Our beloved pets, moustached and striped cats, are very different. They are all different in character, behavior and appearance. But whatever breed of your cat, it will necessarily have four paws, a tail and, of course, a long mustache!
Today we will talk about the mustache in cats: what is their scientific name, for what purposes they serve and why these animals are very difficult to do without a mustache.
Why does a cat need a mustache?
We are all used to the fact that we have five sensory organs, and each of them corresponds to a certain organ of the human body. But in animals things are different: to the standard sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste and the corresponding organs (eyes, nose, ears, limbs and tongue), one more is added, almost the most important sense organ in animals - this mustache. In zoology they are called "vibrissae". The name is derived from the Latin word vibrissae - vibrate, oscillate. In fact, these are long and stiff hairs on the muzzle of the animal, but unlike the usual wool cover, which is intended for thermal insulation, the mustaches are connected with the brain of the animal with the help of nerve channels and perform a tactile function rather.
The role of mustaches in the life of a cat is very great. Due to them, the animal can evaluate the environment in terms of location of objects, their sizes, etc. This makes it possible for a cat, even in total darkness, not to stumble upon objects, but to bend around them when walking. Information from the air swings to the whiskers, and from them to the brain, and the animal develops a clear idea of what is around it, or about the explored new object.
Vibrissae is not only in cats, but also in many other animals: dogs, rats, raccoons, moles, beavers, etc. It is interesting that, for example, in a rat, the mustache performs a more tactile function (the animal, as it were, sniffs at them objects), while beavers and seals have a complex mission related to finding food under water.
What happens if the cat has a mustache?
The whiskers for cats are even more important than the eyes, and may well replace them. Science knows of cases when blind cats performed well without an organ of vision, while content with the presence of mustaches.
If the cat for any reason has lost a mustache, then its ability to orientation in space is sharply reduced. She will look like blind, bumping into objects and moving very uncertainly. With the help of the whiskers, cats also communicate with each other, so an animal, forcibly deprived of a vibrissa, will be infringed in the sphere of communication with its own kind.
As you already understood, cutting a mustache to make a cat "more beautiful" (to participate in the exhibition, for example) is unacceptable. Nature has not just given these animals such a unique sensory organ, and in no case should we deprive our pets of vibrissae for the sake of their momentary whims.
What if the cat has a mustache?
Often, the owners notice that their kitten or adult cat mustache break off, fall out or break. Each of these problems has its own reason, and it must be clarified.
Most often the vibrissae in cats are broken due to a poor diet, namely - with a lack of calcium and other minerals. Think about whether your cat eats well, and if necessary, revise its diet.
Whiskers can become too soft and brittle due to the presence of parasites or fungal diseases. In this case it is better to visit a veterinarian who will help with the diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Pay attention to how and when the mustache breaks off your pet. Probably, they are intentionally sheared by children or even bitten by another cat (this happens occasionally if one animal wants to show its superiority over another).
And, finally, if you have a cat of the Sphynx breed, then the fragility of its mustache is inherent in nature itself, and this is the absolute norm.