2006-09-15 00:22:14 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
Hi Daisy...cat whiskers need not be required to be trimmed. Cats will shed whiskers from time to time and they take a few months to grow back.
Here's a web article from moggies.co.uk about cat whiskers:
http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/whiskers.html
A cat has about twenty-four movable whiskers, twelve on each side of its nose (some cat's may have more). Whiskers are more than twice as thick as ordinary hairs, and their roots are set three times deeper than hairs in a cat's tissue. Richly supplied with nerve endings, whiskers give cats extraordinarily detailed information about air movements, air pressure and anything they touch.
The scientific word for whiskers is vibrissae, a name that suggests their exquisite sensitivity to vibrations in air currents. As air swirls and eddies around objects, whiskers vibrate too. Cats use messages in these vibrations to sense the presence, size, and shape of obstacles without seeing or touching them. Whiskers are also good hunting tools. A cat whose whiskers have been damaged may bite the wrong part of a mouse it's attacking, indicating that signals from these delicate structures provide cats with vital information about the shape and activity of its prey - interestingly, whiskers also help cats smell odours.
Whiskers can also be a bother to a cat, especially if he tries to eat food out of a bowl. The end of the whiskers touching the side of the bowl transfer irritating sensations to his brain, making it hard for him to continue eating.
Whiskers are extremely sensitive as they are closely connected to the nervous system. Any damage to his whiskers will cause your cat discomfort, and he may become confused or disoriented. DON'T ever trim his whiskers, and DON'T ever wash them, he will keep them clean himself.
When kittens are cleaned by their mother, she may chew off some or all of the whiskers - don't worry, this is normal and they will soon grow back.
Cats also have a number of reinforced hairs similar to whiskers on other parts of their bodies: over the eyes, on the chin and at the back of the legs.
2006-09-15 00:40:09 · answer #1 · answered by ♪ Seattle ♫ 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Please don't trim the whiskers. They grow to be the right size for each cat. They grow like any other hair on the cats body, they grow for a time, enter a resting period, then fall out. Then the whisker grows again. Trimming them just disorientates the cat. They use the whiskers like curb feelers. If the whiskers touch the sides of something the cat wants to explore it can tell the cat "you're never going to get your fat ass through here, tubby tabby."
If you look around your house, you may find a whisker your cat has shed. Keep it. It is said to enable you to see in the dark.
2006-09-15 01:53:45 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The whiskers are like a sensory for cats, they use them to feel around in the dark and balance and stuff like that. The whiskers tell them if they can fit through a space - generally speaking if the whiskers will fit so will the rest of the cat's body. Don't trim them.
2016-03-27 02:10:58 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DO not trim a cat's whiskers. They use thoses to determine what size space they can and cannot go thru. If you cut the whiskers you run the risk of your cat getting into a space they cannot get back out of and it will get stuck.
2006-09-15 03:03:29 · answer #4 · answered by bootsjeansnpearls 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No everyone is right, do not trim the cat's whiskers! I think they do grow back, my kids "trimmed" my cats whiskers once, and they are almost all the way back now.
2006-09-15 02:09:12 · answer #5 · answered by kevin m 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You probably should never trim a cat's whiskers because they use them for balance and sense of touch. They do grow back, but when trimmed, leaves the cat disorientated.
2006-09-15 00:24:27 · answer #6 · answered by Decoy Duck 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
no dont trim them. Cats whiskers are nerve endings thats how they find their way in the dark and yes they will grow back but it takes a long time.
2006-09-15 03:35:48 · answer #7 · answered by pamijo_1980 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't EVER trim cat whiskers. They use the as antennas and need them to find their way in the dark or know whether a tunnel or hole is narrow enough for them to explore or not. Whiskers are the cat's antenna's. If you cut them your cat will be completely disoriented.
2006-09-15 01:39:59 · answer #8 · answered by benao62 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nooo!!! Dont cut them. I have three cats (and have always had cats) you never need to trim there whiskers. Unless something unusual happened. I dont know if they grow back at all. Just dont do that.
2006-09-15 00:24:24 · answer #9 · answered by sassysharli 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should never trim your cats whiskers. Whiskers keep cats out of tight places where their bodies won't fit.
2006-09-15 00:25:28 · answer #10 · answered by Huey from Ohio 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