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| Image by Girasol Tarsio Arte Visual from Pixabay |
do you remember the first time your cat licked your hand you were probably surprised by its roughness reminding you of the feeling of sandpaper do you know why this is the case this article explains all about the uniqueness of a cat's tongue and how it works.
1.what is the tongue of a cat like:
cats have a layer of prickly tissue on their tongue that gives it this feeling of roughness sometimes it even feels we are being sanded down when they lick us this is due to conical papillae small protuberance is made up of keratin a substance that also makes up nails and hair.
2.what are conical papillae for:
the spiny papillae on the cat's tongue have a clear function they act like a comb one of their main uses is to maintain hygiene of their hair with their tongue cats remove dead fur thoroughly clean their coat and brush it this can lead to the formation of hair balls it's necessary to pay attention to the behavior of the cat brush them regularly and go to the vet in case of any anomaly discover the symptoms and how to eliminate hair balls and cats in the article we share here another function of these conical papillae is to help remove the meat attached to the bones of their prey the feline is a born hunter so they have characteristics that facilitate this activity of course domestic cats no longer need to use their tongues for this purpose unless they are on a barf or homemade diet even so many of them still retain their hunting instinct and do not miss the opportunity to hunt small animals such as mice or birds but these are not the only functions of the tongue of cats let's see what else they are for.
3.drinking water:
unlike humans and other animals cats do not use their lips to drink water they use their tongue to create a kind of spoon to take in the desired amount of water into the mouth if you've never noticed before watch your cat drink water closely and see what happens.
4.perceiving the taste of food the taste buds of the cat allow them to distinguish many more nuances than our own in general most cats prefer salty foods.
5.monitor their body temperature:
when the cat feels excessively hot they can pan to cool their body and balance their body temperature in doing so they expel heat through the moisture that it creates the mucous membranes of the tongue throat and mouth this makes it possible to exhale this air and the absorption of the steam is obtained to cool down.
