Hello, this is Dr. Karin. Read my bio, learn more about me, and meet my five cheerful cats: Clutch, Cyril, Alex, Zelda, and Zazzles.
When I look at my ginger cat, Alex, I can’t help but notice that he has unusually long whiskers, especially for a short-haired cat. That got me wondering about the so-called “rules” regarding beards. Below are some of the claims being made about whiskers, or what are technically called vibrissas.
- Cats use their whiskers to measure the width of gaps to see if they can squeeze through
- Fat cats have long whiskers
- A cat’s whiskers are proportional to the width of its body
However, when I compare the various sizes of my cats to their whisker lengths, these theories don’t seem to quite add up.
Whiskers as a measurement tool
Have you ever watched a cat squeeze, jump, or run through a narrow gap? How often do they stop and test the width of their whiskers? And judging by the twists they can squeeze through such narrow openings, how much attention are they paying to this “beard feedback” anyway?
Fat cats have long whiskers
Just look at Cyril and you’ll see that’s not the case. A squishy, cuddly, and plump resident cat, Cyril is nearly twice the size of the smallest feline, Zazzles. Even with his lean weight, he is a large cat, but his whiskers are quite modest in length.
Whiskers fall out and regrow like normal hair, but they don’t grow longer as your cat gains weight. So perhaps it’s a good thing that cats don’t rely on their whiskers to facilitate access to tight spaces. Or maybe that’s what we do. You’ll be seeing a lot more tabby tabbies trapped in tiny crevices!
Beard is proportional to body width
I measured the shoulder width of each cat myself. The shoulder width is the widest part of a cat’s body, except for Cyril (who is on a diet). I then measured the overall width of the longest whiskers to see the comparison.
Looking at it, Clutch’s beard seemed to be the most proportionate to her body, while Zazzles’ beard seemed to be quite short, even considering her petite frame. I noticed something particularly interesting when I looked at the ratio of whisker length to body width. The clutch beard to body ratio is 1.6:1.
And it’s known as, friends golden ratio.
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| whisker width | twenty three | 19 | 18 | 16 | twenty two |
| shoulder width | 14 | 11.5 | 16 | 12 | 15 |
| ratio | 1.7:1 | 1.6:1 | 1.1:1 | 1.3:1 | 1.4:1 |
golden ratio
Also known as “phi” or “divine proportions,” this is a ratio found many times in nature. Physicists are quick to dismiss the importance of this ratio found in living organisms, but the idea that features exhibiting these ratios could be considered examples of “perfect beauty” was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s That’s what visionaries like you have agreed to. As shown in his famous book, Vitruvian human figure. Although it is often dismissed as coincidence or coincidence, there are many examples of this divine proportion that can be observed in nature and architecture, from the spiral of a nautilus shell to the design of pyramids to the proportions of the human face. And now in the beard of the clutch.
As I mentioned earlier, when looking at the various features of my five cats, the one that seemed most proportionate to their faces and bodies was the clutch whiskers. Interestingly, his beard to body width ratio is definitely divine.
Long-bearded Alex’s ratio is an impressive 1.7:1, while Cyril’s ratio is a bit embarrassing at 1.1:1.
What is the purpose of a beard?
Many people still argue that cats are farsighted, so they use their whiskers to help them navigate their surroundings. But this is neither logical nor practical. Waiting for delicate fur to come in contact with something before moving is completely incompatible with the smooth, stealthy movements of cats.
Given the level of sensitivity of the feline vibrissae, it has evolved to sense changes in airflow caused by the slightest movement of the animal, allowing it to locate its prey even in dim environments, most popular at dusk and dawn. much more likely. For hunting cats. This also explains why cats tend to get very excited when windy weather wreaks havoc on their navigational instruments.
Does beard length matter?
Does Clutch’s whiskers follow the golden mean, making him suitable for hunting, or does Alex’s wide range of vibrations give him a strategic advantage?
My cats live indoors and don’t need to catch dinner, so I can’t judge them on their relative hunting skills, but my instincts said no. I think Cyril’s preference for lounging on his back rather than getting his heart rate up has a far greater effect on prey numbers than his short whiskers.
Have domestication and selective breeding changed the proportions of God’s beard beyond what is “optimal”? Judging by the sphinx’s stubble and the long-haired Rapunzel-like beard, we have to say yes. I don’t get it. Extremely long beards are more of a nuisance than a nuisance, and without them, you’re useless.
Alex’s attractively long beard may give him a slight advantage over the likes of Zazzles and Cyril, but with that ratio much higher than 1.7, he’s dealing with tangle-prone hair more than offering any tactical advantage. This means that
It would certainly be interesting, if difficult, to study the whisker and body width values of feral cats and their relatives to find out whether the golden ratio prevails in nature. Dear PhD candidates, I’m paying attention!
This article is part of Dr. Karin’s 5 Hilarious Cats series.
