Why Do Cats Have Whiskers
Unlike us and our hay fever though cats manifest their allergic flare ups with skin ailments.
Why do cats have whiskers. In the wild whiskers can alert a cat to the presence of prey potential enemies or the location of his pack. When an object brushes or air flows up against a whisker the sensitive hair. They act as a second set of eyes and can cause a cat to close their eyes which helps to protect them.
Cats that are blind use their whiskers to tell them what their eyes cant see and thats why a blind cat can move through a house without bumping into walls or objects. Cats can be allergic to things in their environment such as pollen and parasites or more rarely they can have a food allergy. Whiskers detect very faint vibrations caused by these changes in air currents and act like radar detectors.
Their placement all over a cats head helps protect a cat from the little things that can do serious damage to its eyes and face. If you want to know more about feline morphology and behavior this AnimalWised video on Why do CATS have WHI. Cats want to explore everything due to their extremely curious nature.
Have you ever wondered why cats have whiskers. It is also a good idea to stick to wide shallow bowls or plates for feeding as some cats can develop upset stomachs if their whiskers are being forced to bend to reach their food. For example cats have superciliary whiskers or eyebrows for kitties These whiskers catch any little particle that could potentially fall into a cats eye from above.
You should never bend pluck or cut them for this reason. Cats rarely shed their whiskers hence finding one is seen as good luck. Some people believe that keeping their cats whiskers can bring them good luck.
Whiskers technically called vibrissae to vibrate are pieces of keratin that are two or three times thicker than fur and full of extremely sensitive nerves. Another reason why cats have whiskers is because they are so useful for this animal in terms of their movement and location it is not surprising that they also use them to express their mood or feelings. Whisker fatigue is usually caused by chronic recurrent pressure on the whisker and firing of the neurons.