Why Do Cats Have Whiskers
Unlike us and our hay fever though cats manifest their allergic flare ups with skin ailments.
Why do cats have whiskers. Some people believe that keeping their cats whiskers can bring them good luck. At home whiskers help domestic cats locate their food bowls or favorite toys at night. They transmit information to sensory cells whenever they detect movement or objects.
When an object brushes or air flows up against a whisker the sensitive hair. According to HowStuffWorks cats whiskers are approximately the same width as their bodies so they often use them to decide whether theyll be able to fit through an opening. Whilst whiskers dont have nerve supply within them like a tooth does they do have sensitive nerve receptors at the base.
Whisker fatigue is usually caused by chronic recurrent pressure on the whisker and firing of the neurons. Whiskers technically called vibrissae to vibrate are pieces of keratin that are two or three times thicker than fur and full of extremely sensitive nerves. They act as a second set of eyes and can cause a cat to close their eyes which helps to protect them.
Their placement all over a cats head helps protect a cat from the little things that can do serious damage to its eyes and face. You should never bend pluck or cut them for this reason. Cats use their whiskers to measure their distances to objects.
Whiskers are like little pieces of armor for cats. If you want to know more about feline morphology and behavior this AnimalWised video on Why do CATS have WHI. Cats have special sensory organs called proprioceptors located at the ends of their whiskers.
Whiskers Help Protect Cats. In the wild whiskers can alert a cat to the presence of prey potential enemies or the location of his pack. Even though whiskers are known as tactile hairs they dont feel anything.