Whisker fatigue is not a condition that many people know about. Despite this fact, whisker fatigue is a common condition that plagues many cats. Although it isn’t as serious as certain illnesses and diseases, whisker fatigue can dramatically impact your cat’s quality of life without you ever realizing it. To learn more about whisker fatigue in cats, read on. This article explains what it is and how you can help your cat overcome whisker fatigue. Just by making a few small changes in your cat’s life, you can decrease its chances of experiencing whisker fatigue dramatically.
The Function of Whiskers In order to understand whisker fatigue, first you need to understand the function of whiskers. Even though whiskers are small, they serve an important function on your cat. Much like antenna on bugs, whiskers connect to your cat’s brain and nervous system and acts as a sensory organ. As a result, whiskers help cats to orient themselves around their environment. For example, whiskers help cats move around in dark locations or estimate if they can fit through a tight squeeze. Whiskers even help cats hunt because the whiskers can detect whenever fast-moving prey changes directions. Because of the function of whiskers, they act as sensory organs, just like your cat’s eyes, ears, and paws. In fact, whiskers are highly sensitive and can become overwhelming if too much information is being sent from them. This is where whisker fatigue comes into play. image credit by Miezekieze, Pixabay Whisker Fatigue Explained Cats cannot turn on or off the sensory experiences from their whiskers. If too much information is being sent to the sensory receptors at your cat’s whiskers, your cat can be stressed out from the overload of information. This overload of information is essentially whisker fatigue. Whisker fatigue is not whenever the cat feels tired or the whiskers can’t perform their job. On the contrary, whisker fatigue happens whenever whiskers are doing their job so well that the cat is becoming overwhelmed by the bombardment of messages. Image Credit: Annette Meyer, Pixabay Causes Overstimulation is the main cause of whisker fatigue. The most common cause for this overstimulation is during feeding or drinking time. Many cat bowls are small and not large enough for the cat’s whiskers to fit into. Cats get bombarded with whisker fatigue when eating and drinking simply because of the size of the bowl. There are other potential causes for whisker fatigue, but food and water bowls are by far the most common since your cat can’t avoid eating and drinking. Debate It’s important to note that not all veterinarians view whisker fatigue as an issue for cats. Whereas many vets claim that whisker fatigue is a real phenomenon, others claim that it isn’t that serious of a deal. You can talk to your vet to learn more about the debate regarding the topic and decide for yourself what you think of it. Image Credit: Stock-Asso, Shutterstock Signs Of Whisker Fatigue Whisker fatigue can be difficult to spot. Especially since it is such a unique occurrence, many people have no idea what whisker fatigue looks like in cats. The easiest place to spot whisker fatigue is during dinner time. If your cat is pacing back and forth in front of its food bowl or doing other things that signal stress, your cat may experience whisker fatigue while eating and drinking. Signs that your cat is experiencing whisker fatigue include the following:
Refusal to eat or drink despite being hungry
Hesitancy eating or drinking
Pacing in front of bowls
Trying to pull food out of bowl before eating it
Acting aggressively when food is served in a bowl
Image Credit: Annette Meyer, Pixabay If your cat is demonstrating any of these symptoms, it may be experiencing whisker fatigue. That being said, some of these symptoms are signs of other serious illnesses. Taking your cat to the vet ensures that no other illnesses are responsible for your cat’s unusual behavior. How To Fight Whisker Fatigue Because whisker fatigue most often happens during the eating process, the easiest way to fight whisker fatigue is to provide your cat a safe eating and drinking experience. Instead of feeding your cat food in a bowl, try feeding your cat on a plate or shallow bowl. The plate will interfere with your cat’s whiskers much less than a bowl, resulting in less whisker fatigue. If your cat is a messy eater, look for an extra-large bowl, though a plate is preferable. Unfortunately, you cannot feed your cat water from a plate. So, look for an extra-large bowl that is safe for cat whiskers.
Final Thoughts Even though whisker fatigue is something that not all vets agree upon, you might want to consider helping your cat fight whiskered fatigue by changing where your cat eats. By providing your cat a plate for eating and an extra-large bowl for drinking, it is much less likely to experience whisker fatigue. If changing your cat’s food dishes does not change your cat’s behavior, consider taking your cat to the vet. Although rare, cats can experience neurological issues that look like whisker fatigue from the outside. Taking your cat to the vet can ensure that your cat is getting the care it needs, whether it needs new dishes or more serious medications.
Related read: Do Cat’s Whiskers Grow Back? How Long Does It Take?
Featured Image Credit: kareni, Pixabay
Whisker fatigue is not a condition that many people know about. Despite this fact, whisker fatigue is a common condition that plagues many cats. Although it isn’t as serious as certain illnesses and diseases, whisker fatigue can dramatically impact your cat’s quality of life without you ever realizing it.
