Here's how cats are cleaned every time

A team of researchers studied the tongues of six species of Felidae and revealed the existence of an internal cavity in each papilla collecting saliva from the mouth and distributing it in the coat through the lechages.

Domestic cats sleep on average 14 hours a day, but when they are awake, they spend up to a quarter of their time licking themselves to eliminate fleas, leftovers and refresh the hair that covers your body. (Read: scientists are not good hunters of rats)

Their tongues are covered with hundreds of sharp spines curved in the same direction called budswho are responsible for giving such approximate contact to the sinhueso. According to a study published this week in the magazine Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, these fine structures contain an empty hollow at the tip who plays a key role in feline grooming.

"It has been studied before how the amount of fleas increases if cats do not clean and there were already microscopic studies of the taste buds. But we were the first to discover that the taste buds have a hole who is involved in licking, "says researcher David Hu, co-author of this work at Sinc.

Each "U" shaped cavity is responsible for collecting saliva from the mouth and then distributing it through the hair in the wipers. In particular each of the holes can store up to 4.1 μL of saliva, amount equivalent to one tenth of a drop of the typical eye drop. In addition, at each lick, the tongue deposits about 50% of the fluid in the mantle to cool and regulate body temperature.

The cat's taste buds have an empty cavity that stores saliva / ALEXIS CHRISTMAS

In this way, the relief felt by cats after grooming depends on the ability of the taste buds to penetrate the coat to reach the skin. This explains why some species of domestic catsor Persian cats with long hair, they have trouble smoothing. (You can read: The first and only cat in space is 55 years old)

"The taste buds must reach the skin to dissolve the oils and the rest of the material. Persian cats have a coat too thick to penetrate the taste buds. Since they can not reach the skin, the cat can not clean up completely, "Hu adds.

To reach these conclusions, researchers Alexis Noel and David Hu recorded high-speed images of cats licking each other and used a computed tomography, as well as measures of the power of the lick, to understand the mechanism behind each lick. In addition, they analyzed the organ of six different species of cats -Gato climbed, cougar, irbis, tiger and lion- that they picked up after his death.

Language analysis of six species

From the data obtained, the authors of the study designed a brush inspired by the language of the cat. According to the researchers, this tool can be useful for removing allergens from cat fur and applying lotions and drugs to the cat's skin. Their curved teeth also make it easy to loosen excess hair, which sets them apart from traditional brushes. (Read also: A New Zealand village will eradicate cats to protect their native birds)