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Old September 18th, 2010, 11:43 AM
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Trimming cats whiskers??

Recently I traveled to Dubai, and my friend sew sew steve (member of this forum) kept Zeus with him while I was away, and now that I'm back, he told me that he trimmed Zeus' whiskers.

At first I was kinda worried, but he assured me that it's ok, and they'll grow back and what-not.
But since I've had him back, he seems a bit different, nothing too major, he's not depressed or anything, but he's acts weird...

Could it be because his whiskers are gone?
I thought you shouldn't trim a cats whiskers, because their sensitive or something like that...
Is it ok to trim his whiskers?
Will they grow back..?

Here are some before and after pic's :
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Old September 18th, 2010, 11:49 AM
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Giovanni my understanding is that your not supposed to do anything with them as they are part of the cats senses for balance etc...I found some info on the net for you....tell your friend to leave that stuff to you...you are the owner after all.

here is it:

NOOOOOOOOOO
Whiskers, or vibrissae, serve as delicate sense organs of touch and are the equivalent to our fingertips. These whiskers are sensitive to vibrations in air currents: As the air moves, the whiskers vibrate, and cats use messages in these vibrations to sense the presence, size and shape of nearby objects without seeing or touching them.

Cats have about 24 moveable whiskers, twelve on either side of his nose, arranged in four rows in a pattern as individual as our fingerprints. The strongest and thickest are in the middle rows. Small groups of whiskers are situated on other parts of the body as well: high on the outer edges of the cheeks, above the eyes, and on the back of the front legs (carpal vibrissae or “paw whiskers”). Carpal vibrissae are common in carnivores that grasp their prey with their forelegs.

Whiskers are more than twice as thick as ordinary hairs, and their roots are set three times deeper. They are connected to muscle, which allows them to be moved backwards and forwards, and the bottom two rows can move independently of the top two. Whiskers are richly supplied with nerve endings, making each an intricate receptor that allows your cat to sense even the smallest changes in the environment, such as air currents, changes in air pressure, temperature or wind direction.

It’s a misconception that cats can see in the dark. Their night vision is better than ours, but it is the whiskers that allow him to get around in the dark. Interestingly, cats that are born blind grow longer and thicker whiskers than sighted cats and they use them to a greater extent. In fact, kittens in the womb grow their whiskers before any other hair, and at birth they are fully functional, while the ears and eyes are not.


He certainly is a cutie pie!
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Old September 18th, 2010, 12:01 PM
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Giovanni I forget to mention yes they will grow back...
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Old September 18th, 2010, 12:05 PM
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Thanks Winston for the quick reply and helpful information!
I'm a bit worried now, hopefully this won't affect him too much..
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Last edited by Giovanni; September 18th, 2010 at 12:37 PM.
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Old September 18th, 2010, 12:37 PM
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The whiskers will grow back but it might take some time (not sure how long).

As Winston indicated, cats whiskers serve a very important purpose and should be left alone. You may find that until they start growing back, he may be more clumsy and awkward, as whiskers on cats are a very important tool to aid in balance and navigation.
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Old September 18th, 2010, 12:39 PM
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Why would somebody trim a cat's whiskers?
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Old September 18th, 2010, 01:12 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Love4himies View Post
Why would somebody trim a cat's whiskers?
I second that.
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Old September 18th, 2010, 01:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Love4himies View Post
Why would somebody trim a cat's whiskers?

I did it because they were abnormally long for his head, so they would get in the food, the water, and the litter. Didn't know it was that bad. :S
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Old September 18th, 2010, 01:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sew-sew-steve View Post
I did it because they were abnormally long for his head, so they would get in the food, the water, and the litter. Didn't know it was that bad. :S
Well they didn't look abnormally long to me and it certainly wasn't your decision to make since Zeus isn't your cat.
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Old September 18th, 2010, 09:01 PM
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Yes, SSS, cetainly had no business in trimming Zeus's whiskers since it wasn't his cat, even if they were getting into the food....all easily cleaned by wiping off with a moist washcloth if kitty wasn't cleaning them himself.

