Every animal has secrets. Probably one of the most intriguing of a cat are its whiskers. The purpose of a cat’s whiskers is for the cat to determine whether the rest of its body can safely climb through a space. However, this is only relevant if the cat is of normal weight. A vet may, therefore, use the width of its whiskers as a useful guideline to determine whether the cat is of a healthy weight, prior to placing it on the scales.
Although a cat has very sharp eyesight whilst looking for objects (especially those of potential prey – in other words creatures that move), it has difficulty focussing on anything that is close by and is heavily reliant on its whiskers to see if it is in bumping range of things. Its whiskers are therefore essential and should never be cut – they are as necessary to a cat as a blind person’s stick in order for the cat to feel relatively safe. Whiskers, like all forms of hair on mammals, are made up of keratin but are set deep within the face of the cat and close to bunches of nerve endings making them both useful and sensitive to movement.
Domestic short-haired cat, DSH, Felis catus
My cat, is now thirteen years old. She has not lost any weight which according to my vet is a good sign as many cats may become thin and struggle with health issues once they have lost weight. She has a varied diet: she enjoys fresh, roast chicken and jelly, canned tuna, Felix senior (as good as it looks dinners), Sheba delicious morsels with chicken & turkey, Iams adult light 1+ years sterilised proactive nutrition – roast chicken flavour (these are biscuit like and very tiny and easy to digest) I have tried her on other dried foods and find that they are too difficult for her to chew. She also enjoys an occasional two or three Thomas treats … Apart from the treats and the roast chicken, the other items in her diet are eaten by her every day …… yes, she eats more than me!! She gains a little weight during the Winter months and loses it when the warmer weather arrives … the ideal scenario for any living creature.
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3 comments:
that is very interesting about their whiskers. I didn't know that. Your cat sounds like he's got a gourmet diet.
She eats better food than I! I don't get to eat roast chicken often. :P
That's interesting information about the cat's whiskers. I have not look at the whiskers of a cat so closely. I'm admiring them now.
My dear old kitty got very thin before she died. She ate all the time but it all just went through her, basically unchanged. She was 17. It was five years ago today that she died.
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