Cats are fascinating animals from which one never seems to stop learning new and interesting things. From their behavior, such as why a cat licks you and then bites you or why they should bring dead animals home, to their abilities and peculiarities. Learning about everything that has to do with these pets helps in turn to offer them better care and to ensure their safety and well-being. And not to make mistakes that can bring harmful consequences. For example, cutting their whiskers, something that should never be done.
These animals have an average of twelve whiskers distributed on each side of their snout, also known as vibrissae. Although they are the most visible and recognizable, they are not the only ones, since they also have more, just less length, spread over other parts of the face and body. But its function is not aesthetic at all. Cats' whiskers play a very important role in their lives, so they should not be cut.
Each of a cat's whiskers grows into a hair follicle surrounded by nerve endings, because these represent one of its sensory organs. The function of these whiskers is based on offering information about its environment to the feline, fundamentally about the distance at which anything around it is. One of the most common applications that they usually give this information has to do with calculating whether they will be able to access, due to the size of their body, certain spaces. Especially if these are narrow.
In addition, the movements of the air and the vibrations that the whiskers are capable of capturing provide valuable information to cats to identify what is happening around them and remain alert to the possible presence of prey or threats. All this is very useful for them in environments or situations in which they do not have good visibility, for example, at night.
It is necessary to be aware of the sensitivity that cats have in their whiskers, since even rubbing can be unpleasant for them. And they are also a way of communicating: whiskers to the sides, without tension, indicate that a cat is calm; if they go backwards, it will be a sign of fear; while if they are in the opposite direction, that is, forward, they are a sign that that cat is alert.
If a cat's whiskers were cut, apart from the fact that this would not respond to any type of reason or logical motive, it would be depriving it of all this information and ability to express itself, which is essential for its day to day.
