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We adopted sisters back in July and one of the kittens has completely removed her sister's whiskers. Any idea why? Has anybody else seen this behavior? The vet said it was not a problem, but I'm still going to try and get her to stop. (Any suggestions on how to do this would be appreciated as well )

Hi There,

I have heard of cats chewing off another cat's whiskers, but it is usually something a mother cat does to one or more of her favorite kittens. The reasoning behind this is that without whiskers, the kitten will stick closer to his or her mom....that he or she would not feel as comfortable without whiskers helping to feel his or her way around.

Perhaps when a kitten chews off the whiskers of another kitten, it is also showing some kind of affection. Maybe even so that the kittens would be likely to remain near each other. Or, it may be that grooming has just gotten out of hand!

Anyway, this behavior is harmless, although whiskers tend to take a long time to regrow.

Regards,
PHKitkat

I was told by my Vet that mother cats will do that to keep their kits from wandering far and I have seen it myself, hence the reason that I asked the Vet in the first place. Perhaps it works with sisters and friends as well. I think she probably just wants to make sure that her sister doesn't leave her or wander to far. She loves her.
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PHWildCat/Tessa and 21 cats, 1 dog and even a hamster
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Thank you so much for replying, this is great to know. She is the dominate of the two and is probably just trying to keep her close. Thanks!!!