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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / September 2007Interesting Article on Whiskers
The November Issue of Cat Fancy has an interesting article about whiskers. Maybe you folks knew this stuff but I sure didn't! Apparently (most) domestic cats are farsighted so they use their whiskers to help them sense prey. They pick up on minute air vibrations which tells them something is nearby. They are able to parse this information into possible prey vs. a breeze disturbing stalks of grass. Whiskers are like "cat GPS". They serve as sort of peripheral vision and to pick up information about the surrounding area. I've often wondered why it looks like Persia is going to bump into the corner of an old monitor sitting on the floor in my office but she veers away an inch just before she gets to it. The article also suggests if your cat likes to take its kibble out of the dish to eat it could be that the whiskers are touching the side of the bowl, giving the cat "unnecessary information". Of course, they also say some cats just like to eat off the floor :) Apparently if a cat's whiskers are pushed forward (normal, relaxed) it means the cat is calm. If the whiskers are pulled back closer to the face the cat is stressed or angry. Himalayans and Persians grow curled down whiskers. Maine Coons sprout extra long, tufty whiskers. There's an old saying that a cat's whiskers are as long as their bodies are wide. Veterinarian Tracy McFarland says since many of the cats she sees are chunky she suggests whiskers are actually as wide as the cat's body *should* be ;) Jill > The November Issue of Cat Fancy has an interesting article about whiskers. > Maybe you folks knew this stuff but I sure didn't! Thanks for the interesting post, Jill. There's something else I've always wondered about. You'd think eyebrows would be similarly useful, but although I don't recall ever seeing a cat without whiskers, I've had several without eyebrows. Cendrillon has magnificent sets of both - quite striking since they're stiff and very white against a mostly black-furred face. Melisande, on the other hand.... although well equipped with whiskers, she seems to have no eyebrows at all! (Not just softer and less obvious, or grey to match her fur, but simply not there!) Any comments? >> The November Issue of Cat Fancy has an interesting article about >> whiskers. Maybe you folks knew this stuff but I sure didn't! [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > eyebrows at all! (Not just softer and less obvious, or grey > to match her fur, but simply not there!) Any comments? Maybe someone else will know. I agree, you'd think those eyebrows would be as useful. Persia has an impressive set of eyebrows :) Jill > Thanks for the interesting post, Jill. There's something > else I've always wondered about. You'd think eyebrows would [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > eyebrows at all! (Not just softer and less obvious, or grey > to match her fur, but simply not there!) Any comments? In our household Tabitha is the one with eyebrows. They're long and graceful and elegant - and almost invisble. Tabitha is solid black, and so are her eyebrows. > In our household Tabitha is the one with eyebrows. They're long and > graceful and elegant - and almost invisble. Tabitha is solid black, and so > are her eyebrows. Licky has white whiskers *and* eyebrows, which look very striking against his black face. Joyce >> Thanks for the interesting post, Jill. There's something >> else I've always wondered about. You'd think eyebrows would [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > graceful and elegant - and almost invisble. Tabitha is solid black, > and so are her eyebrows. Baggy is black, so are all his eyebrows except one which is white, it does look quite odd. ;-)  SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera) Cats leave pawprints on your heart http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk >>> Thanks for the interesting post, Jill. There's something >>> else I've always wondered about. You'd think eyebrows would [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > Baggy is black, so are all his eyebrows except one which is white, it > does look quite odd. ;-) The lovely black shelter cat I saw while on my trip was black with a white bib. Now that I think about it, her whiskers were white, too! And quite long. She was very striking. Jill >>>> Thanks for the interesting post, Jill. There's something >>>> else I've always wondered about. You'd think eyebrows would [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Jill Like Dante. His face is black with white whiskers and eyebrows, which makes him look rather-- well, insane at times. ;) Or sinister. Or just downright silly. It certainly gives his face character. Sometimes I just look at him and crack up.;) Maybe your eyebrowless cats are getting trimmed. When tiny Mimi was still with me, she had insanely long whiskers and eyebrows that made her look quite mad, too, especially with her tiny face. Stinky's whiskers never seemed to grow very long when he was a youngster. Mimi used to clip his whiskers and brows for him. She was the only one allowed to have long whiskers and brows. After Mimi went to RB, Stinky's brows and whiskers grew out to a respectable length. I'm surprised that Amber and Tiger have any whiskers left. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/View?u=1777604&a=13746150&p=71611133&Sequence=0& res=high ---MIKE--- >>In the White Mountains of New Hampshire >> (44° 15' N - Elevation 1580') Why do you think the expression for something real good is "It's the cats whiskers" Cats also use their whiskers just after making a kill. Photos taken with those special cameras that can take pictures in very poor light (forget the name) showing a cat that had just killed a mouse and the cat is carrying lunch has their whiskers literally wrapped along the mouse so that if the strike wasn't completely successful and lunch can still move then the cat will know about it Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs > Why do you think the expression for something real good is "It's the > cats whiskers" All I ever heard was it's "the cat's meow" :) > Cats also use their whiskers just after making a kill. Photos taken > with those special cameras that can take pictures in very poor light [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Slave of the Fabulous Furballs Interesting. I never heard about that or saw a video about it. But then, I don't get that many channels on my TV :) And Persia is my only cat, and she's an indoor kitty so she only pounces on toys that aren't likely to be alive (other than me, that is!) jmcquown kirjoitti: > The November Issue of Cat Fancy has an interesting article about whiskers. > Maybe you folks knew this stuff but I sure didn't! <snip interesting article> I've also heard that momcats bite off the whiskers of their too-rowdy kittens to calm them down. Then they'll have to be more careful when moving around. Also, about eating and bowls etc. Nico seems to pull back his whiskers when he eats, even tho he's not angry or stressed while eating. Maybe it's just to keep the whiskers from rubbing against the sides of the bowl, as he does tend to chow down heartily with his head practically up to his ears into the bowl. He's the fluffier one of my two fuzzbutts. SignatureChristine in Laitila, Finland christal63 (at) gmail (dot) com photos: http://s208.photobucket.com/albums/bb108/christal63/ photos: http://community.webshots.com/user/chkr63 > jmcquown kirjoitti: >> The November Issue of Cat Fancy has an interesting article about [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > kittens to calm them down. Then they'll have to be more careful when > moving around. Heh, that would explain why Caliban came to me with hardly any whiskers on his face. He didn't come directly from his mama, but at least *one* of the big cats at his foster Meowmie's place must have thought he was a 'bit' too rowdy. :P SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. >> jmcquown kirjoitti: >>> The November Issue of Cat Fancy has an interesting article about [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > least *one* of the big cats at his foster Meowmie's place must have > thought he was a 'bit' too rowdy. :P The article *did* say never trim a cat's whiskers. It didn't say momma cats were prohibited from biting them off ;) But seriously, they aren't just 'hair'; they contain blood vessels and are actually an extension of "skin". So one should never, ever, trim a cats whiskers. (Not saying you or anyone here would, Marina!) Jill
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