Cat Whisker Misconception
Good morning and happy weekend, welcome to my blog once again. Today we will be looking at the cat(feline) race and particularly discussing the cat whiskers which many have developed various misconceptions about.
Link - Wikipedia - By StavroloLicense CC BY - SA 3.0
I know many people will not read this to the end because it's not "20 ways to make your relationship work" or "How to make money while sleeping". But you'll sha learn something if you do (whether you have a cat or not).
My neighbor's pet; a beautiful domestic feline creature recently left home for no known reason. The owner actually tried everything possible to bring back the Cat, but it's like he (cat) lost trust in humans. He visits mostly at night, and disappears immediately anyone tries getting close.
Link -Wikipedia - By EddyvanLicense CC BY -SA 2.0
I wasn't surprised to see him coming out of the nearby bush while I was outside last night listening to music. I noticed something strange about the cat; he looked pale and his whiskers grew extremely long. Then and there, a story I heard while growing up came back in my memory.
It's the story of a wife that confessed to poisoning her cheating husband with cat whiskers. All she did was to introduce the whiskers into the food she prepared for the husband. How an illiterate woman knew that the Cat whiskers had poisonous biochemical properties was something I couldn't understand.
Link - Wikipedia - By Mark MarekLicense CC BY - SA 3.0
Despite my uncertainty, this story had great impact on me. I grew up having this natural hatred for cats whenever they come closer, especially while I'm eating (nobody wants to die na 😂😂). Seeing the long whiskers, this aroused my curiosity and I had to read more on it. I never knew i was ignorant all these while.
Cat whiskers also called 'vibrisae' are not poisonous in any way. I learnt also that cutting/trimming them could also be really dangerous (most of the Cat owners are guilty sha). The ends of the whiskers have what is known as a proprioceptor which sends impulses to the nervous system and brain. These whiskers help cats find their way in the dark, protects the eye, help determine size of an opening, etc.
Thanks so much for coming.
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Ha. I found that post rather interesting. :) I love kitties. I’d heard it’s not good for them to trim the whiskers, but didn’t know it was because the tips of the hairs contribute to their proprioception senses. Fascinating!
I also like your honesty @ambdavid many of us don’t like to admit former things we have believed but not see differently. Your candor is refreshing and inspiring.
So true, like Machiavelli Nicolo said, we need to learn, unlearn N relearn. It's awesome to discard certain believes that no longer work.
Thanks ma