Cats or cats live in many of us at home. Some have thoroughbred, others do not. However, all representatives of the cat family have a rough tongue. We take this fact for granted, without even thinking about the nature of this phenomenon. Why do cats have a rough tongue? Why do they need such a language and what functions does it have? Let's answer these questions.
Tongue brush
So, why do cats have a rough tongue? This is not just that. By nature, it is envisaged that the tongue of cats be like a kind of brush. Its entire surface is covered with papillae of various sizes and purposes. They create the effect of the brush. Such a rough surface allows the cat to more thoroughly lick its coat.
Tongue roughness
We all feel the same roughness when a cat licks its hands. This is because cats have a large number of papillae in their tongue. There are 4 types of them:
- Threadlike (cone-shaped) - these are the papillae responsible for the brush effect. All because they grow in the opposite direction to the sky. This helps the animal care for the coat. In addition, the pet has the largest number of them, since this form of the papilla is the most common. They occupy the front half of the tongue.
- Leaf-shaped - these are the largest papillae, which are located on both sides of the tongue.
- Mushroom - judging by the name, they resemble mushrooms in shape. They are located on the edges of the cat's tongue.
- Gutter - these papillae are localized on the back of the tongue. By their arrangement, they form a V-row. In front of them are mushroom-shaped papillae.
Functions
The functions of feline language are quite obvious. With its help, the animal takes care of itself, licking its hair. It also removes food debris from the mouth and muzzle. We all saw how the cat washes itself: after wetting the foot, it runs along the face. These manipulations help to clean it.
In addition, with the help of the tongue, the cat tries the food offered to her and determines its temperature. If these criteria do not suit her, she will not eat the food you give her.
The structural feature of the cat's tongue papillae provides her with the ability to drink water and liquid food. Running the tongue along the surface of the water, raising the cat, creates a trickle, which she drinks.
Swallowing items
The reason why cats have a rough tongue is their tendency to swallow various inedible objects. Everyone noticed the animal's love for Christmas tinsel, laces and other hanging objects.
Everything happens because, due to the structural features of the tongue, the cat, having taken an object in his mouth, can no longer get rid of it. And their only opportunity is to swallow the item. The papillae of the tongue simply push the subject deep into the digestive tract.
This situation is not always harmless. For example, cats like to swallow needles. The animal is interested in a thread on a needle. During the game, it turns out that it does not separate from the language. It becomes simply impossible to remove the thread. Due to the direction of the papillae and swallowing movements, the thread gradually moves deeper into the throat, dragging the needle along with it. And finally, the cat can only swallow them. The needle penetrates the digestive tract. In most cases, everything works out well, because the needle is swallowed with a blunt end and also goes to the end. However, this does not always happen, and there are cases of injury.
Feel
Why do cats have a rough tongue? Because it is mottled with papillae. But this not only gives the animal additional positive characteristics. It also increases the sensitivity of the tongue. If for some reason the cat injures his tongue, then this pain will exceed the sensations that the cat would have experienced when injuring another part of the body. The tongue is much more sensitive than the paw, tail or ear.
By the way, due to the fact that the cat has a rough tongue, its teeth always remain clean and sharp.
It’s also not a secret to anyone that language is a storehouse of taste buds. Cat tongue receptors are also responsible for distinguishing taste, but in a slightly different way. Firstly, the cat's receptors themselves are much smaller. If a person has about 9000, then the animal has only 473. Secondly, despite the smaller number, they distinguish tastes more sharply and strongly.
In addition, due to the features of the language, cats provide themselves with the function of thermoregulation. You probably often noticed that during hot weather, the pet sticks its unit out. She does this to evaporate excess moisture from the body, since the cat does not have sweat glands to provide this. Thus, the pet lowers its body temperature.
What is the language of dogs?
The eternal comparison of cats and dogs applies to their languages. As we have already found out, in cats the tongue serves as a comb, therefore it should be rough. Dogs have a completely different situation. They are not so clean and do not look after their hair so much. Therefore, their language is not so rough. Undoubtedly, the papillae are still present, but they are not bent towards the pharynx. Dogs simply do not need such an arrangement of keratinized outgrowths.