Caring For Your Cat

Have you ever experienced the tickle from one of your cat’s
whiskers as they brush against your face or neck?  I have
been tickled on many occasions from each of my cat’s as they
rub up against me for attention or curling up on my shoulder
to go to sleep.  I never really thought about what they use their
whiskers for, all I really knew is that they tickled me a lot. 

Besides giving each cat their own unique distinction, whiskers
are a functional part of a cat. Whiskers are a sensory system
for cats made up of nerve endings that allow them to feel the
lightest touch, even an air current. 

Cats are known to be farsighted and they will use their whiskers
to move around in those areas that they are not able to see clearly. 
Even cats that are blind or their vision is deteriorating will rely
more on their whiskers to move about.  Cats that are born with
their vision impaired will often have longer whiskers to help them
move around.  If a cat were to lose their whiskers, they would
more than likely bump into things. 

You also can tell the mood of your cat from their whiskers.  When
your cat is calm you will see that their whiskers will be pushed
forward.  And if your cat is stressed out or is being defensive their
whiskers will be pulled closer to their face. 

If you have more than one cat, have you noticed that the whiskers
of each of them are not the same?  The length of a cat’s whiskers
even varies between breeds.  I currently have three cats and have
noticed that each one has whiskers that are different in length to
the others.  I have also noticed that Tiggy my oldest cat has a few
whiskers that are not all white, but have some black in them.  While
the other two, Leena and Cooper, have whiskers that are all white. 

Most of us see the cat’s whiskers above their eyes and around their
mouth, also called muzzle. But did you know that they also have
whiskers on the back of their front legs or what would be considered
their wrists.  I never knew that, but after I read about it, I looked on
mine and they have them. They are not as long as the whiskers on
their face, but they have them. 

Whiskers do get very long and some people are tempted to trim them
thinking that they should be to help the cat. But whiskers are never to
be trimmed, cut, or any other method of removing them.  The cats do
have nerve endings in the whiskers and they will feel the trimming and
it will not be pleasant for them. Have you ever touched one of the whiskers
on your cat’s face?  Did you notice them blink or twitch?  It is because
their whiskers are very sensitive and should be treated with care. 

Whiskers can be ticklish when applied to us in the right fashion, and
they are a very distinctive characteristic on a cat.  We should always
leave a cat’s whiskers alone, as they are their guide to moving around.