Well I guess my cats are really missing out? as their whiskers are extremely short and twisty, but then they're Devon Rex and that's how their whiskers are! They're strictly indoor cats, so guess they don't need all this weather sensitivity anyway.
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Old September 18th, 2010, 09:09 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by catlover2 View Post
Well I guess my cats are really missing out? as their whiskers are extremely short and twisty, but then they're Devon Rex and that's how their whiskers are! They're strictly indoor cats, so guess they don't need all this weather sensitivity anyway.
????????? Do your cats not move around at night? Or are Devon Rex not nocturnal as most cats are? Most people are aware that cats use their whiskers to judge a lot more than "weather sensitivity". They use them to judge spaces they are in at night when they can't see and for a lot more. I'm surprised a breeder would make a comment like that. Bottom line - no one has the right to do something like that to a pet that does not belong to him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Winston View Post
It’s a misconception that cats can see in the dark. Their night vision is better than ours, but it is the whiskers that allow him to get around in the dark. Interestingly, cats that are born blind grow longer and thicker whiskers than sighted cats and they use them to a greater extent. In fact, kittens in the womb grow their whiskers before any other hair, and at birth they are fully functional, while the ears and eyes are not.[/I]
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Old September 18th, 2010, 10:59 PM
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Just as an add on to this thread because this has been bothering me a lot.......
Cats keep themselves fastidiously clean. They spend a great deal of time grooming themselves. If they get food, litter, whatever in their whiskers they will soon have it gone.
These are cats. Please let them be cats. Yes, they will get a little dirty. They will also get themselves clean. Maybe this article will help you learn more about cats ......
http://www.pets.ca/cats/tips/self-gr...s-pet-tip-161/
and this site also may give some insight into your cats.......
http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/whydo2.html
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  #13  
Old September 19th, 2010, 04:14 AM
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Wow, easy up, it's as if I've cut off it's tail or something.
I knew they would grow back, that's why I did it, otherwise I wouldn't have. I didn't know they depended on them at night, i thought they could see very well without the whiskers.
I didn't know they affected balance either, I guess I should have researched beforehand, but either way, it's not that bad, not as you make it seem.

Even a day after I did it, Zeus displayed no trouble in terms of balance. Does he have bad balance Giovanni?

Someone said they would expect this from a 7 year old but not a grown man?

Well I guess I would expect the reactions i got from 7 year olds and not adults.

Ps: Giovanni has told me that Zeus doesnt clean himself enough anyways.


Wait though, I guess this was called for, seeing as how this is on the verge of animal torture.
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  #14  
Old September 19th, 2010, 09:42 AM
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Yeah I've noticed him bumping into stuff a lot more,
And he does have balancing problems...
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Old September 19th, 2010, 03:19 PM
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Please do not cut a cats whiskers, they need them for many reasons. They will grow back, but they are there to serve a purpose.
No one in this day and age, ESPECIALLY declare on the internet that they were ignorant about any matter, the internet has made ignorance illegal in my oppinoin.... but that's just my 2 cents.
That being said there is not really any reason to flame on someone for making a dumb move, if someone cut a cats tail off and proclaimed they didn't know better, then I would understand.
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Old September 19th, 2010, 07:10 PM
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This thread has run its course and is now closed.
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Old September 20th, 2010, 08:15 AM
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So long story short, it's best not to cut a cat's whiskers. Many people have done it in error in the past. It doesn't hurt the cat, the whiskers grow back, but it does muck with some of their senses so it's simply best not to do it.

To the OP, there was really no reason to name the member that made this mistake. Feel free to hire a professional the next time around.

The vast majority of responses had nothing to with whiskers, so they have been deleted, and should have been sent by PM or not posted at all.

Thx - Marko Admin
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Last edited by marko; September 20th, 2010 at 08:20 AM.
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