Every morning Jerry Underfoot wakes huMom with several licks to the face. Any human that has been licked by a furbulous feline, has probably wondered why does a cat’s tongue feel so scratchy?

Hi it’s Dot & Jerry Underfoot meowing the answer to that question & more.

Our feline tongue is a true wonder of nature, packed with tiny, backward-facing spines that make it essential for grooming, eating, & even social bonding.

What makes a cat tongue unique?  Our  tongue is a muscular, flexible organ divided into three main sections: the tip (apex), the middle (body), & the base (root). The rough “sandpaper” feel comes from hundreds of papillae; tiny, backward-facing hooks made of keratin, the same tough protein in our cat claws & your human nails. These aren’t just for show: papillae play a vital pawt in a cat’s everyday life.

You may pawder, “Why is a cat’s tongue so rough?  The papillae act like a super-comb, catching loose fur, food, & dirt. There are actually several types of papillae on the our tongues:

• Filiform papillae: The most common, these give that classic scratchy feel & help grip fur & food.

• Fungiform, foliate, & vallate papillae: These house taste buds & help detect flavour.

Did you nose these amazing functions of our tongues?

• Grooming: Those backward-pointing spines act as tiny brushes to remove dirt & loose hair & keep our coat shiny by distributing natural oils. They also help cool us down, since saliva on our fur evaporates & helps release body heat.

• Eating: Papillae grip food, scrape meat off bones, & help move food to the back of our mouth. Our wild cat cousins rely on this to eat efficiently!

• Drinking: Us cats use a unique method, quickly flicking the tip of our tongue against water to catch & lap up liquid; a quick, delicate pawcess that’s both quick & quiet.

• Tasting & Sensing: We cats have fewer taste buds than you humans & can’t taste sweetness, but our tongues help us detect sour, salty, or meaty flavours. Our sensitivity to the texture & temperature of our food also helps us choose what & how we eat.

• Social Bonding: Us felines will lick each other or our favorite people as a way to show trust & affection, a behavior called allogrooming.  Jerry is more of a licker, while I like to use my claw paw to show huMom I loves her.

The tongue is also a window into our health. Signs like unusual color or persistent drooling could signal sickness & may require a vet visit.  Ugh, I can’t believe I meowed that.

Our pawsome cat tongues do much more than simply help with eating, they’re essential tools for grooming, tasting, drinking, & even building social bonds. The next time your furbulous feline cat gives a friendly lick, you’ll nose there’s a whole world of fascinating science behind that scratchy sensation.

 

Have a purrfect week!

Remember to be gnawsome, be kind & stay safe.

Dot & Jerry Underfoot😻 head boops 😻

                                  Remembering CEO Olivia & Eddy forever🐾💜🐾

 

 

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