Whats Up with Whiskers - Pet Lab - video Dailymotion

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Amazing Pet Facts explained by Dr. Mustache Subscribe to The Pet Collective: http://full.sc/HbM62v Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thepetcollective Twitter: https://twitter.com/petcollectiveTV Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/petcollectivetv/ Google+: gplus.to/thepetcollective  Dr. Mustache: Matt Johnson  Segment Producer: Kate Reynolds Associate Producer: Matt Pagourgis  Atomic © Fontalicious - Derivative Versions © Font Bros. www.fontbros.com

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00:00Hey guys, Dr. Mustache here with the Pet Collector's Pet Lab, and today we're talking about something

00:05near and dear to my heart, and nearer and dearer to my face.

00:08We're talking about whiskers.

00:10And while my whiskers do really cool stuff like trapping beer and tickling my nostrils

00:15and giving me an excuse to do evil, cats have really useful whiskers.

00:20So that's our question day on Pet Lab.

00:22What's up with whiskers?

00:29A cat's whisker is not just a longer, thicker hair than the rest of its fur.

00:33It's like a Swiss Army knife.

00:35It's a tool that lets your cat do a lot of different tasks.

00:40Your cat's whiskers serve multiple functions.

00:43They help your cat see and sense their surroundings in the dark and at night, feel things up close,

00:48know which way the wind is blowing, know where prey is in relation to their paws, and communicate

00:52to others how they're feeling.

00:54Whiskers have much more sensory information than the rest of a cat's fur because there

00:58are many more nerve endings at the base of a cat's whisker than there are anywhere else

01:02in its body.

01:03Let's do a little experiment.

01:05Take two coins and put them on a table.

01:08Now, if you feel the coins with your elbow, you know you're feeling something, but you're

01:12not really sure what it is.

01:15However, if we feel the coins with our fingers, we can tell from the edges and the surface

01:19the difference between a quarter and a nickel.

01:24Whiskers are located in a few different locations around a cat's body, but let's start with

01:28a place we all think of first, around the nose.

01:31Cats have 24 whiskers around their nose, 12 on either side.

01:35These aren't the only whiskers on a cat's face, though.

01:37Cats also have whiskers above their eyes and on their chin.

01:41Cats' facial whiskers are usually about the width of their entire body.

01:45This allows cats to gauge whether or not their entire body will fit through a small opening.

01:50The whiskers on cats' faces also help with their night vision by allowing them to feel

01:54the air currents around them.

01:55Cats can actually feel when objects pass between them and the wind.

01:59Cats also have whiskers on the back of their paws, which helps them close in on their prey.

02:03See, cats are farsighted, which helps them hunt, but it means that when they get close,

02:07they really have a hard time seeing.

02:09So the whiskers on the back of their paws lets them feel the air currents as their prey

02:12is in close and rustling around.

02:14Lets them really pounce.

02:17So how do cats have hair that helps them see in the dark and do all this amazing stuff?

02:22And my hair just gets frizzy when it rains.

02:24Well, two scientists, Eric Kramer and Chris Michael Williams, have done studies on whiskers

02:29and discovered that they're super strong and really elastic.

02:33Basically, cats evolved some of their hair to be extremely sensitive to help them with

02:37their hunting.

02:38It's sort of a survival advantage.

02:40This is the way that human beings develop thumbs to help us use tools.

02:48Whiskers have been indirectly helping humans for centuries, ever since the ancient Egyptians

02:53first domesticated cats.

02:54Now scientists are studying how whisker technology can help us improve our lives today.

02:59Bristol Robotics Lab recently led a study where they essentially gave robots whiskers

03:05to help them navigate their space without the aid of cameras.

03:09Hopefully when the robotic cats become our benevolent overlords, they will be easily

03:12placated with virtual balls of string.

03:16Well that's it for me, Dr. Mustache, and another episode of Pet Lab.

03:19Remember, if you have a question about your pet, or pets in general, leave it in a comment

03:24below and maybe we'll feature it in a future episode of Pet Lab.

03:27Meanwhile, since you're here, why not click that button and subscribe to the Pet Collective?

03:32It's a fantastic site with all sorts of videos of 24-7 puppy cams and adorable music videos

03:37featuring animals and me, Dr. Mustache, answering all of your questions about pets.

Whats Up with Whiskers - Pet Lab

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