobe.com
Cat whiskers are extremely sensitive and serve an important function.
Some cats have curled, while others have straight ones. They may be relatively short on one kitty and longer on another. Yet, one thing they all share is their essential role in your cat’s sense perception.
Your cat’s whiskers are highly sensitive and respond delicately to mechanical stimuli. If a whisker breaks off in the middle, it’s generally not painful. However, it’s a different story if you pull it out or if the hair follicle becomes inflamed.
Whiskers are not only thicker and longer than regular fur but they possess a rather unique anatomy. A cat’s whisker consists of a hair root and the strand itself, embedded in a hair follicle. This follicle isn’t only encased by an epidermal sheath but also surrounded by a blood sinus.
This blood sinus renders your cat’s whiskers extraordinary, as it contains exposed nerve endings within its walls. This allows them to receive touch as stimuli and communicate it to the central nervous system (CNS).
Interestingly, cats have whiskers not only on their head but also in other body areas. Thus, your cat can perceive touches in various scenarios: while eating, walking or grasping.
You’ll find in the following places:
Although your cat spends a lot of time sleeping, it’s also quite active and playful in between. It’s no wonder that during frolics or wanders, a whisker might be lost now and then. But there’s no need to worry, as these hairs grow back.
Your Cat is Losing Many Whiskers: Should You Worry?
Nevertheless, there are times when your cat may lose whiskers more frequently. This could occur if your cat is particularly stressed or ill. Older cats also tend to shed more.
Note: As a precaution, visit the vet if you notice such changes or other signs of illness in your cat.
Independent Life Cycle
Contrary to regular body fur, cat whiskers don’t go through a seasonal fur change. This peculiarity is due to the evolutionary development of the whiskers.
Since, unlike regular fur, whiskers are laid down embryonically, they exhibit an individual life cycle.
© Edwin Butter / stock.adobe.com
The reception and transmission of stimuli in the whiskers is a sophisticated system that contributes to spatial orientation.
For instance, when your cat’s whiskers make contact with something, it causes the blood in the sinus to vibrate. These vibrations then reach the nerve endings, which in turn communicate the stimuli to the CNS. Subsequently, full perception of the touch takes place and your cat can respond accordingly.
Ever marvelled at how adept cats are at navigating in the dark? That’s not solely due to their excellent vision but also to their whiskers. These whiskers don’t need light to detect objects and other spatial restrictions.
In addition to tactile functions, your cat’s whiskers serve another important role: communication with other cats. They use these special hairs to indicate their emotions.
For example, raised whiskers may signal “I am particularly attentive”. If they are pinned back and your cat crouches stressfully, this could be a sign of severe pain.
© FurryFritz / stock.adobe.com
Animals have fur for specific reasons. Not only does it insulate, but it also plays a significant role in communication with others of their kind.
For animal welfare reasons, you should refrain from trimming or removing the whiskers of cats and other animals.
Note: Only when there is a medical indication, a vet may amputate whiskers.
Genetic reasons may cause certain cat breeds to lack whiskers – missing out on crucial parts of their senses. Certain hairless breeds (such as the Canadian Sphynx) without whiskers are thus considered selectively bred.
At the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen I was extensively trained as a veterinarian and was able to gain experience in various fields such as small animal, large animal and exotic animal medicine as well as pharmacology, pathology and food hygiene. Since then, I have been working not only as a veterinary author, but also on my scientifically driven dissertation. My goal is to better protect animals from pathogenic bacterial organisms in the future. Besides my veterinary knowledge, I also share my own experiences as a happy dog owner and can thus understand and enlighten fears and problems as well as other important questions about animal health.
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