White Whisker or Black?

Licorice jumped onto my lap earlier today, looked me right in the eyes, and said, "Meow." That is nothing new for her. She does it several times a day. It is her way of saying, "Try and figure out what I want. After you check my water, pet my tummy, and hold the front door open for thirty seconds, I will go take a nap."

This time was different. (Not for her, but for me.) I looked at her, blinked twice, shook my head once, and thought, What in the world?

I have had this black cat in my life for at least nine months, and in my house for six of those months. During all that time I never realized that her whiskers were black also--every single one of them. I've had other cats in my life over the years. I've also petted a lot of cats, but I'm sure they all had white whiskers.

As you readers might have guessed by now, I had to go on-line and check out cat faces. Siamese--white whiskers, Tabby--white whiskers, Tuxedo--white whiskers. Maine Coon and Calico also have white whiskers. And a black cat? They usually have black whiskers.

Now, a couple hours have sped by while I read articles and cat chat rooms to learn more about cat whiskers. What I determined from the photos I looked at generally holds true, but there are exceptions. Cats can have gray whiskers, striped whiskers, and a black whisker or two mixed in with white ones, and visa-versa.

I learned cats are far-sighted, so they depend on their whiskers for navigation, judging the size of openings, as well as sensing near-by motion. They may not see an un-moving mouse that is quite close to them, but they can feel any vibration it is giving off. Poor mousy doesn't have a chance.

Many people said their cats don't like eating out of deep bowls that brush against their whiskers--too uncomfortable. The other thing about whiskers, which is probably known by everyone, is this, "Never cut a cat's whiskers!!!" They can become very disoriented and unstable on their feet.

I also learned that some people collect their pets' whiskers! Oh well, if that is what they enjoy doing, happy collecting. Here I thought I hung on to crazy memorabilia. But cat whiskers I will pass on. Of course that may change when I find my first little, stiff, black whisker.

I did read something that is sending me back to the internet, though. One article said black cats have black whiskers and black claws. Sorry, writer of that article, my black Licorice Kitty has white claws. I knew she was special!

Now that my cat-weaponry curiosity is piqued, I will just have to go back on-line and read about claws. No matter what I learn, I will still look into Licorice's big, yellow eyes, admire her long black whiskers and white claws, and say, "What a magnificent kitty you are."

Celebrating God's wonderful animal kingdom!

Jan and Licorice Kitty  (Note to self:  Don't throw out the empty match box I found in the drawer. I think it is whisker sized.)