[thedoc]

Do cat whiskers and human facial hair have anything in common as of their uses?
Asked by George Pope


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[JnA]

Cats whiskers are tactile and set deeper into the skin than other hair. They use them to sense air pressure and spacial changes. We can't really do that with facial hair. Removing a cats whiskers is uncomfortable and limiting for the cat. Humans remove facial hair with no real functional side effects, unless you wax your face.. that might hurt a bit.

[krool1969]

This is second hand but others might be able to confirm it's true.
A friend told me about a cat who's whiskers had been cut off. The cat then seemed to have quite a bit of trouble with balance.

[RD]

... a cat who's whiskers had been cut off.

Is this the culprit ? ... 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalking_Cat   [:0]



This guy "grows his own" ...


http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/  []

[Lor]

I was told the cats whiskers were to help them judge tight spaces, keep them from harm-if the cats whiskers are disturbed, then they are aware they wont fit thru, and thats why they are the length they are. I don't know if this is true but it sounded valid when i heard it.

[DAVID WOOD]

Jazz i think i have heard that before as well

[Cal King]

Hair evolved originally as whiskers on some therapsid reptiles, and they only appeared on the rest of the body later in the earliest mammals, through a simple mutation. Therefore there is no question human hair and cat whiskers are 2 versions of the same structure.