All the cat whiskers, also known as whiskers, are very important to these animals. Without them, they would have a lot of trouble communicating and exploring their territory. But what exactly are they?
If you want to know everything about the vibrissae of cats, then we will explain what are their characteristics, where are they and much more.
What is a biosimilar
The vibrisas They are a type of stiff hair that is used as a tactile sensory element. There are many animals that have them, such as primates (with the exception of humans), otters, dogs, dolphins, insectivorous birds, and of course cats. In the latter, we will find them on both sides of the snout and on its legs.
How many do they have?
Cats have between 16 and 24 vibrissae on your face, but not only does it have facial vibrissae, but it also has some above the eyes, on the chin and on the back of the legs.
What are they for?
This type of hair has a very sensitive root that allows them to detect air currents, which together with the sense of smell, helps them perceive the origin of odors. In addition, when they come into contact with objects in the environment help the animal to know how far it is from obstacles even in the dark.
And it is that the eyes of cats, like those of many other predatory animals, have specialized in finding prey at a distance, which is a problem for them when they want to see something that is close to them. For this reason, they cannot focus on anything that is closer than 30 inches from their eyes.
Fortunately, with the help of their whiskers they can capture tactile stimuli that, once they are sent to the brain, provide them with a three-dimensional image of what is in front of them.
What do you think about what you have learned about vibrissae? Curious, right? 🙂