The smarter the whiskers, the smarter the cat.....

Dear George,

I read an article about whiskers and IQ; the article stated that more whiskers we have higher the IQ. I wonder if it’s true! Because if it is true I must be the most intelligent in our house. Not only my whiskers outnumber everybody else whiskers but mine are slightly curly too! Does this give an extra kick to my grey matter?

Can you expand on this idea George? It is very important for me as I’m trying to protect my Alpha Cat status in a household with four cats.
In whiskers I trust

Bentley

Dear Bentley,  
Whiskers rule! I agree with you - the smarter the whisker, the smarter the cat. It's a question of style.
It's not just the size or length - the longer the whisker the wider the cat, because whiskers allow us to put our head through a space and measure it. If the whiskers get through, the whole cat gets through. 
It's also the way they move. We can't see our prey if we are too close to it but the whiskers "see" it for us. They sweep forward and touch the prey so that we know where to put our claws to grab it. You can see that in slow motion here. It is so fast that humans cannot see it unless they slow down the film. 
We've also got whiskers above our eyes and on our legs (look at the photo on the right) - again to help us sense prey or the environment.

We are super-tactile. Poor humans their whiskers are more like fur, and what is more they usually shave them off. I suppose they are ashamed of them. What a strange species.
Yours
George