To learn more about whisker fatigue in cats, read on. This article explains what it is and how you can help your cat overcome whisker fatigue. Just by making a few small changes in your cat’s life, you can decrease its chances of experiencing whisker fatigue dramatically.
The Function of Whiskers
In order to understand whisker fatigue, first you need to understand the function of whiskers. Even though whiskers are small, they serve an important function on your cat. Much like antenna on bugs, whiskers connect to your cat’s brain and nervous system and acts as a sensory organ.
As a result, whiskers help cats to orient themselves around their environment. For example, whiskers help cats move around in dark locations or estimate if they can fit through a tight squeeze. Whiskers even help cats hunt because the whiskers can detect whenever fast-moving prey changes directions.
Because of the function of whiskers, they act as sensory organs, just like your cat’s eyes, ears, and paws. In fact, whiskers are highly sensitive and can become overwhelming if too much information is being sent from them. This is where whisker fatigue comes into play.
Whisker Fatigue Explained
Cats cannot turn on or off the sensory experiences from their whiskers. If too much information is being sent to the sensory receptors at your cat’s whiskers, your cat can be stressed out from the overload of information. This overload of information is essentially whisker fatigue.
Whisker fatigue is not whenever the cat feels tired or the whiskers can’t perform their job. On the contrary, whisker fatigue happens whenever whiskers are doing their job so well that the cat is becoming overwhelmed by the bombardment of messages.
Causes
Overstimulation is the main cause of whisker fatigue. The most common cause for this overstimulation is during feeding or drinking time. Many cat bowls are small and not large enough for the cat’s whiskers to fit into. Cats get bombarded with whisker fatigue when eating and drinking simply because of the size of the bowl.
There are other potential causes for whisker fatigue, but food and water bowls are by far the most common since your cat can’t avoid eating and drinking.
Debate
It’s important to note that not all veterinarians view whisker fatigue as an issue for cats. Whereas many vets claim that whisker fatigue is a real phenomenon, others claim that it isn’t that serious of a deal. You can talk to your vet to learn more about the debate regarding the topic and decide for yourself what you think of it.
Signs Of Whisker Fatigue
Whisker fatigue can be difficult to spot. Especially since it is such a unique occurrence, many people have no idea what whisker fatigue looks like in cats.
The easiest place to spot whisker fatigue is during dinner time. If your cat is pacing back and forth in front of its food bowl or doing other things that signal stress, your cat may experience whisker fatigue while eating and drinking.
Signs that your cat is experiencing whisker fatigue include the following:
Refusal to eat or drink despite being hungry
Hesitancy eating or drinking
Pacing in front of bowls
Trying to pull food out of bowl before eating it
Acting aggressively when food is served in a bowl
If your cat is demonstrating any of these symptoms, it may be experiencing whisker fatigue. That being said, some of these symptoms are signs of other serious illnesses. Taking your cat to the vet ensures that no other illnesses are responsible for your cat’s unusual behavior.
Refusal to eat or drink despite being hungry
Hesitancy eating or drinking
Pacing in front of bowls
Trying to pull food out of bowl before eating it
Acting aggressively when food is served in a bowl
- Refusal to eat or drink despite being hungry
- Hesitancy eating or drinking
- Pacing in front of bowls
- Trying to pull food out of bowl before eating it
- Acting aggressively when food is served in a bowl
How To Fight Whisker Fatigue
Because whisker fatigue most often happens during the eating process, the easiest way to fight whisker fatigue is to provide your cat a safe eating and drinking experience.
Instead of feeding your cat food in a bowl, try feeding your cat on a plate or shallow bowl. The plate will interfere with your cat’s whiskers much less than a bowl, resulting in less whisker fatigue. If your cat is a messy eater, look for an extra-large bowl, though a plate is preferable.
Unfortunately, you cannot feed your cat water from a plate. So, look for an extra-large bowl that is safe for cat whiskers.
Final Thoughts
Even though whisker fatigue is something that not all vets agree upon, you might want to consider helping your cat fight whiskered fatigue by changing where your cat eats. By providing your cat a plate for eating and an extra-large bowl for drinking, it is much less likely to experience whisker fatigue.
If changing your cat’s food dishes does not change your cat’s behavior, consider taking your cat to the vet. Although rare, cats can experience neurological issues that look like whisker fatigue from the outside. Taking your cat to the vet can ensure that your cat is getting the care it needs, whether it needs new dishes or more serious medications.
- Related read: Do Cat’s Whiskers Grow Back? How Long Does It Take?
Featured Image Credit: kareni, Pixabay
