How Do Cats Use Their Whiskers? Incredible Slow Motion Footage Reveals Their Deadly Secret

If you're a cat owner you may wonder how they use their whiskers. Sure, you may assume they use them to measure, say, a hole they might climb through, but as this slow-motion footage shot by the BBC reveals, they're actually an integral tool to catch prey.

The fascinating video begins by detailing a cat's incredible ability to detect movement, which a large percentage of their brain, a larger percentage than the human brain, is dedicated to.

Their brains developed this function because their ancestors would've needed to stalk prey in very low light, so detecting the slightest movement was integral to them surviving.

But because of this, it means they can't focus on anything closer than 30cm in front of them—which is where the highly sensitive organ that is a cat's whiskers come in.

Caught at 2,700 frames per second footage reveals how a cat's whiskers move forward into an attack position when they close in on their prey, helping them locate and eventually capture it.

This all that takes place in about a 5th of a second. It's insane.