presents...
The question most asked by correspondents of Catwhisker.net is, "How many whiskers does a cat have?" We are pleased to be able to answer this universally troublesome question authoritatively. According to Catwatching, written by Desmond Morris, the answer is...
Twenty-four, on average. These whiskers are arranged twelve to each side of the nose, in four horizontal rows. Note that Mr. Morris does not consider "eye-whiskers", "chin-whiskers", or "leg-whiskers" to be true whiskers. We here at Catwhisker.net are more flexible on this point, and think that differenting between "reinforced hairs" and "vibrissae" is really splitting hairs...
The second most-asked question is "What are cat whiskers good for, anyway?" Catwhisker.net is pleased to share the wisdom of not one, but two experts.
Both Mr. Morris, in Catwatching, and Ms. Joanna Cole in her wonderful, but sadly out-of-print children's book, A Cat's Body, agree that cat whiskers play an important part in the lives of cats. Not only do whiskers act as feelers which enable a cat to learn whether a given opening is wide enough to admit the cat, but they also operate as air current detectors, which greatly enhance a cat's ability to hunt at night. A cat with damaged whiskers will have trouble hunting in the dark. This is why we must never, never pull out, cut, or otherwise seperate the cat from the whiskers. They will fall out when the time is right. Meanwhile, they are needed.
We here at Catwhisker.net have seen the importance of cat whiskers at work, as one of our resident cats is blind. Still, with the use of whiskers, ears, smell and sheer pluck, she manages to roam the house, avoid (for the most most part) walking over her companion felines and humans, find food, water, and comfy places to snooze.
Questions about cat whiskers? Ask us. We'll do our best to find the answer.
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Copyright 2001 by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Updated February 4, 2001. Comments to Sharon Lee