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#Post#: 80339--------------------------------------------------
I just found out that I'm a bad cat-mom!
By: jpcher Date: October 25, 2023, 4:14 pm
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Has anyone heard of "whisker fatigue"? DD#2 recently told me
about this, and I looked it up.
Apparently, the food/water dishes I use are too narrow so that
her whiskers hit the side of the bowl, causing her whisker
sensors to go off every time she eats (hard food) or drinks
water. (Her daily soft stuff goes on a saucer, so no worries
there.)
The bowls I use (for 18 years of her life!) for her hard food
and water are about 3-4 inches wide and maybe 3 inches deep.
Now, after knowing what I've learned, I realized that her dishes
are the wrong size. Why didn't anybody tell me about this before
now?
She's always been a good drinker (drinks almost the whole bowl
throughout the day and during the night) but I've noticed her
scraping her front paws on the floor before she dives in for a
drink.
Maybe she's preparing her whiskers for the 'deep dive' when the
bowl isn't all the way full?
I went on Amazon for new food dishes for her and searched for
"Whisker fatigue cat food bowls" I was surprised how many
options came up!
I feel so bad for her! Torturing her whiskers with the wrong
hard food/water-sized bowls! I didn't know this was a thing! Bad
Mom! Bad! We'll see how the new dishes I ordered work for her.
Have any of you heard of Whisker Fatigue connected to feeding
dishes? What size bowls do you feed your cats with?
#Post#: 80340--------------------------------------------------
Re: I just found out that I'm a bad cat-mom!
By: sandisadie Date: October 25, 2023, 5:54 pm
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I've had cats for many, many decades and I've, for the most
part, always used dishes that are especially made for cats.
They have always been very shallow and not very wide. I'd say
about an inch high and 3 or 4 inches wide. I've never heard of
the problem of whiskers touching the sides of a dish and causing
harm. I suppose it could be a real thing though. Maybe this is
a new discovery by some scientist.
#Post#: 80356--------------------------------------------------
Re: I just found out that I'm a bad cat-mom!
By: NewHomeowner Date: October 27, 2023, 5:20 am
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I've heard about the whisker thing, so when I bought a water
bowl for my cat, I got a bigger one that wouldn't hit her
whiskers.
I also found a 'whisker' bowl at a yard sale, that actually has
cutouts in the sides. I use that one for crunchy food.
#Post#: 80363--------------------------------------------------
Re: I just found out that I'm a bad cat-mom!
By: jpcher Date: October 27, 2023, 3:55 pm
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[quote author=sandisadie link=topic=2558.msg80340#msg80340
date=1698274460]
I've had cats for many, many decades and I've, for the most
part, always used dishes that are especially made for cats.
They have always been very shallow and not very wide. I'd say
about an inch high and 3 or 4 inches wide. I've never heard of
the problem of whiskers touching the sides of a dish and causing
harm. I suppose it could be a real thing though. Maybe this is
a new discovery by some scientist.
[/quote]
From what I read on-line, it isn't physically harmful to the cat
but whisker fatigue can result in overstimulation, causing
stress or sensory overload.
And, yes, it is a fairly new discovery.
#Post#: 80365--------------------------------------------------
Re: I just found out that I'm a bad cat-mom!
By: QueenFaninCA Date: October 27, 2023, 6:50 pm
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[quote author=jpcher link=topic=2558.msg80339#msg80339
date=1698268492]
The bowls I use (for 18 years of her life!) for her hard food
and water are about 3-4 inches wide and maybe 3 inches deep.
[/quote]
Were those sold as pet food bowls or are you using regular bowls
designed to be used by humans?
Those are really odd dimensions for a pet food bowl. Usually pet
bowls are wider and less deep.
#Post#: 80384--------------------------------------------------
Re: I just found out that I'm a bad cat-mom!
By: TootsNYC Date: October 31, 2023, 1:47 pm
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I've only now heard of it myself. I don't know that it bothered
any of my previous cats; Lizzie sure seemed eager to stick her
nose down inside a plastic drinking glass that sat on the
bathroom sink just for her.
#Post#: 80385--------------------------------------------------
Re: I just found out that I'm a bad cat-mom!
By: sandisadie Date: October 31, 2023, 1:59 pm
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I also don't think any of my cats were harmed by squeezing their
heads into glasses, cups and other small things that contained
food or drink. Cats are very nosy. And they also like to all
of a sudden dash around the house like crazy! We've always
called that a "case of the zerts".
#Post#: 80548--------------------------------------------------
Re: I just found out that I'm a bad cat-mom!
By: Rain Date: November 26, 2023, 7:09 pm
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DS got a cat water fountain for his cats and food bowls made for
cats.
I just fed my cats on DS's old toddler plates
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