Grades 3–5 · Organisms
How do a cat’s whiskers sense nearby things?
A whisker is a thick, stiff hair that extends well beyond a cat’s skin. It can touch a nearby surface before the skin does. When something bends the hair, the movement reaches its base.
In the diagramA bent whisker moves tissue at its basecontact bends hairliving sensory tissueexposed hairNerve endings around the follicle detect movement, not the hair tip.
The base sits in a special pocket in the skin called a follicle. Sensory nerve endings around it respond to the movement. The exposed hair itself is not a wire carrying nerve messages; the sensing happens in living tissue around its root.
Messages from several whiskers help the nervous system interpret nearby contact and movement. A cat can also move groups of whiskers, changing what they encounter. This is useful when exploring close to objects, where a clear distant view is not enough.
Whiskers are sometimes described as a perfect ruler for a cat’s body width. Real sensing is more flexible and complicated than that. Bending hairs provide clues that the cat combines with touch, sight and other information.
About this explanation
Starting knowledge: Recognize a hair, skin and a message traveling through a nerve.
Sources
- Merck Veterinary Manual — Physical Description of Cats