Whiskers loss in cats: what it means and what to do

A pet's illness is always scary, and it is not known who is more worried - the animal itself or its owner. But not all cat owners notice such a small, at first glance, problem as whisker breakage. Sometimes this is not just a physiological feature, but a signal of internal disorders. It is especially important to establish the reason why a kitten’s whiskers are breaking - the baby has just come into this world, but, quite possibly, something is already wrong with him. However, precaution is also important here - in some cases the whiskers break on their own, and there is no need to take the cat to the veterinarian. The question arises - how to determine when to worry?

How to help an animal that has lost its whiskers

Regular whisker loss in cats without an identified cause requires additional examination by a veterinarian. After receiving the results, appropriate treatment methods can be carried out:

• taking anthelmintic and antiparasitic drugs for therapeutic and preventive purposes;
• antihistamines to eliminate allergies and antibiotics to treat infectious diseases;
• vitamins, minerals to strengthen and restore immunity.

Creating favorable living conditions for your pet:

• eliminating excessive dryness in the room when using a humidifier;
• ensuring that bathing is not too frequent and using special shampoos;
• the use of fatty acids (biotin, taurine) in compliance with the dosages prescribed by the veterinarian, since an excess amount of drugs can have the opposite effect;
• eliminating stress factors for your pet;
• use of high-quality animal feed;
• ensuring water balance (regular fluid intake by the cat throughout the day).

Recommendations for eliminating this problem if your cat’s whiskers fall out for various reasons:

• using cheap food for the animal, since such products are of poor quality and can negatively affect the general condition of the pet;
• regular treatment of the coat against parasites, fleas and ticks;
• processing raw meat to destroy helminth eggs that may be contained in it;
• excluding aggression towards the cat from other family members (young children);
• addition of various vitamin complexes to the daily diet of cats;
• regularly providing the required amount of drinking water for the animal, since its lack contributes to the development of urolithiasis and other problems;
• visit the veterinarian at least 2 times a year to assess the general condition of the pet;
• excluding the trimming of whiskers in cats, since even a slight shortening of the length can cause the development of negative consequences.

Whiskers for cats are one of the important organs that provide touch, so their damage becomes the cause of many disorders in the body. Vibrissae require careful care and control on the part of the pet owner to maintain the good condition of the animal.

Preventive measures

Will help reduce the risk of your pet's whiskers breaking off. Owners can periodically treat for fleas, worms, and other parasites. The pet is given enough clean, fresh water. The room where the cat is kept is regularly ventilated and moistened. A selected and balanced diet includes supplements of minerals and vitamins. The animal is vaccinated against infections of viral origin. the number of water treatments is reduced, and the detergent must be suitable for the cat.

To keep your cat's whiskers healthy and dense, you must adhere to the following general recommendations:

feed your pet high-quality store-bought food or fresh natural products; pay attention to changes in the animal’s behavior; take the cat for preventive examinations to the veterinary clinic; provide the pet with proper care and living conditions; carry out timely vaccination against viral infections; prevent the appearance of parasites in the body and on the skin.

It is forbidden to trim or pluck a cat's whiskers, even if they have begun to break. Such manipulations not only cause discomfort to the pet, but also lead to the fact that he ceases to navigate in space and begins to limp. Whiskers can only be removed by a veterinarian if they grow into the skin or the cat has developed a fungal infection.

With proper care and following general recommendations, the cat's whiskers will not break or fall out. But if a problem does arise, then you should not ignore it, since the loss of hairs will lead to the fact that the pet’s condition will begin to worsen. Only a veterinarian can help cope with the disease, and you should contact him immediately after detecting heavy loss of whiskers.

Prevention methods

In order for the cat to feel good, be healthy, please the owner’s eyes and not lose its whiskers, you need to take some preventive measures:

• Frequently ventilate and humidify the air in various ways.
• Monitor the quality of food, provide access to plenty of fresh and clean water.
• Treat your pet for parasites and get vaccinations in a timely manner.
• Do not trim the animal's whiskers.
• Do not give medications not prescribed by a veterinarian.

