My cat is eating my other cat's whiskers!

[njscorpio]

I have two siamese cats. A female, who is 6 years old, and a male who is almost 2 years old. The female grew up as an only cat, and first lived with a 2nd cat when we got the male. Both are fixed.

They play rather agressively, but I've seen other siamese cats play this way, chasing each other all over, knocking each other around. At the end, they curl up with each other, clean each other, and really seem to have connected.

The male is usually the agressor, but the female tends to hold a grudge after the male has left her alone. When he was just a kitten, they were fighting and he bit her neck, almost killing her (had to rush her to the vet).

He also loves to clean her ears, and will really get in there and lick (you can hear the disgusting sound from across the room!). So I'm not sure if this whisker thing is an overly agressive cleaning, or something more.

A few weeks ago, I notice some of her whiskers bent. They looked stuck together, as if there was something on them. Now, that side of her face, all the whisker are down to stubs. It appears he bit them off! On the other side, there is also less whiskers than normal, but not as bad.

Could there have been something on them that I didnt notice, that he felt the need to get rid of? While he can pin her down, and put his arms around her neck (when he wants to clean her head) I doubt he would have been able to do this if she wasnt complacent.

Does anyone have any insight into this or suggestions?

[MJ]

Between what you said about how much he likes to clean her (Does he also chew rather than just lick?) and with him possibly chewing off her whiskers... It makes me think that maybe he has a chewing compulsion. Does he chew on other things in general?

Cats can become chewers when they were taken from their mother too early, or when they're particularly stressed, or just pick it up as a bad habit somehow.

We'll see what other people think though. :P

[njscorpio]

Oh yeah, he chews EVERYTHING! Sometimes he nibbles a bit when he cleans her, and he chews on furniture, whatever he can get his paws on. When there is something new, he bites it to check it out.

If it is a compulsion than cleaning, I'm concerned that when they grow back he will keep biting off her whiskers. I'm not sure how I'd go about stopping that.

[Cindy]

I have noticed kittens in the same kennel at the shelter will often do this to each other, but didn't know they would do it at a later age and it's kind of funny that she would allow it since she can run away if she wants. Can she? I mean maybe you can give her some "alone time" during the day or something, maybe a place where she can go and he can't follow?

[Traci]

When were either of them last seen by your vet? If over a year, time to get them examined, and your 6-year-old needs full bloodwork (this should be done every year)

What are you feeding them? A compulsiveness to chew could be a sign of pica, which in cats, is either related to extreme stress, boredom or inappropriate diet (one that is not formulated properly with essential vitamins, minerals)

the excessive grooming can cause whiskers to bend and break off, but if you don't know for certain that the male is doing this, the female could also have an underlying health issue. Time for a vet visit for BOTH cats. Be sure to discuss with the vet what you're feeding them.