Laughter as Cat Has Whisker Growing Out the Top of His Head: 'Unicorn'

A video of a cat with a whisker "growing out of his head" has gone viral on TikTok, where it has received 2.1 million views.

The clip shared by @mauithecattt, the TikTok account of a three-year-old Persian/tabby mixed-breed cat named Maui, shows the animal on a car seat, where he appears to have a whisker sticking out from the top of his head.

A message overlaid on the video reads: "Guys, why does my cat have a whisker growing out of his head??!!???"

The footage was posted with a caption saying: "I'm crying its so cute [emojis of a face crying floods of tears and crying/laughing] #fyp #catsoftiktok let's bring this trend back."

So where did this random whisker come from?

The cat's owner, Sarah Shewcraft, told Newsweek: "He had a whisker fall out of his cheek. I just picked it up and plopped it onto his head. It was just a video made for fun!

"He does have two little more faint whiskers growing out of his head, but not nearly as noticeable as the one I placed in the middle," Shewcraft said.

The exact pattern and location of whiskers vary according to the breed, veterinarians Tammy Hunter and Lynn Buzhardt say in an article for VCA, one of North America's largest animal hospital chains.

But most of our feline friends have "12 whiskers that are arranged in four rows on each cheek," they write.

Whiskers, which are coarser and thicker than regular hair, are "strategically located" above the eyes, on the chin, on the forelegs, near the ears and above the upper lip of cats, according to the veterinarians.

They write: "Whiskers are more sensitive than regular hairs because the follicles from which they originate are jam-packed with blood vessels and nerves.... So while a human's sense of touch is in the fingers, a cat touches the world with his face."

The video has had some users on TikTok in stitches. In a comment that got over 29,000 likes, user YourLocalIntrovert said: "He's trying to connect to the WiFi with his antenna."

User @.life.is.wierd said: "Unicorns come in many different shapes and sizes."

User GoomyWorm said: "He's not a cat anymore he is a Caticorn: [unicorn and cat emojis]."

In a comment that got over 27,000 likes, user Arlenie Spleenie wrote: "That's his thinking hair."

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.