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What do the cats whiskers do? |
 Other FAQ's |
The
whiskers on the cat are specialized sensory hairs grouped
in three specific locations on the cats head. The
Supercilary whiskers are positioned above the eyes, the
Genal whiskers to the rear of the cats cheek area and the
Mystacial whiskers, which are the longest and most
prominent are carried either side of the cats muzzle
The extreme sensitivity of the hairs can register very small changes in air pressure thus enabling the cat to avoid objects whilst moving around in the dark. It is thought that the whiskers may also be used to establish the position of prey and to help locate the exact position for the killing bite. Interestingly, cheetahs who mainly hunt by day, have less developed whiskers than many other 'night hunting' cats. Cats are able to change the position of their whiskers depending on what they are doing - at rest the whiskers are elongated, at 90% to the head, whilst when walking they are tilted forward to aid their sensing ability.
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The Mystacial whiskers are
primarily used as an alternative sensing device when the
eyes are no longer effective i.e. in the dark. It is now
believed that there is a link between sensory and visual
input in the cat and that a degree of parallel processing
takes place within the brain. This can be demonstrated by
simply touching the end of the whiskers – the
automatic response is for the cat to blink.
