Somebody just asked a question about their cat's whiskers, and at least one answer said "they'll grow back in about a month."
We adopted a stray in August, and the only evidence of her time on the street is a bent whisker. We've wondered if it bothers her...
It has not fallen out and grown back, as some people here claim it should've.
Comments?
And, do you think it bothers her? How on earth might it have been bent in the first place? (It's one over the eye, bent, not curved, in an L-shape.)
2006-12-01 11:26:18 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
Whiskers, like other cat hair, grow, reach maturity, fall out, and re-grow. Since whiskers are large, it takes time to grow new ones, but it will happen.
2006-12-01 11:34:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
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.
Old whiskers will fall out to make room for new replacements. The replacements must grow to full size so they will be shorter until they are full grown.
Broken whiskers are a common occurrence in cats, no need to worry. Just don't pull them out because that would hurt them as if someone were to pull a bunch of your hair.
2006-12-01 19:42:27 · answer #2 · answered by Sad_Eyes 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, cats' whiskers will grow back. Just leave the bent one alone. It will eventually fall out and a new will grow in. I find old whiskers from my cat laying around the house all the time. I can also see new ones growing in.
It shouldn't hurt her at all that it's bent. My cat has a bent one too above his eye and I've just left it alone. No need to mess with it.
2006-12-01 19:35:10 · answer #3 · answered by missourigrl 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Cats whiskers do not grow back, and they are a very important part of the animal. The length of the whiskers determine what size of a space a cat can fit into. If their whiskers touch the sides, they realize their limit. Without proper whiskers, cats can get stuck in tight areas that they normally wouldn't have entered, had their whiskers been normal. However, I don't think her bent whisker will bother her. Leave it be though, better a bent antenna, than no antenna at all.
2006-12-01 19:39:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
No, I'm afraid they don't grow back. A friend of mine's kids chopped them off of their cat and they stay ed that way. They say that whiskers help cats know how wide their bodies are so that they can feel their way around in the dark. (If the whiskers touch something, they know they are too close to a door or wall). The only way it will bother her is if she is running into things :-)
And about it being bent, well, I've never seen one bend, but I figure since they are so coarse, perhaps she bumped into something in such a way that she bent the hair shaft... or maybe a neighborhood kid was mean to her...
2006-12-01 19:37:19 · answer #5 · answered by Meg08 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Yes, they will eventually fall out and grow back. Here is a link that talks about whiskers.
2006-12-01 19:40:56 · answer #6 · answered by Jerry L 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would not worry about it. At my house we have a wood stove and my silly kitty was sleeping so close to the would stove that his whiskers partly melted. It took a while but eventually they fell off and new ones grew back.
2006-12-01 19:56:04 · answer #7 · answered by tas211 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don‘t see it as a defect but as a lovely little sign of personality.
Leave it, it will fall out, and another will grow.
The new one might even be bent from the beginning (probably not).
Love your cat.
2006-12-01 19:42:04 · answer #8 · answered by saehli 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hey I just asked this question! Anyway my cousin cut my cat's wiskers really, really short. So I'll tell you what 20 people told me. Your cats wisker is absolutly fine. Their wiskers fall out and grow back quite often we just don't notice it. I really don't think it will mess up his balance or him fitting into small places, He still has some wiskers left. LOL.
2006-12-01 19:40:54 · answer #9 · answered by Chrissy 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
my cat is a maine coon and she had very long whiskers. my family would always joke about cutting them. so then one day i did. i cut a little bit off. its starting to grow back
2006-12-01 19:49:19 · answer #10 · answered by gorgeousleepingwalli 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