# Missing Whiskers



## joharriforce4 (Jun 28, 2005)

No I don't have a cat named whiskers thats missing... but I do have a cat whos whiskers are missing.

He is actually a kitten and his whiskers are gone... on one side. For a couple of days nobody would admit if his whiskers had been snipped. :x I was just wondering if maybe they fell out and he was growing adult whiskers? Or has anyone had similar issues?


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## weluvcookie (Dec 6, 2005)

I don't think whiskers ever fall out like teeth do.  

My guess is that you have some children (your's or someone else's) who thought it would be funny to clip the whiskers. 

Someone else may know if they'll grow back or not. I don't recall ever experiencing that with our cats.


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## Sky Eyes Woman (Feb 26, 2006)

They will grow back. If _someone_ lets them grow back, that is. Whiskers do fall out, but they do not fall out all at once. If no one will fess up to cutting off the cat's whiskers, let everyone in the house know when the cat's whiskers are gone he has no way to keep his balance when he climbs or jumps on things and he WILL get hurt because of it. It's the same as you trying to get around your house with a blindfold on.


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## nanook (Jun 12, 2005)

Is it a new kitten? 
Often, when you adopt a kitten that has been in a cage their whiskers are missing. It's from constantly rubbing against the cage. Nanook didn't have any when I got him. But they do grow back!


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## joharriforce4 (Jun 28, 2005)

Thank you all for the advice... maybe someone is fibbing in my house.  
I'm just glad they will grow back!


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## akstacey88 (Jan 21, 2005)

My cat Scamper will sometimes loose a wisker here and their maybe 2 or 3 wiskers per year, but never at onces and they seem to grown back.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I found this about whiskers...

_A cat has about twenty-four movable whiskers, twelve on each side of its nose (some cat's may have more). Whiskers are more than twice as thick as ordinary hairs, and their roots are set three times deeper than hairs in a cat's tissue. Richly supplied with nerve endings, whiskers give cats extraordinarily detailed information about air movements, air pressure and anything they touch.

The scientific word for whiskers is vibrissae, a name that suggests their exquisite sensitivity to vibrations in air currents. As air swirls and eddies around objects, whiskers vibrate too. Cats use messages in these vibrations to sense the presence, size, and shape of obstacles without seeing or touching them. Whiskers are also good hunting tools. A cat whose whiskers have been damaged may bite the wrong part of a mouse it's attacking, indicating that signals from these delicate structures provide cats with vital information about the shape and activity of its prey - interestingly, whiskers also help cats smell odours.

Whiskers can also be a bother to a cat, especially if he tries to eat food out of a bowl. The end of the whiskers touching the side of the bowl transfer irritating sensations to his brain, making it hard for him to continue eating.

Whiskers are extremely sensitive as they are closely connected to the nervous system. Any damage to his whiskers will cause your cat discomfort, and he may become confused or disoriented. DON'T ever trim his whiskers, and DON'T ever wash them, he will keep them clean himself.

When kittens are cleaned by their mother, she may chew off some or all of the whiskers - don't worry, this is normal and they will soon grow back.

Cats also have a number of reinforced hairs similar to whiskers on other parts of their bodies: over the eyes, on the chin and at the back of the legs._


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Whiskers DO fall out....I've found them around the house. That article didn't address why, so I'm guessing they fall out when they get too long and then just grow back.


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## Jet Green (Nov 28, 2005)

coaster said:


> Whiskers DO fall out....I've found them around the house. That article didn't address why, so I'm guessing they fall out when they get too long and then just grow back.


I find them all the time too. The boys have white whiskers on their black heads, and they've fallen out a number of times. Taro's never grew back, but the others' have so far.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

Yes I occasionally find them as well. Usually with a root bulb intact, so they're not breaking off.


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