Surely on many occasions your kitten will have approached you and will have begun to lick you effusively, as if he was giving you kisses, or showing his affection. However, unlike the dog's tongue, you have surely felt that your animal's tongue is quite rough and rough, and it can even be a bit hard to the touch. If you have noticed, you have most likely wondered if there is any reason or reason why your cat has the tongue in this way.
So lets see why do cats have rough tongues.
What is the language of cats like?
Importantly the roughness of the tongue Of these animals, it is given by the conical papillae, which are those that cover the entire central part of the tongue and are composed of a substance called keratin (the same substance that makes our nails strong and hard). These papillae are what give our cat's tongue that particular texture, and believe it or not, they have a series of special and specific functions.
What are the functions of the cat tongue?
First, the tongue ridges, they help the animal to drink water or any liquid. When dogs drink water, they use their tongue as a kind of spoon, while cats only dip their tongue in water or milk and the ridges are responsible for trapping the liquid that will later be ingested.
In the same way, do not think that the rough and wrinkled tongue is only used to drink liquids, it also serves cats to feed themselves, since this roughness allows remove meat from the bone of its prey. In this way, they can remove the meat from the animals when hunting, or eat fish without any risk of getting caught on a thorn.
In addition, it is very useful when grooming. Thanks to the conical papillae, to those micro-hooks, they can have the coat free of dirt, as well as dead hairs. However, this can cause problems for them, especially if they are long-haired and molting, since they could swallow more than what fits in their stomach, and as a result, the dreaded hairballs form. The way to avoid this is to brush them daily and give them malt for cats.
Diseases of the tongue of cats
Although rare, the tongue of cats can also have some problems:
Cancer
Cancer of the mouth may manifest with wounds or tumors under the tongue. It is more common in older cats, and the symptoms are poor appetite, weight loss, general malaise, leading a more sedentary life, and may even become isolated from its family.
Of course, you have to take them to have a professional examine them and give them the most appropriate treatment so that they can have a good quality of life.
Ulceration of the tongue or glossitis
It is the chronic or acute inflammation of the tongue. It can be caused by an allergic reaction to food, products, medications, etc., bacterial infections, or lack of vitamins.
In general, it is always a symptom of something else, so diseases of the mouth, such as stomatitis, which is accompanied by bad breath, lack of appetite, weight loss, apathy should not be ruled out. The visit to the vet is urgent.
Salivary gland obstruction
Occasionally, this obstruction can lead to swelling under the tongue, causing pain and discomfort when eating. Therefore, symptoms such as poor appetite and consequent weight loss are normal when this occurs.
It is treated surgically.
Wounds
It is not frequent, and in any case it happens more in cats that live with more cats, and that have not learned to coexist well. Tongue wounds can be accidentally done during a fight, for example. In principle they will not be serious injuries, but it is normal that a little blood comes out.
If you see that they have been pierced or that they look bad, do not hesitate to take them to the vet for treatment to avoid infections.
The »language» of the language of cats
Not much is said about it, but did you know that with their tongue they make a calm signal very important? If cats lick their noses while seeing another animal (or person), it is because they want it to calm down. They do this a lot in situations of stress, tension or nerves in general.
So if you see that they do it, it is best to get away from them, or at least leave them alone so that they can feel comfortable again.
What did you think of this topic? 🙂
Very interesting. I really did not know, thank you very much.