Why Are My Kitten’s Whiskers Short? Understanding Common Causes

Originally published Sep 25, 2015

Why does my kitten have cut off whiskers?

The other day on Facebook, I received the following question from a reader, “When we picked Cash up there were some whiskers that looked clipped short?? Or broken off..ever heard of this?”

Ironically, I had!  When Caymus came to us his whiskers were short as well.  It looked like someone had literally cut off his whiskers and made them into stubs.

Of course, this was concerning – until we learned from the vet that his littermates bit them off. Murphy, not a littermate, didn’t continue to bite at his whiskers – so they grew in.  And I must say, Caymus has the most exquisite whiskers today.

Did your kitty come to you with short whiskers?  Are there other reasons why a kitten might have short whiskers that look like they have been cut off?