Vibrissae do not simply decorate a cat, but are part of a sense organ; they allow the animal to be in comfortable conditions and help to navigate, especially in the dark. Without them, a domestic cat will not die, but its quality of life will noticeably decrease, it will suffer and be stressed until new ones grow.

How to support an animal?

There is no means to accelerate the growth of vibrissae. If the hair follicle is not damaged, the mustache will grow back without any help. There are also no aftercare procedures provided. There is no need to comb or apply ointments to damaged tactile hairs.

If a kitten's whiskers break, you need to enrich the baby's diet with vegetable oil, cottage cheese and milk. Sometimes it is useful to change the class of industrial food to a more elite one.

In winter, it is advisable to use air humidifiers indoors.

To prevent loss of whiskers and support the animal during their loss, a number of provoking factors should be excluded.

Table 4. Factors influencing the condition of the whiskers

Microelements must be given comprehensively

Symptoms of hypocalcemia in cats and kittens

How can an owner harm a pet?

Before deciding what to do to fix the problem, the owner must find out why the cat's whiskers are breaking. It is necessary to check all the conditions of keeping the animal: whether it consumes enough fluids, whether the air in the room is too dry, change the shampoo or bathe less often. It is necessary to check the pet for the presence of parasites, or carry out routine deworming if the last procedure was carried out more than 4 months ago.

We suggest you read: What to do if your domestic cat scratches you badly. Is it possible to get rabies if you are scratched or bitten by a cat: we answer in detail

The cat or kitten must be examined for fungal infections: independently, or taken to a veterinarian

When these causes of whisker loss are excluded, you should pay attention to the pet’s nutrition. The cat's diet should contain foods containing vitamins, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids and minerals in balanced amounts.

Calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and iodine must be present.

The purchased food may not meet the requirements, so your pet will need to take vitamin and mineral complexes.

Very often the owner himself is the cause of the animal’s poor health. He provokes this by performing the following actions:

• Mustache plucking.
• Shortening of the vibrissae.
• Trimming your mustache to make it grow faster and thicker.

Why you can't trim cats' whiskers

Without the vibrissae on the muzzle, the life of members of the family would be much more difficult. Cat whiskers perform a number of vital functions:

• First, whiskers help cats find food. Cats find food not only visually, but also by smell. Vibrissae help cats react correctly to the movements of prey. So, for example, having caught a mouse, a cat runs its whiskers along it, determining whether the victim is alive or not. A cat will not eat a live mouse - this is fraught with damage to the gastrointestinal tract and infection. If the cat does not try to touch the prey with its whiskers, but does it with its paw, then the pet’s whiskers are somehow damaged;
• Secondly, whiskers help cats navigate correctly in space. If a cat gets lost in an unfamiliar area, he will use his whiskers as a kind of compass that will help him find his way home. The animal will tilt its muzzle towards the ground so that its whiskers also touch the road and thus look for the way to its home;
• Thirdly, the owner of the animal can determine the mood of the pet by looking at its whiskers and find out about its well-being. If the whiskers puff up “vigorously”, this indicates that the cat feels good and is in a good mood for games and active fun. If the whiskers stick out in different directions, the pet is extremely aggressive, it is better to leave it alone for a while. Drooping whiskers will tell the cat's owner that the pet is worried about something and may not be feeling too well;
• Fourthly, whiskers help cats correctly assess distance when jumping. Using its whiskers, the animal determines whether it can make an accurate jump or not;
• Fifthly, whiskers help cats determine the depth of space. Using its antennae, the cat determines whether it will be able to crawl into a certain hole;
• Sixthly, vibrissae help determine the temperature of an object, food. By using the whiskers, the cat will understand if there is a risk of getting burned by touching this or that object.

By the way, if there is a fight between cats in the wild and one of the rivals tears off or gnaws off the whiskers of the other, then the side that has lost its whiskers will give up its position and retreat.

As you can see, cats’ whiskers are truly an extremely important and vital organ for the animal. Therefore, under no circumstances should cats’ whiskers be trimmed.

