Why do cats blep?
The word “blep” refers to a cat sticking her tongue out slightly. The face is passive. The body is also fairly passive and still. There appears to be nothing particular going on except that the cat is...
View ArticleHow do cats cool themselves down?
How do cats cool themselves down? There are three ways for cats to cool themselves down (1) perspiration (2) panting (3) saliva evaporation on their coat. A fourth is more obvious: cats find a shady...
View ArticleHow many taste buds do cats have?
A cat’s sense of taste is weak compared to humans who have 9,000 taste buds while domestic cats have 473. However, this relative deficiency is more than made up for by the cat’s sense of smell which is...
View ArticleCat is more Sophisticated than the Dog when Drinking
‘Cats rule, dogs drool’ is a funny way to describe the difference. The dog has a cruder drinking technique than the cat. That’s what I claim! We know that cats are more sophisticated than dogs, don’t...
View ArticleUnderstanding Why Cats Can Be Fussy Eaters
The title might have been “Understanding how cats taste bitterness will help in the delivery of medicines”. Scientists, in a recent study published 3rd June 2015, found that taste receptors in cats’...
View ArticleThe awesome science of the cat’s tongue inspires a novel hair brush
You might know that the cat’s tongue is covered with around 290 tiny but prominent backward facing spines (papillae) made of keratin. Our nails are made of keratin. And cats groom themselves for about...
View ArticleWhy do cats stick their tongue out?
Why do cats stick their tongue out? We are discussing domestic cats. You can see a classic example of this on twitter and I have embedded the short video on this page. Social media users call it a ‘cat...
View ArticlePicture of Ikiru – Exotic Shorthair cat celebrity
The coronavirus lockdown has improved the celebrity status of Ikiru, an Exotic Shorthair pointed cat with a sticky-out tongue and a very flat face. He has a good following on Instagram. Sadly nearly...
View ArticleHyena has a cat’s tongue (picture)
This picture of a spotted hyena’s tongue shows us that it has backward facing hard spines on it to help shred the flesh from prey. They are keratin spines very similar to those on all cats, domestic...
View ArticleCats use inertia to drink while dogs scoop up the liquid
Cats and dogs drink in very different ways. I don’t want to sound biased but cats employ a far more sophisticated technique based upon fancy physics. Whereas dogs use their tongues to ladle the liquid...
View ArticleIs it true that cats can’t taste sweetness?
It is ironic that about 31% of dry cat food is carbohydrates. It has to be in order to make the stuff. And I think it is correct to say that carbohydrates taste sweet to at least some degree....
View Article
