Whiskerless Kittens

We adopted our three kittens from our Veterinarian's office. They were from the same litter. When we brought them home, they were so tiny they couldn't climb the stairs of our bi-level. It only took a couple of days for them to utilize their needle-like claws to grasp the carpeting and pull themselves up and venture into the bigger world. A week after bringing them home, they were on the bed and snuggling with us at night. One morning I awoke to find both of the boys were whiskerless! Charlotte, however, had all her whiskers. I was appalled to think she actually chewed her brothers' off. I worried that they wouldn't grow back and I knew they needed them to maneuver properly. I did some research and found that cats use their whiskers to determine whether or not they can fit through an opening. A cat will "test" an opening several times with their heads, allowing their whiskers to tell them whether or not their entire body will fit through the opening.

Then I found information that states a mother cat will often chew off their newborn babies whiskers to keep them from wandering! Aha! So, that's why Charlotte, our little mother, chewed off her brother's whiskers. She didn't want to lose them. LOL!

Our Veterinarian laughed. She assured us that the whiskers would grow back...and they did. Now that the boys are twice Charlotte's size, she wouldn't dare try that trick again.

Thanks for stopping by.