How does a cat's fur know to stop growing, or to start growing if you cut it, since it always grows out to the original length?
by 
mrblanche
ANSWERS: 4
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genetics..........some cat's fur only has the ability to grow so long....simple genetics
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I would suggest, as in my comment to the first answer, that it is some passive form of self-image that the animal itself may possess which allows it to use feedback from it's envronment to know when it's fur has reached the appropriate length. At that time a combination of passive will (much like an eyelid blinking) and genetics would work together to send the appropriate signals to the cells in charge of producing hair and tell them to stop. Related to this would be the phenomena of human eyebrows / body hair as well as the case of the elephant which painted a picture of itself with no mirrors.
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It's the same as your eyebrows or the hair on your body. Only the hair on your head (and maybe in some people's nose) keeps on growing.
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When it reaches a certain length, it falls out. It isn't that it "stops" growing, but rather that all hair of a certain age dies and falls out. During its lifespan, it generally grows to a certain length. The hair on the human head grows for three to ten years, opposed the the couple of months cat hair experiences. The same concept holds for eyebrows, facial hair, and bodily hair. I hope I helped! OrigamiSquared.googlepages.com
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