JUST A WHISKER’S LENGTH AWAY
As your cat is trotting confidently in the dark they avoid every obstacle with ease, slipping around the corner and under a chair, as they navigate to their destination. This ability cannot be attributed solely to their exceptional sight in sparsely lit environments. Their whiskers, which serve as an extended form of a cat’s sense of touch, are just as important.
ARE THEY ANTENNAS? OR JUST, HAIR?
Neither! Whiskers, unlike antennas, do not have tactile sensors in the ends. Instead, the nerves that gather information from the whiskers reside at the base of the whisker. The strands of the whiskers are also more than just hair. These long white strands are three times thicker than other hairs and more deeply embedded into the skin with a longer follicle, a pouch in the skin from which hairs both grow and attach to the skin
Try wiggling your finger next to one of your cat’s whiskers, not quite touching them. Does your cat turn away from your finger or twitch their whiskers? Your cat is sensing the air movements that your finger is causing. The hairs of the whiskers interact with air movements or objects causing vibrations to travel down the whiskers. Those vibrations are picked up by the 100-200 nerve cells that innervate the elongated follicle of the whisker. Those nerve cells report to the brain to tell the cat what is around them.
LIKE FINGERS IN THE DARK
Similar to how you may put your hands out in front of you in an attempt to avoid walking face-first into a wall when navigating your house at night, whiskers tell cats what is around them without light. Cats rely on this sense even in the day as cat eyes have difficulty seeing up close including a blind spot by their chin. Their whiskers take up that slack, not only telling if they will hit something that their whiskers are touching but also collecting information including the size, speed, and texture of the object that the whiskers touch or feel pass by.
NOT JUST A FASHION STATEMENT
As sensory organs, cat whiskers are placed with evolutionary care. They grow in places where they are beneficial. They grow on the face, forehead, and chin where their eyes have difficulty looking and on their forearms where they catch their prey. The symmetrical patterns also serve a purpose as it allows the cats to know where they are sensing movement. They get information from each individual whisker so they know that it was the two furthest whiskers on the right cheek that felt the object and they can use that information and their intuitive knowledge of the length of their whiskers to learn about their environment.
Due to the careful placement and length of the whiskers, you should never cut them! Not only is this irritating to the heavily innervated follicles of the whisker but it also causes serious disorientation. A cat knows the length of their whiskers much like we know the length of our fingers or our height, an intuition calibrated from living in that body. If the length is unexpectedly shortened then their spatial awareness is thrown off completely. Cats can lose their sense of balance, run into objects, and become increasingly scared of their surroundings. It is much like being blindfolded for a human.
Fortunately, trimming their whiskers is not irreparable damage. They will eventually grow back as long as the follicle is not too damaged and they will regain their spatial awareness. Also do not be concerned if you find your cat’s whiskers falling off. They shed and grow back naturally.
SURVIVAL OF THE QUICKEST
The quickest cat gets the mouse, and the quickest mouse gets away. Cats have been hunting small, quick rodents for thousands of years. So adapting their senses to help them locate and catch their meals was a necessity. One of these adaptations is whiskers not only on their faces but on their forearms. These whiskers help them judge the size and placement of their prey by detecting which way the prey is trying to escape they can better thwart their attempts.
MOOD SIGNS
Whiskers can also be used as a gauge of your cat’s mood. They follow the same general rules as ears but with a more limited range of motion. If they are pushed forward your cat is exploring something, taking interest, and focused forward. If they are relaxed in a neutral position your cat is content. If they are pulled back your cat is scared or angry.
BEING THAT GOOD GETS TIRING
As we can see cat whiskers are very sensitive! Consequently, touching them too much or hitting them can overload the cat’s sensory system or be painful, causing whisker fatigue. A common cause of whisker fatigue is from eating out of small or high walled bowls.
When their whiskers hit the edges, they can get too much information overloading their sensory system and irritating the whiskers. Consequently, a common symptom of this condition is a refusal to use these bowls. A cat with whisker fatigue may start pacing and meowing by the bowls, using their paws to pull food or water out of the bowl or refusing to eat.
Luckily the cure and prevention is just a flatter bowl! A bowl with lower sides or that is big enough to give the whiskers enough space will keep the whiskers from touching the bowl and alleviate the irritation of the whiskers.
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