Why do cats have whiskers?

Pighead

There are many mysteries in this big old mysterious world we live in but this is probably the most mysterious mystery of them all. As a young fella Pighead would ask the elders what was the purpose of the cats whiskers and they would fob him off with the old chestnut "it's so cats could work out whether they could fit through very narrow gaps"

For years Pighead accepted this as gospel as he was always thought to respect his elders. However as the years have past their explanation has been exposed as lies. Pighead got a skinny cat and a fat cat and measured both sets of whiskers and they were EXACTLY THE SAME LENGTH. Surely the fat cat should have longer whiskers if the elders theory was true.

So does anybody know the real reason?

feylya

It is so they can fit through gaps. The whiskers are the width of their heads. There's a cruel joke that teenagers play on cats but I'm not going to post it here.

Pighead

feylya wrote: »

It is so they can fit through gaps. The whiskers are the width of their heads. There's a cruel joke that teenagers play on cats but I'm not going to post it here.

But if its so they can fit through gaps, why don't fatter cats have longer whiskers. You have obviously been told the same lies as Pighead has when he was a child.

Latchy

It's for helping them weigh up small gaps so as to enable them to squeeze through .Fatter cats just wont make it

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Pighead wrote: »

But if its so they can fit through gaps, why don't fatter cats have longer whiskers. You have obviously been told the same lies as Pighead has when he was a child.

Because the head tends to remain the same width. Fat cats have bigger bellis that hang done rather than to the side. It's caleld gravity. Perhaps we should now call you cathead...?

mr kr0nik

9 out of 10 cats prefer them

Pighead

Pighead thanks you all for your replys but if you don't mind he's gonna wait for the experts to pop around and answer his question. Somebodys gotta know.

Alun

Pighead wrote: »

Pighead thanks you all for your replys but if you don't mind he's gonna wait for the experts to pop around and answer his question. Somebodys gotta know.

Ikky Poo2 gave you the answer. Cats have very flexible bodies and can squeeze them through all kinds of seemingly impossible gaps. And if they do get fat it tends to be on their bellies which hang down all saggy like. The thing that remains a sticking point (as it were) when getting through small gaps is their head which doesn't get any bigger as the cat gets fatter, hence the whiskers will no get longer as the cat gets fatter.

They're also very sensitive to small changes in air pressure and can be used to detect the proximity of objects, including prey, in the dark, which is another reason why it's so cruel to cut them off. The poor old cat just goes around bumping into things in the dark.

The Artist

Navigation
Mood indication
Measuring an opening
Whiskers help the cat feel his way around. Whiskers are so sensitive that they can detect the slightest directional change in a breeze. At night, for example, this helps a cat slink its way through a room and not bump into anything. How? The air currents in the room change depending on where pieces of furniture are located. As the cat walks through the room and approaches the couch, he'll know which direction to turn based on the change in air current around the couch.
In addition to having sensory properties, a cat's whiskers are also a good indicator of his mood. When a cat is angry or feels defensive, the whiskers will be pulled back. Otherwise, when the cat is happy, curious or content, the whiskers will be more relaxed and pushed forward.

But the whisker's primary use is to help a cat judge whether or not he'll fit through an opening. A cat's whiskers are roughly as wide as his body -- sort of a natural ruler. The whisker tips are sensitive to pressure. You'll probably see a cat stick his head in and out of an opening before he puts his body in. He's judging the width of the opening, and is determining if he can fit into it. An interesting note: cats don't have a true collar bone, like humans. This allows them to turn and twist their way through very narrow openings.

shanew

extract from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiskers)

sounds pretty accurate to me...

"Vibrissae offer an advantage to animals that do not always have sight to rely on to navigate or to find food, or when the usefulness of non-tactile senses is limited. Some animals, such as house mice, can even detect air movements with their vibrissae. A large part of the brain of many mammals is devoted to processing the nerve impulses from vibrissae because it is important to their survival. Information from the vibrissae is transmitted and processed through the trigeminal nerve into the brainstem and thalamus before relaying to the barrel cortex of the brain. Mammals use a great deal of energy to keep the follicles housing their whiskers warm and ready to use. Some animals - mainly rodents - actively palpate their vibrissae, a process known as whisking, whilst others use them merely as passive sensors."

Shane

Feelgood

More to the point....how come dogs don't have them?.

So many questions so little time....

peasant

Feelgood wrote: »

More to the point....how come dogs don't have them?.

They do ! (just not as prominent)

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Feelgood wrote: »

More to the point....how come dogs don't have them?.

So many questions so little time....

Because dogs are thick.

What do you call a cat with a metal retardation?
A dog.

Next question....?

quarryman

how have we got this far without a cat picture?




or is that too 2007?

btw, note whisker size compared to fatness.

peasant

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

metal retardation?

Consonant please, Carol ...

Trojan911

Why do you suck at stalking?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

peasant wrote: »

Consonant please, Carol ...

i thought I took care of this kind of crap in the sig...?

padi89

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

i thought I took care of this kind of crap in the sig...?

Yes, but in this instance your spelling mistake is quite ironic.:D

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

padi89 wrote: »

Yes, but in this instance your spelling mistake is quite ironic.:D

What spelling mistake?
What does it say about spelling mistakes versus typos in the SIG?

peasant

Ikky Poo2 wrote: »

What spelling mistake?
What does it say about spelling mistakes versus typos in the SIG?

Ohhhkaay ..let me SPELL it out for you

To make a statement like this;

Because dogs are thick.

at least somewhat credible (as opposed to plain ludicrous) readers would like to associate the poster with a certain level of intelligence (in order to perhaps back up that claim)

Having a spelling mistake/typo in ones argument and not bothering ones arse to fix that mistake (via the "edit" function, for example) does not help to bestow said credibility upon the poster.

Further insistance on ones signature as an excuse for any and all mistakes finally aides in instilling a certain doubt in the reader as to the credibility and validity of the original statement.

Or in short ...if you want to spout nonsense ...at least do it correctly.

Got it now?

Jimbo

Do pigs have whiskers?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

peasant wrote: »

Ohhhkaay ..let me SPELL it out for you

To make a statement like this;

at least somewhat credible (as opposed to plain ludicrous) readers would like to associate the poster with a certain level of intelligence (in order to perhaps back up that claim)

Having a spelling mistake/typo in ones argument and not bothering ones arse to fix that mistake (via the "edit" function, for example) does not help to bestow said credibility upon the poster.

Further insistance on ones signature as an excuse for any and all mistakes finally aides in instilling a certain doubt in the reader as to the credibility and validity of the original statement.

Or in short ...if you want to spout nonsense ...at least do it correctly.

Got it now?

Nope. I type fast, I don't correct, I have other things to do. If you think the amount of typos made in a post (irregardless of an coincidence in actual content referenced to in the point) is a better indicator to a person's intelligence than the actual content of the message then, I'm sorry, bu tyou (oh look another one!) are the ignorant one.

peasant

and you are the one without a sense of humour

back on topic ...

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

peasant wrote: »

and you are the one without a sense of humour

back on topic ...

No, he's the one who's had enough of people thinking he's thick because of a typo (hence the sig in the first place) !

Now he's the one talking the third person - see what you've done?!

artieanna

OOOH gosh I gotta great laugh out of this........How the threads trail off subject :D:D:D

AAH....


I think that whiskers are just a fashion accessory to make puss look purrfect!:D:D

Mental, metal or what:D:D

The Artist

this is a lovely cat fashion:D