wiskers

Question
i want to cut my cat wiskers, just think it will look neat. but i shure dont want to hurt him every one says it will i think they are wrong the cat is an inside cat my girl friend says that cutting his wiskers will hurt the cat. but after all she had him de-clawed and de-balled which seems crule to me can you solve our dis-agreement

Answer
Tony, I wouldn't cut his whiskers.  Cats use them for a few different reasons.  One is that they have a blind spot 4-5 inches in front of their face where they cannot see because of the position of their eyes.  They use their whiskers to sense things within their blind spot.

They also use whiskers to express themselves, to sense movement and to judge spaces.  Their whiskers generally stand as wide as the cat does at the shoulder.  They know if their whiskers can fit through a space, so can they.

While whiskers are just like hairs and will not cause the cat any physical pain, cutting his whiskers is likely to cause him difficulty judging spaces and distances.