What are the functions of a cat's tongue?

The cat's tongue has several main functions, including grooming fur, tasting food, facilitating eating and drinking, leaving scent on the owner, and helping to dissipate heat. Although a cat's tongue has many purposes, the small spines on the tongue can sometimes pose safety hazards, such as forming hairballs in the body due to frequent licking or accidentally swallowing small objects. Therefore, owners should regularly give their cats hair removal paste to prevent internal hairballs and digestive problems. Additionally, owners should keep杂物收拾起来，以免发生危险。

Grooming Fur

A cat's tongue has special backward-facing spines, like a comb, which can help groom the fur. These special spines can also help the cat unravel knotted hair, making the fur look smoother.

Tasting Food

A cat's tongue has 200-300 keratinized taste buds that can detect sour, salty, bitter flavors. Therefore, a cat's tongue also serves the purpose of tasting food, helping the cat find suitable food.

Facilitating Eating and Drinking

A cat's daily eating and drinking habits are closely related to its hooked tongue. When eating, the cat primarily relies on its tongue to wrap food into its mouth. When eating meat, the hooked structure also helps to remove meat from bones. Secondly, when drinking, the cat needs to use its hooked structure to attach water to its tongue and then quickly retract it, using inertia to drink a large amount of water at once.

Leaving Scent on the Owner

To assert its dominance, a cat will also leave its scent on its owner or by rubbing against them. This indicates that the cat likes and trusts its owner.

Helping to Dissipate Heat

During hot weather or after intense exercise, cats will use their tongues to cool off. This is because cats have limited ability to dissipate heat through their paws and breathing. Therefore, when the weather is hot or after intense exercise, they can only release excess heat by rapidly panting and sticking out their tongues. This is a normal phenomenon, so owners don't need to worry too much.