A domestic cat’s whiskers are incredibly sensitive with a high density of nerve endings at the base of each whisker. Whiskers can detect air currents which help guide the cat around objects under the dark conditions. When a cat is about to deliver the killing bite to prey at night, her whiskers can feel the prey item as if they are fingers which helps to guide the cat to deliver the bite. In other words they act as a highly sensitive guidance system. It’s a bit like a blind man reading braille to quote Dr Desmond Morris (excellent analogy).
