Do cats’ whiskers grow back?

If you have a cat at home, you are thinking of welcoming one or you simply love these animals for sure that more than once you have intrigued their whiskers. For example, do you know what exactly they are and what they are for? In addition, something frequent is to worry when we see that they fall and ask if they will come out again. Also, something that we usually think about is whether the fact of falling or cutting them hurts or not and if the latter should be done or not.

If you also have all these doubts about these hairs in the snout of your pet, keep reading this article in which you answered this frequent question: Do cats’ whiskers grow back?, we will discover the answers to all these questions.

Do whiskers grow again?

One of the big doubts when we see that our pet has fallen some of these hairs so important and striking is to know if they will come back or not. You can rest assured, the answer to this doubt is that THE whiskers of cats grow again, either because they have been cut or because they have fallen naturally. We have to think that the functioning of the cycle of these hairs is the same as that of any other hair of the body of the animal.

So, like all hairs, whether from the snout or from other parts of the body they fall naturally, they are born and they grow again. For this reason, if the hair is trimmed, it will continue its cycle and grow to end up falling, giving way to a new one.

What are the whiskers of cats for?

These hairs so technically striking they are called vibrisas and not only are they in the snout of the animal but we can find them in more parts of the feline’s body. It’s about hairs that they are thicker that the rest and that normally measure the same as the width of the feline and, this is why, among other things it helps them to measure the spaces by which they can fit or pass.

These vibrisas they are sensors for the animal, because around the root or base each one has many highly sensitive nerve endings that communicate to the brain the distances of the objects around them at all times, the spaces and the pressure of the air or anything that touches them.

But how many whiskers does a cat have? This is one of the most frequent questions that surround these snout hairs and the answer is simple. A feline usually has Between 16 and 24 whiskers distributed equally on both sides of the muzzle and, in addition, these are usually in a minimum of two equal rows on each side.

Also, it is on the sides of your nose in the part of your body that you have the most amount because you use them to “See” up close. The vision of felines is not very good up close, so to guide and detect nearby things use these thick hairs. In fact, this last one is one of the 10 things that you did not know about cats or that you probably did not know as well as all these details about these vibrissae on your face.

Also, with these hairs they also use them to express your mood and its sensations. So if you have these relaxed thick hairs this is how they are also, but if you see that your pet has the vibrissae forward is that it is alert and if these are stuck in the face is because he is angry or scared.

What happens if you cut a cat’s mustache?

It is very common to think that if you cut the vibrissae from the face a feline can suffer damage, pain and even bleed. This belief is given because it is thought that these hairs have nerves inside, just as it happens with the nails and therefore before a badly made cut they can be painful and bleed. For nothing is further from reality, as we have seen the vibrissae are like the other hairs on the fur of the animal only that are thicker and have some different functions. But, there is not a nerve along the hair so there is no risk of bleeding or pain.

Anyway, what does happen if we reduce the size of the vibrissae is that the cat loses ability to orient itself properly in space. That is to say, It will be hard to perceive things up close since at a little distance they do not see well. They will not be able to differentiate well if they have an object near or something farther and they will not know to determine with certainty if they fit in a space or not, for this reason it is easy for our pet it becomes clumsy, even have an isolated accident and end up suffering stress.

Therefore, as the fact of cutting these facial hair to felines we do it for aesthetics or for belief that it will be more comfortable and this is not true, nor do we offer any benefit to their health but rather the contrary, we must say what It’s not advisable Do it under any circumstances.

False beliefs about cats’ whiskers

As we have seen these hairs in the snout of the cats are very special, necessary and still awaken in us various doubts. For this, next we reveal the main false beliefs about whiskers:

  • They do not grow back after cutting or falling.
  • When cut they hurt and bleed.
  • If the animal is cut, nothing happens.
  • The felines with the cut muzzles of the snout will not leave the house.
  • If they are cut back, these hairs will return home safely when they leave.
  • They lose the ability to fall on their feet when they fall or jump from a certain height.

If you want to read more articles similar to Do cats’ whiskers grow back?, we recommend that you enter in our Curiosities section of the animal world.

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