What should a pet owner do if a cat for some reason has lost its whiskers?

Knowing that cats’ whiskers cannot be cut and understanding how important they are for the animal, its owner can be quite concerned. This applies to the situation if the pet loses its whiskers after a fight with another cat or injury. What to do under such circumstances?

Let us immediately note that specialized treatment for such cases has not yet been developed, as well as means that accelerate the growth of whiskers. You will need to wait until your cat's whiskers grow back naturally. This usually happens within 2-3 weeks. As you can see, the vibrissae grow quite quickly, however, provided that the hair follicle has not been damaged.

Some cat owners wonder if trimming their whiskers will help speed up their growth? The answer to this question will be negative. The animal's antennae must grow on their own, and the only thing that can be done to help the pet is to enrich its diet with vitamins, to make the menu more nutritious and healthy.

How can the owner help the pet?

If your pet has severely lost its whiskers, it is necessary to carefully examine it. Itching and skin diseases provoke hair loss and peeling of the epidermis in the sore spot. The animal can be especially bothered by head itching - as a result of constant washing and rubbing, the muzzle and whiskers will break off.

Itching is caused not only by food allergies, but also by atopic dermatitis, parasitic disease or lichen. The latter is extremely unpleasant due to its contagiousness, including to humans.

If focal baldness is detected, it is necessary to contact a specialist at the clinic. What else needs to be done?

Firstly, the owner is obliged to establish what exactly the problem with the loss of the mustache is. Do the living conditions correspond to the normal existence of the animal - does the cat drink too little water, does it bathe often, is the air humid enough, what kind of food and shampoo is used. Preventive measures for deworming and eliminating parasites are carried out at least once every 4-6 months. With a cat, a visit to the clinic is necessary in case the pet is infected with a fungal infection or has a chronic disease. Be sure to review your diet and add foods rich in vitamins, minerals and healthy fatty acids. It is better to raise babies on natural food. If possible, buy holistic foods and premium food.

This is interesting!

Owners who are interested in the question of why a cat needs a mustache will also be interested in learning a few facts about this sense organ:

• an adult cat has about 24 whiskers on its cheeks (12 on each side);
• the average length of a cat's whiskers is 6-7 centimeters;
• the owner of the longest whiskers in the world is a cat from Finland, for his 19-centimeter whiskers he was included in the Guinness Book of Records;
• hairless cats have curly and very short whiskers; in some cases, such breeds may have whiskers completely absent;
• in ancient times, people who believed in omens believed that if you find a fallen cat’s whisker near your house and make a wish, it will definitely come true.

Comments

Scientific name for mustache

In everyday life we ​​say “mustache”. A common mistake is to assume that cat whiskers and human hair are similar. These longer, coarser hairs, called vibrissae, are set deeper into the animal's skin than fur. The vibrissae are securely connected to the sensitive muscular and nervous systems, giving it a heightened sense of orientation and helping it respond in a timely manner to changes around it. Vibrissae in cats can be called radar.

Gorgeous mustaches are the pride of cats

A cat's tactile hairs are most noticeable on both sides of the nose and upper facial lip. Shorter whiskers are located above each eye (like eyebrows). Cats also have less visible whiskers on the underside of their chin and on the back of their front legs. These whiskers are shorter and blend in with the fur.

Why does a kitten's whiskers break?

Does your kitten's whiskers break? This phenomenon cannot be ignored. Usually it is caused by harmless reasons that do not threaten the health and life of the baby. However, breaking off whiskers in small pets can also be caused by more serious factors that require urgent action. Every cat owner, even those who have never encountered this problem, should know why kittens' antennae break off.

Whiskers chewed by a cat

Broken whiskers on a small cat that has not yet been weaned from its mother may be the work of its paws, or rather teeth. Some cats, teaching kittens to live independently, bite off the babies' whiskers when they do not obey and play a lot of pranks. Maternal instinct tells four-legged mothers that this is the only way to calm their unruly cubs.

