What is the use of cat whiskers? Here is the knowledge you want.
Foreword
Cats have become an indispensable companion in people’s lives. Their whiskers
are standard equipment for cats:
How long can cats grow?
Does the cat's beard become as white as a human when it gets old?
Does the newborn kitten have a beard? What is the use of a cat's beard?
Pulling out a cat's beard, will the cat hate me?
Do you know these questions?
distribution
From the organizational structure, the beard is more like a thick, enhanced version of the hair, which is twice as thick as normal hair. They are embedded in the tissues of the cat's upper lip. The depth is about three times that of other hairs, and there are a large number of peripheral nerves, which can be used to transmit the air pressure and airflow changes.
People who are interested can count the number of whiskers on their cats. Generally, cats have 24 whiskers, 12 on each side symmetrically, arranged in 4 rows horizontally. The beard is very flexible and can move back and forth, forward or backward. Strictly speaking, whiskers should be called tentacles more appropriately. Sometimes such "beards" will appear in a small amount on other parts of the cat, such as cheeks, eyes, and even the forefoot.
From top to bottom, the arrows point to the eyebrows, cheeks, tentacles (beard) and beards of the lower jaw in the picture.
Application of hunting
Domestic cats catch prey during the day or night. Even if the light is dim, a cat with full tentacles can perfectly hunt its prey. However, cats without tentacles cannot accurately hunt animals when the lights are dim. They will bite other parts of their prey. Cats are very dependent on tentacles. Although they have good farsightedness, they cannot see very close objects, such as a rodent near their mouth. Therefore, the tentacles are vital to help them measure the distance of nearby objects, and can help them bite a fatal blow on the neck of the prey at the exact time. Because cats’ eyes cannot see close objects clearly, whiskers play an extremely important role in hunting operations. The cat's sensual world is very different from humans. A flying bee is just a flash in the eyes of humans, but in the eyes of a cat, it can be processed into continuous images at a frequency of up to 70 times per second and transmit visual information to the brain. Since the cat cannot see the nearby objects clearly, the cat that locks the prey completely leaves the distance judgment to the whiskers.
The whiskers of cats can also protect the eyes, and the whiskers on the eyes have certain functions when the cat is hunting. When cats are hunting in grass or bushes, if something is about to touch their eyes, these beards can cause blinking reflections and achieve the effect of protecting the eyes.
The form of the tentacles
The tentacles can temporarily move forward during hunting, or when the direction cannot be observed visually, the tentacles can permanently keep facing a certain direction. A blind cat may permanently change the direction of its tentacles and maintain a forward position. This change is believed to help blind cats detect their surroundings and avoid hitting objects.
The cat’s whiskers are still a tool to express its emotions, and we can use the cat’s whiskers to judge the cat’s mood state so as not to step on thunder. When the cat is calm or happy, the cat's whiskers are in a flat state. At this time, interacting with the cat, the cat will generally not reject it. When the cat’s whiskers are pressed against the face back, it means that the cat is now in a nervous or angry state. At this time, the shit scavengers need to stop their actions with the cat to prevent the cat from being attacked.
Variation
Some breeds, such as hairless cats, may have no or only a few tentacles. Because the hair of curly cats is curly, they may also have curly tentacles or sometimes no tentacles. If there are tentacles, these tentacles are usually brittle and break easily.
Shortening or missing beard
When the cat loses his beard, first look at its age.
Because many cats will gradually turn white when they are old. At the same time, the cat's beard may break and fall off. Note that this is a normal physiological phenomenon for cats, and it is a manifestation of the cat's metabolic decline after aging. This situation cannot be reversed or changed. At this time, as a parent, it is essential to give more care and care to the cat.
In addition to older cats that may lose their whiskers, this is also the case for kittens. Similarly, this is also a very normal phenomenon in the growth and development of cats. Because when a cat reaches a certain stage of growth and development, its teeth and hair will grow back to full length. At this time, its beard will fall off and grow again. In this case, parents do not need to worry, but more thoughtful and meticulous care and care are indispensable.
Disease is also the main cause of cat whiskers falling. There are generally two conditions, such as skin diseases, or nutritional metabolic diseases. Simply put, if a cat's fur is infected with bacteria or fungi, causing skin diseases, in addition to hair loss, it will also shed its beard. In addition, when the cat's body lacks vitamins and trace elements, and endocrine disorders occur, its beard may also fall off.
If you use a narrow-mouth bowl to feed, the tentacles will contact the edge of the bowl, which will hinder or irritate the cat. This can also cause the cat's whiskers to be missing, which can cause problems such as the cat's reluctance to eat. So if the cat at home is unwilling to eat, you can choose to change to a larger container for feeding.
lucky beard
has a good meaning in foreign cat whiskers. As the saying goes, "being a cat's whiskers" means being good. At the same time, some myths believe that a cat’s whiskers will bring luck. So as a qualified shit shovel officer, when you have a metaphysical tendency, you might as well look at your cat. After all, using cat whiskers as amulets might be more useful!
