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Kitten is missing Whiskers?

post #1 of 8
4/13/09 at 11:59am
Thread Starter 
I just got a new kitten, and I noticed that he is missing the whiskers above his eye on one side, and some of the ones on his face seem shorter than normal.

He is a little unsteady on his feet, could this be why? He is 8wks.

Thanks
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post #2 of 8
4/13/09 at 12:16pm
It is quite common moms do bite off them.

Could perhaps be this??
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post #3 of 8
4/13/09 at 12:56pm
Hi,

Steffan's probably right- his mother nibbled them of because he was going to far away from the nest.

I think it's a bit worrying that he is unsteady on his feet- either he is a lot younger than 8 weeks or there is something wrong with him.

Christine
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post #4 of 8
4/13/09 at 1:47pm
It is an old wives tale about cats requiring whiskers. Most sphynx have none and they are just as agile and can do the same high wire acts as most other cats can. Have him vet checked to be sure there is no neurological problem going on.
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post #5 of 8
4/13/09 at 2:23pm
Thread Starter 
By unsteady I did not mean all the time, just sometimes it looks like he is a little unbalanced. He is just about 8wks right now, he looks younger to me though.
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post #6 of 8
4/13/09 at 4:52pm
Cats' whiskers have nothing to do with their balance. The whiskers are there so that a cat can assess if they can fit into a certain space for safety. A cat's whiskers are as long as their bodies. When a cat reaches a tight space that they try to get in and their whiskers touch the sides of the openening, they will not enter that space as the whiskers let them know the opening is not big enough. Your kitten's unsteadiness has nothing to do with the whiskers. It maybe because he's just young. You should take him to the vet to put your mind as ease.

By the way, cats inner ear is used for their balance. Did you look inside his ears to make sure they are clean and no infection? That may be your problem.
Good Luck!!!!
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post #7 of 8
4/13/09 at 5:40pm
One of my kittens had normal whiskers one day..then the next day they were broke off very short. Little Yetti was 8 months old & in very good health. I went to feed the next morning & she was dead. The only thing different on her was the whiskers. There were no visible signs of injury on her any place. Keep an eye on the kitty.
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post #8 of 8
4/15/09 at 5:09am
As others have said, they don't use their whiskers for balance. Check inside the ear to make sure there's no discharge or smell as an inner ear infection can affect balance. When we rescued Delilah she had an ear infection...smelled a bit like marmite! The vet cleared it up with antibiotics and her balance was fine after that. Similarly Jasper managed to singe his off by getting too close to the fire and his balance is completely unaffected.
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