so...i've always believed that a cat's whiskers are it's sensors, so it knows what spaces it will be able to fit into and which spaces it can't.
yet...when i open the sliding glass door, my cat will invariably lodge himself between the glass and the screen, then cry for me to unstick him.
so...the question is...are whiskers just for looks, or does my cat just not know how to use his?
2007-03-10 09:19:42 · 16 answers · asked by soren 6 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Polls & Surveys
Tphi...lol...my son did that too!
2007-03-10 09:37:09 · update #1
this ended up in P&S??
how did that happen??
2007-03-10 09:39:27 · update #2
stupid cat.
2007-03-10 09:22:37 · answer #1 · answered by deltagremlin 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋
The idea that cats use their whiskers to judge width is just a made-up explanation by someone long ago as to why cats have whiskers. A better explanation for both cats and mice having whiskers is to feel air currents, which combined with their sensitive noses gives them a sense of smell with direction, valuable for both hunter and hunted.
2007-03-10 09:29:00 · answer #2 · answered by trixie 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Why don't you try asking the experts in the Pets category?
This brings to mind something that my son did years ago when he was about 8. I kept looking at our cat thinking it looked "different" for some reason. I kept looking at the cat thinking "What is different, what is different???" Then I noticed the cat's whiskers had been cut to like an inch. My son immediately confessed and said they looked like they needed a trim. Poor kitty. They grew back though.
2007-03-10 09:25:28 · answer #3 · answered by TPhi 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've always thought that a cats whiskers were used for their balance, i heard that if you cut the whiskers short on one side, the cat would fall over, i wouldn't like to try it on my cat tho!
2007-03-10 09:35:33 · answer #4 · answered by xtina 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
lol! Poor kitty! I think maybe he just forgot how to use his sensor's. Usually they're pretty good about it, but every now and then you come across a cat that doesn't know the sky from the ground. I used to have a golden retriever that used to trip over his own paws and walk into walls. He never quite made it full circle! But his clumsiness made us love him so much more :)
2007-03-10 09:26:20 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
depends on the cat... my neighbours used to have an open fire, and their cat chased a mouse into it, and burnt off its whiskers....
they eventually grew back, but in the meantime, it was constantly knocking itself out and couldn't judge distances very well at all... running between table & chair legs was particularly painful to watch... it too also used to get stuck a lot anywhere and everywhere it could, it used to end up in truly bizarre places... also, perhaps your cat is just a little too curious?
2007-03-10 09:38:28 · answer #6 · answered by muppet 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just try leaving the cat alone for awhile,let him/her figure out how to get unstuck himself,I thought whiskers were there for a reason........maybe your cat is a little slow....
2007-03-10 09:28:56 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Oh I think your cat knows perfectly well how to use his whiskers but he has you right were he wants you, under his paw the crafty thing he is, now I know why cats are clever.
2007-03-10 09:25:01 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
It knows how to use them. However you have trained your car to be rescued by its cries. Could prove fatal outside. Keep an eye on your cat.
2007-03-10 09:32:10 · answer #9 · answered by Smarty Pants™ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The desire to be free out weighs the worry of getting stuck. Freedom is worth the risk.
2007-03-10 09:24:30 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
They could have been cut shorter or hes grown too fat for his whiskers.
2007-03-10 11:46:26 · answer #11 · answered by Zoey 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