Cats and their Whiskers

Pet insurance will usually pay up to up to a specified amount each year in vets bills if your cat gets into a scrape, is injured or falls ill. Cat insurance can also provide financially protection if the cat gets ill and needs medication as a result, including complimentary therapy. Good pet insurance may even pay the vet directly to be more convenient for you and your beloved animal.

Whilst these financial benefits of pet insurance are very reassuring, it's also important to recognise the natural protection against danger that your pet already has - such as whiskers. Whilst whiskers might initially seem like a charming feature of your cat's face, they're actually an important sensitive tool for your cat.

So why do cats have whiskers?

Primarily cat's whiskers are tools to detect the world around them. Cat's whiskers are also known as ‘vibrissae' as they are highly mobile and sensitive to vibrations which enable your cat to detect prey and hunt effectively. Whiskers also allow cats to judge the width of space, so they know whether they can fit their bodies through. Whiskers are so sensitive they even detect changes in the breeze and air flow to help them navigate their way around in the dark. Whiskers can even indicate your cat's mood![1]

Whiskers will therefore help prevent your cat from getting stuck in a tricky situation, and from potentially injuring themselves. In the long run, whiskers could even prevent your cat from risking death as they are one of the cat's key tools for detecting danger in the world around it.

For these reasons, whiskers are essential to your cat's wellbeing and should therefore never be trimmed or tampered with. Whiskers are actually 2 or 3 times thicker than the rest of your cat's hair, and they are rooted in very deep tissue which contain a lot of nerves to help with the increased sensitivity.

Whiskers are indeed just one fascinating feature of a clever cat, but whiskers can't protect your kitty from everything. Cat insurance will give you complete peace of mind that you are looking after your cat too.

[1] - rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/cats/factfile