Maggie and Sam's Adventures

Saturday, June 11, 2011

What’s up with whiskers?



A few people have asked Maggie and me what’s up with our whiskers and why do we need them? Okay here are the feline facts.
Our whiskers are large, stiff hair that is twice the thickness of ordinary hairs. They are embedded much deeper into our skin and have many nerve endings. They tell us if we are about to touch something or if there is a change in the air pressure. Whiskers aid with navigation and sensation. The length of our whiskers lets us know if we can fit through an opening. If our whiskers don’t touch the sides of an open space, it tells us we can’t fit! DON’T EVER TRIM OUR WHISKERS. The cat’s body determines the length of the whiskers. If you trim our whiskers we won’t be able to accurately gage openings.
We normally have around a dozen whiskers in four rows on each upper lip and a few on each cheek. There are some over our eyes, on the chin and elbows.
Humans please don’t be worried if we lose our whiskers from time to time, its normal, they grow back.
Don’t forget to hug your animals
Sammy and Mags

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All About Me

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Jill illustrates greeting cards and works at an Animal Medical Hospital in Arizona. Her love for animals can be seen in every drawing she has ever done. It wasn’t until Jill and her husband Paul adopted Maggie & Sam (2 crazy cats) from the Humane Society that Jill created the Maggie & Sam Collection. All of Maggie and Sam’s personalities as well as their friends have been captured in Jill’s work. In every illustration you will see humor, and love through her characters’ eyes. Jill has been selling her cards in local Arizona Stores. However, being passionate Jill wanted to create a website that would bring people together to talk about their pets, share their stories and to interact with other pet lovers. They will be able to learn new and interesting facts about the various animals pictured on the greeting cards, read their pet’s horoscope, and send personal messages to their friends and families at any time via e-mail.