According to another version, they do this because they do not want to release the babies into independent life too early. As noted earlier, with the help of vibrissae these animals learn about the world around them. When kittens begin to do this especially actively, cats, wanting to extend the time they stay nearby, chew off their antennae.

There are 2 more possible reasons for cats chewing off the whiskers of kittens:

• for the safety of children who show special zeal in exploring the world around them;
• to highlight a favorite - it is believed that Siamese cats do this.

Curious kid set his mustache on fire

If the kitten's antennae did not fall out or break off, why did they become shorter? He might just set them on fire. Young cats are extremely curious creatures. Unlike adult animals, they are not yet so fearful and do not know how to adequately assess the danger that threatens them.

Their attention can be attracted by anything - from a spool of thread falling on the floor to an open source of fire.

While exploring the kitchen, a curious child may become interested in the dish being prepared on the stove. Approaching him, the baby can easily set his long antennae on fire. If you look closely at them, the reason for the decrease in the length of the whiskers will become obvious.

The kitten is deficient in vitamins and minerals

One of the possible causes of this problem is insufficient intake of vitamins and minerals into the body of a small pet. A deficiency of nutrients is primarily reflected in the appearance of the animal: the condition of its fur deteriorates (it loses its shine and falls out), the claws become brittle and deformed, an unpleasant odor appears from the mouth, and the whiskers break off.

Often, cats suffer from a lack of taurine (this may be due to the rare feeding of the pet with meat) and collagen, which they are not able to obtain on their own. If a small cat's whiskers break off, or the condition of its fur and claws has deteriorated, it is necessary to analyze its diet and, if necessary, replenish the deficiency of nutrients and vitamins. For this purpose, there are vitamin-mineral complexes that must be prescribed by a veterinarian.

Skin diseases are to blame

Various skin lesions, caused by various microorganisms, lead to a deterioration in the condition of the hair follicles. Their blockage as a result leads to the loss of the mustache. Pathogenic agents also attack the structure of the vibrissae, causing them to break. This is not the only symptom of dermatological diseases. These diseases can also be accompanied by redness of the skin, peeling, itching, and suppuration. The exact cause of a kitten's antennae breaking off can only be determined by a veterinarian after carrying out diagnostic procedures.

Parasites and fungi

Fungi negatively affect the structure of a cat's whiskers, leading to their loss and breakage. Often the vibrissae are chewed by lice eaters that have settled in their bulbs. They also break down in these animals due to helminthic infestation. When a cat's body is attacked by parasites, it throws all its strength into fighting them, as a result of which the whiskers become brittle due to a lack of necessary elements.

It will not be possible to improve the condition of the whiskers unless the cause that led to its deterioration is eliminated. Treatment for a small pet depends on which pathogenic agents caused the disease. If the development of the disease is provoked by parasites, therapy involves the use of antiparasitic drugs, fungi - antimycotic drugs.

Metabolic disease

If a small pet's whiskers break, the problem may be caused by a metabolic disorder in its body. Improper metabolism negatively affects not only the functioning of the animal’s internal organs, but also its appearance. Disruption of the process of continuous intake of necessary organic and inorganic compounds into the body from the outside and their absorption leads to a deterioration in the condition of the coat, skin and whiskers, causing their fragility.

What can be done about this problem?

What should you do if your cat’s whiskers begin to fall out and break? The universal answer is this: the first and most important thing an owner can do for their pet is to calm down, pick up the animal and take it to the veterinarian. Under no circumstances should you try to cure this problem yourself, because most often mustache loss is a symptom, not a disease . In general, no special actions can be taken in this case - you should not comb your mustache or lubricate it with any oil, you just need to find the cause of this problem and eliminate it.

We had a cat who constantly set his eyebrows and mustache on fire by jumping onto the table next to the stove. so he went as a hussar. So ours decided to jump straight onto the stove now:001:, when we bought a new one. The old one didn’t interest her at all, and I don’t understand what and how I can do to make her lose interest in this one. I’m keeping an eye on them, but today they were in charge without me :wife: :)) Although cats are such swift and capricious creatures that it’s no wonder they can’t keep track. We can only hope for their intelligence :ded: