The whiskers fill an important function in the cat’s seizure of its prey. As the cat pounces, they are fully extended, and from then on cover the prey, so that the cat can sense the slightest movement of its catch. The whiskers can also transmit information as to the position of the head, rear and tail of the creature in the cat’s grasp.
All the movements involved in catching prey may sometimes be carried out with a substitute object, or even without anything at all. Every kind of individual action involved in the catching of prey, except for the death-dealing ‘bite’, is acted out in play.
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