why do cats have wihiskers?

Question

cause i heard that cats have whiskers so that they figure out if they can pass through a narrow place.

Answer 1

Yes, that's basically true. Whiskers are used for navigation, mood indication, and for measuring an opening (as you suggest). Whiskers help the cat feel his way around. Whiskers are so sensitive that they can detect the slightest directional change in a breeze. At night, for example, this helps a cat slink its way through a room and not bump into anything. How? The air currents in the room change depending on where pieces of furniture are located. As the cat walks through the room and approaches the couch, he'll know which direction to turn based on the change in air current around the couch.

In addition to having sensory properties, a cat's whiskers are also a good indicator of his mood. When a cat is angry or feels defensive, the whiskers will be pulled back (kind of like its ears). Otherwise, when the cat is happy, curious or content, the whiskers will be more relaxed and pushed forward.

But the whiskers' primary use is to help a cat judge whether or not he'll fit through an opening. A cat's whiskers are roughly as wide as his body -- sort of a natural ruler. The whisker tips are sensitive to pressure. You'll probably see a cat stick his head in and out of an opening before he puts his body in. He's judging the width of the opening, and is determining if he can fit into it. An interesting note: cats don't have a true collar bone, like humans. This allows them to turn and twist their way through very narrow openings.

Answer 2

Cats and dogs have whiskers to sense the directions of surface air currents and therefore able to tell where certain smells are coming from. You can test this by cutting of the whiskers of a dog that likes to play fetch. With the whiskers missing it has a pretty hard time finding the item if it is not clearly visible (provided that it is done in an open-air environment with limited visibility).

Answer 3

The whiskers are a very delicate sense organ. The slightest contact, even a soft breeze will cause them to move. The base of each whisker is connected to very sensitive clump of nerves that detects these minute movements. In this way cats can often sense objects (mice, rats, clumsy people) moving around them. They also help them move around in the dark without bumping into things.

Whiskers also serve another important purpose. They tend to stick out as far as the widest part of the cat's body. When a cat is trying to escape from a predator and looking for an appropriate hole to dive into, it can sense whether the hole is large enough simply by sticking it's nose into the opening. If it can get it's whiskers into the hole without them touching on both sides then it knows the hole is wide enough for it's body to fit in as well.

I hope that this helps and check out this web site if you have any other questions. Very helpful indeed.

Answer 4

the cat's whiskers is very important to it, because it's whiskers tell them whether their body can fit through a space or not.

Answer 5

The whiskers act as feelers and also allow a cat to where he/she can fit in or fit through.

Answer 6

cats whiskers help them determine if they can fit into a small space like if a dog was chasing them they can judge from a distance if there whiskers fit than so can they

Answer 7

God created cats with whiskers to serve as their sense of direction.

Answer 8

it helps them know if there is something about to touch their face, the whisker is hard but where is goes in to the skin is sinitive and it lets the cat know things. dogs have them for the same reason

Answer 9

They are very sensitive feelers for hunting a night and yes when they go through a gap they know if the bulk of the body will fit.

Answer 10

Cats would look naked without whiskers.