Why is a cat’s tongue so rough? what’s the effect? I believe this is a problem faced by many cat owners, but I think it’s quite comfortable for a cat’s tongue to lick people (what’s wrong with me).
Because the cat’s tongue is covered with hundreds of sharp spoon-shaped spines made of keratin, that is, the cat’s tongue is covered with very tiny barbs (visible to the naked eye). We call these barbs sudden. Although the lengths of these barbs are different (the barbs in the center of the tongue are longer than those on the edges of the tongue), the barbs no matter where they are on the tongue are covered with a very strong keratin sheath, which is composed of keratin. Keratin is a translucent substance, but it is also very strong, giving these barbs a lot of strength. If you look closely, you will see that these barbs are towards the back of the mouth.
These papillae are a double-edged sword on a cat’s tongue because their tongues are optimized for hunting, and when they’re catching prey, the papillae actually help the cat strip meat from the bones, thus removing the food from the food. Getting the most nutrients and directing them to the back of the mouth is the benefit of these barbs; but these barbs also seem to cause trouble for cats, such as when cats play with ropes or rubber bands. When picking up objects, these barbs will guide these objects to the back of the cat’s throat, which may cause the cat to become clogged with foreign objects or the foreign objects to wrap around the tongue, which may also cause the cat to comb its hair when grooming. Swallowing all the combed hair into the stomach, leading to hair ball disease and so on.
So, apart from helping to catch prey, what else does a cat’s tongue do?
01. Help comb hair (beauty)
As we all know, cats are very clean animals and they clean their hair from time to time. A tongue with such a structure can help cats remove dirt and debris from their hair, and at the same time achieve the purpose of grooming their own hair. This is a very effective method.
02. Help the kitten
The roughness of a cat’s tongue is very important to kittens, especially when they are young. Because when kittens are born, they can hardly see or hear, so touch is very important to them. The intimacy of the mother’s rough tongue during grooming helps the kitten bond with the mother herself. One is that kittens need to be stimulated to urinate and defecate when they are young. They do not naturally do it, so at this time the mother’s tongue can achieve the purpose of stimulating the kitten to defecate, because if there is no such stimulation, the kitten will The cat may not poop.
03. Drink water
Cats, like dogs, do not put their mouths directly into the water when drinking water, but use their tongues to drink. They put their tongue in the water and then quickly lift it up. The papillae on the cat’s tongue will absorb water from the surface and form a pillar. Then the cat closes its mouth. This action is repeated three to four times until the cat’s mouth contains a large amount of water. They will swallow the water.
04. Taste the taste
Like all animals, including humans, the tongue is a very important taste organ, but there is some debate as to whether cats can taste the same species tastes as humans (sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, umami), and there is no concrete proof.
In fact, for cats, this can be regarded as an evolutionary process. The tongue with such a structure is unique to them and is also very important to them. Although there is still no specific research on cat tongues. conclusion, but I believe that since such a structure exists, there must be a reason for it; and if you don’t like being licked by cats, you can avoid touching the cat’s tongue less.
Original article author：Shit Shovel Officer，If reprinted, please indicate the source.：https://www.petcatanddog.com/article/10290.html