We got two very sweet MC kittens two weeks ago, and one of the brothers has very short, broken-off whiskers. The breeder said it was due to the other cat being a "whisker biter." Has anyone else heard of this? I can not find any info on it. Do they grow out if it as they age? Is there some way to deter the little bugger from chomping his brother's whiskers?? Hobbes seems to take it in stride, but we'd like Calvin to stop it, even though they get along great, otherwise. Thanks for ANY info on this oddball cat behavior!

-- Anonymous, April 02, 1999

Answers

Some mothers bite their kittens' whiskers to stop them from roaming too far from the nest. Maybe your kittens play a bit on the rough side - they'll grow out of it.

Misha

-- Anonymous, April 17, 1999

When I went to my breeder to look at the cats, I saw one or two had virtually no whiskers at all. I asked about this, and was told that this is how dominance is displayed in a litter. The kitten at thye bottom of the pecking order is the one with no whiskers. The kitten at the top will have a full set. the others are somewhere in between.

Andy.

-- Anonymous, May 11, 1999