If you have looked carefully in a cat’s mouth you will see cats have rough tongues; that is why you feel sandpaper rubbing against you when they groom you accidentally or deliberately. A cat’s tongue is covered in hundreds of sharp, curved, rear-facing spines made of keratin called papillae. These spines help a cat transfer saliva from the mouth to fur while grooming and assist greatly with eating and drinking. If they become damaged or a health condition reduces their effectiveness, your cat can run into serious health trouble.
With the assistance of the best pet insurance, you can claim much of the vet visit bills, medicines, and several other costs if there is a problem occurring with your cat’s tongue or mouth. If you haven’t bought a policy for your pet kitty yet, then inquire into the pet insurance cost and purchase an affordable plan to have your kitty covered at all times.
In this article, we would like to highlight the key uses of a cat’s tongue, so cat parents know how important this organ is for a feline pet.
Eating!
Her abrasive tongue makes this task easier. These spines help your kitty to scrape the meat off their prey’s bones. They greatly help cats survive in the wild; even house cats need assistance to finish their meal neatly.
Drinking!
Your kitty may form her tongue into a small scoop shape when she wants to lap up water. Also, the taste buds on your kitty’s tongue are sensitive to water taste. So, it would be best if you provided her with fresh water.
Keeping cool!
As your cat grooms herself with her tongue the saliva on the fur evaporates, thereby reducing excess body heat. It is a natural mechanism that cleanses and cools right from the coat down to the skin.
Grooming!
Many domestic cats spend much of the daytime grooming their fur coat. However, grooming may get challenging if the cat breed has a double coat (an undercoat that provides insulation and a topcoat that serves as guard hair). Cat parents need to know grooming helps your kitty to expel pesky ticks or fleas as well as dirt and loose hair. With no grooming, excess accumulation of debris might tangle the fur. It may cause painful tugging of the skin and sometimes even infections in your fur baby.
Therefore, if you notice any bald areas, strange bumps, dead hair patches, fleas, etc., on your kitty’s coat, consult the vet for diagnosis and treatment.
Dangers associated with a cat’s tongue
Your kitty’s barbed tongue grabs and pulls material. As your kitty grooms herself, a lot of loose hair may get stuck on her tongue. It may get tough for her to spit them out and she may even ingest some hair – perhaps a lot of it. Not all hairballs pass through a cat’s system quickly, so expect your kitty to cough up only some of the swallowed hairballs.
Yarns and string-like things must be kept out of your kitty’s reach. It is because the spines on your kitty’s tongue are made for intake. Due to the unidirectional functionality, if a string gets caught on your kitty’s tongue, it is most likely to be swallowed.
Be vigilant about scattered playthings and other tiny objects around your pet. If your paw pal gets her mouth on them, she will be in much trouble. You may need to seek a vet’s assistance to get her sorted. And you must know that medical care is often more expensive than pet insurance costs. So, buy the best pet insurance to keep your lovable kitty covered for quality medical care in unfortunate times.