What is the difference between fur and hair? What is hair?
What is fur?
Basically, the words hair and fur can be used interchangeably: both are comprised of keratin, a protein that also forms horns, nails, quills, claws, hooves and feathers. But why mammals, like cats, have fur while humans have hair, partly because fur covers the entire body, and hair doesn’t. So, cat hair gets on our clothes, and is from the fur on our cats.
Fur may consist of three layers, varying in type.
- Guard hair.
- Awn hair.
- Down hair.
from willyswilderness.org
Guard hair
Guard hairs comprise the outer coat. According to The Montana Trappers Association, these are long hairs that protect the skin from harmful UV rays and moisture. It’s also the main source of color, and patterns for those cats that have them.
Awn hair
The middle layer of fur is the awn hair. It’s thicker and usually shorter than guard hair. It displays less of the cat’s coat color and it protects the undercoat.
Down hair or undercoat
This layer is soft and barely visible. The down hair is closest to their skin and helps keep our cats warm by trapping heat. Breeds like the Sphynx cat has a single layer of down hair, which is why their fur is actually referred to as hair. If your cat’s fur gets matted, it’s this layer that does it and is often caused by insufficient brushing.
Whiskers, or Vibrissae
Whiskers are specialized hairs, found not only on both sides of a cat’s nose, but above their eyes, and even some on their lower legs. Whiskers have nerve endings as sensitive as our fingertips, enabling them to sense the width of an opening or passage. They also help them navigate in darkness.
And hair?
That’s what we have, and it’s a single layer. Although tiny hairs may cover our bodies, and patches of hair are prominent in specific areas, it’s all still a single layer. There’s nothing complicated or sensitive about our hair. We just don’t like loosing it on our heads.
