Lora Lee 
One day, I noticed that Zazzles had a whisker that was turning white. I thought it was cute and didn’t think much more about it. A month later, another whisker on the other side of his face turned white. And then, another one right near it. Now, he had 3 white whiskers. I thought it was absolutely adorable. There is something about white whiskers on a black kitty face that just melts my heart. Still, I thought nothing about it. Over the past couple of months, he has lost 2 of his 3 white whiskers. Which has made me sad. I really liked his white whiskers. Now, over the past couple of months, Hemingway has 2 whiskers turning white. Which is now prompting me to wonder why are my cat’s whiskers turning white?
Potential Causes
I have to say that I do wonder if it is stress related. I mean, as humans, our hair can turn white or gray because of stress. It would make sense if the white whiskers were caused by stress. We have been dealing with some issues between Zazzles, Bodie, and Hemingway. Plus, Zazzles was really sick for a couple of months and that could have contributed to his whiskers turning white. Things have calmed down a bit between Bodie and Zazzles. However, Hemingway is still goes into “Fright or Flight” mode whenever Zazzles get close to him. Which could definitely explain his whiskers turning white now.
But is stress the actual cause of these random white whiskers? Another reason for whiskers turning white is age. Once again, as with human’s hair, a cat’s fur/whiskers can turn white as they get older. However, I am not really sure this is what is happening with Zazzles and Hemingway. They are not really “old”. Hemingway is only 5 1/2 and Zazzles is only 5. That doesn’t seem to be old enough for them to start having fur and whiskers color changes. Bodie is 8 years old, however, his whiskers are already white so I can really use him as a reference. Could there be another cause of the mysterious white whiskers?
After doing some research, I learned that whisker color is from pigmentation. As cats age, their pigmentation changes which causes whiskers to change color. Think about babies who are born with blonde hair and then their hair gets darker as they get older. Because cats shed their whiskers for new whiskers to grow, these new whiskers may come in as a different color. Another reason for the whisker color change is exposure to sunlight. Black cat’s fur can actually turn colors if they spend a lot of time in the sun. Their black fur can turn to a rust color. Sun exposure can also affect whisker color.
Whiskers are Fascinating
Cat’s whiskers are so fascinating. After doing my research as to the cause of the mysterious white whiskers, I really do believe that it is stress that is causing Zazzles and Hemingway’s white whiskers. It really does make sense to me. We have been dealing with a lot of drama between Zazzles, Hemingway, and Bodie. The stress level in the house had been really high for a while. I don’t think age is a contributing factor and although Hemingway does spend a lot of time sleeping in the sun and his fur has some rust color to it, I don’t think it is the reason for the white whiskers. I will monitor the situation and continue to ease the stress among the involved parties. Although, I absolutely love white whiskers on a black face, I don’t want stress to be the reason for the cuteness.
“Cats are angels with whiskers!”~Jenny de Vries
