More Cat Facts

Here are some more cat facts for you and your cat to enjoy. If you find yourself reading these to your cat, it's time to do a reality check.

Taste and that Sandpaper Tongue

Adult cat tongues have rows of hooked, backward-pointing projections called papillae. These barbs latch onto food and fluids, and give the cat's tongue a sandpaper feel. Newborn kittens only have papillae around the edge of the tongue.
Cats drink fluids by curling their tongues into the shape of a spoon. The barbs on their tongues help scoop the water as they flick it to the backs of their mouths, swallowing every few laps.

Your cat can hear more than one sound at a time, and can independently rotate each ear 180 degrees, thanks to more than 20 muscles on each side.
People can hear up to 20,000 cycles per second, but cats can hear up to 65,000 cycles. The sound of mice chatter is about 40,000 cycles per second. So the next time your cat perks her ears up and you don't hear anything... well, you figure it out!

Cats don't have to have direct contact in order to actually feel. Cats can judge distances between objects, the width of an opening, and changes in temperature and air pressure. Beneath your cat's skin are sensors that can detect heat and cold, drafts, and slight changes in pressure.
Cats are heat seekers, which explains why they're avid sunbathers. Cats are drawn to heat so much that they've been known to burn their fur before turning away from a heat source.
The noseleather and the paw pads are the most sensitive areas on the cat to the touch. Cats can judge a rise or fall in temperature as minimal as one or two degrees.
Whiskers act like antennae. They help judge distance, and changes in air pressure.
When it's too dark to see well, whiskers are used to navigate. They can be used to judge the size of openings. First the whiskers, then the head. Since the feline collarbone is loose, a cat can crawl through a space the width of its head.