Why is a cat's tongue rougher than a dog's tongue when both have to lap water? My wife wants to know.?

Answer 1

The tongue is rough to groom their hair.
Dog's don't groom themselves as much as cats :)

Answer 2

Cats groom themselves more than dogs and the rough tongue acts as a brush, helping them groom better.

Another reason a cats tongue is rough may be due to his wild past. Cats are true carnivores after all. The rough tongue makes it easier to lick flesh off the bone of dead prey.

Answer 3

Have you ever been licked by a cat? If so, you will notice that it feels like there is sandpaper on their tongues. The bumps on their tongues are called papillae. These are tiny hooks that point backwards. You can compare it to the bumpy side of Velcro.

Why do cats lick themselves? Cats do their own grooming and lick their fur to clean it. They also lick themselves to cool off in the hot weather. In the cold weather, they lick to fluff up their fur in order to keep warm. Cats lick their fur to help it stay waterproof. If cats have a wound, they will lick it to make it feel better and to clean it.
The little hooks on their tongues catch loose hair, flaky skin, dirt and fleas. The cats then swallow what they have licked. Their stomach acid is very strong and dissolves what they have licked.

In some cases, there are cats that swallow too much hair and it can't dissolve. They end up coughing it up as a hairball. This happens a lot with longhaired cats. The best way to prevent this is to comb your cat often. There is hairball medicine available at pet shops. It is usually an ointment that comes in a tube. You squirt a bit on the cat's paw or nose. They will lick the medicine and it will go to their stomach to help digest their hair.

If a cat licks you, you should be flattered. This is one of the highest forms of affection offered by a cat.

Answer 4

Cats' tongues are designed to lick meat off bone, not lap water. Cats in the wild actually get most of their water intake from meat and its moisture so they need scratchy tongues to avoid loosing the blood/marrow moisture. Domesticated cats are often very slightly dehydrated if they only eat dry kibble so they do lap more water than their wild brethren

Answer 5

Your dog licks his *** but not much more. Your cat grooms himself with his tongue. Part of the self-sufficiency of a cat; remember this when giving your dog a bath and thanking god that you don't have to do it to the cat.

Answer 6

Because cats groom themselves more than dogs since a lot of cats dislike water, and have long, shedding hair. A lot of dogs like water though, so they can use water to get clean too.

Answer 7

A cat's tongue is also designed for self-grooming. There is a good short article about it here:

http://www.catchow.com/catcarecenter_physical3.aspx?storyID=13&category=1

Answer 8

when, in the wild, their tongues are used to lick the meat off bones, and dogs just eat the bones with meat attached. also cats use it to thoroughly groom themselves.

Answer 9

cats take more baths than dogs do.