How Do Cats Have Whiskers?

Cats, they’re cute, sometimes very cute. And lazy, sometimes very lazy. They love to play. Hello. They have fabulous fur to stay warm yes. Killer claws to catch prey and whiskers to… hmm, what are whiskers for? Is this fabulous feline mustache just for show? Why do cats have whiskers? This is Tiger. And his best friend, Clark. Two beautiful cats with two incredible sets of whiskers. And their human servant is Dan. Okay guys, here you go. Sure, Dan has some great facial hair, but no thick whiskers like Tiger and Clark.  He does know about cats though. He’s a cat consultant. My job is basically to help people interpret their cats a little bit better. I think people, a lot of times, don’t understand what their cats are telling them and I help them be better servants to their cats. Dan knows Tiger’s facial hairs aren’t just there to look good. Along with his sight, smell and hearing. Tiger’s whiskers are a crucial part of his prey detection system. And Dan is going to demonstrate how. With this toy, we’ll see what Tiger’s whiskers are used for. Spotting his prey, Tiger’s claws engage. In slow motion, you can see Tiger’s whiskers also engage. First, they’re flat by his face. But then he enters attack mode, throwing the whiskers forward to feel his prey. It’s like a hairy targeting system locking on. And that’s when Tiger strikes. He’s got that mouse squashed. And watching Tiger’s awesome whisker moves, Tiger’s cat buddy, Clark, can’t resist getting in on the act. Just like Tiger, Clark’s whiskers move forward. At the base of each whisker are extremely sensitive nerves, allowing Clark to feel where the prey is. Like a true Cat-Fu master. And as the mouse gets nearer and nearer, out comes Clark’s fearsome claw. The mouse is toast. But why are they feeling for prey with their whiskers when they should be able to just see it. Well, it turns out cat vision isn’t perfect. They can, often times, lose track of something when it gets closer to them. Cat’s eyes actually lose focus on anything less than ten inches away. But instead of getting prescription cat glasses, they use their whisker detection system. Cat’s whiskers are sensitive to vibrations in the air. As the air moves, the whiskers vibrate, allowing cats to sense the size shape of nearby objects to go in for the kill. The whiskers can help them feel texture, vibration and it can even help them feel little differences in the air sometimes, so they can sense prey up really close. But these whiskers have another function. Because they’re the same width as the cat’s body, whiskers help them feel whether they can make that tight squeeze. Making cats the perfect purring predators. But it’s not just domestic cats that have this hair mazing talent. Tiger’s name sake has the same whisker detecting power. All big cats do, from wild cats up to the kings. From wild cats up to the kings. And looking around the animal kingdom, dogs, seals, rats, foxes, catfish, horses, otters. All have whiskers. Even our closest natural cousins, the chimpanzees, have them. It seems we’re nature’s weirdos because we just grow plain old hair with no whisker power. Great beard though. And cats also have whiskers where our eyebrows are. These help them hunt through long grass. If a blade of grass hits these whiskers, it triggers an instinct to blink and protect their gorgeous eyes.