Critter talk: The Big Secret of How Cats Drink
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I’m a dog guy, although I do like cats, and have managed several, at least those the dogs didn’t eat. As I publish this I think about drinking cats. Not those that actually, you know, drink, but drink as in water. It is magic to watch. So this is for Dulce and her Dad Oso. I hope you guys enjoy:
Big win tonight for cats in the cats-vs-dogs war. Engineers say they’ve figured out how the felines drink so neatly, and as the New York Times explains: “The cat’s lapping method depends on its instinctive ability to calculate the balance between opposing gravitational and inertial forces.” Impressive, especially when the story contrasts it with the method of dogs, who come off as neanderthal slurpers.
It goes something like this: Cats dip the tip of their tongue in the water and pull it up at lightning speed. That draws up a thin column of water, which the cat swallows before gravity kicks in and the water starts falling back down. The laps come four times per second, so fast the human eye sees only a blur. The Times story has video and a much fuller explanation.
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Cats rule, dogs drool. Seriously, some of them drool a lot.
Thanks for the info man! Dulcelina is a very neat drinker but likes to play in the tub,Camille leaves the water trickling and Dulce bats it,drinks it and comes out dripping wet.odd little creature.
Mine wakes me up every night at about 1 AM slurping out of my water glass sitting on the bedside table. I am living proof that drinking after cats will not result in any harm.
. Mine will sit under the faucet till I turn it on for them but I’ve never watched them. I’ll have to remind myself to do that. Oh and Mike, you never managed cats, that’s in your imagination. I don’t talk about people behind their backs or in front of their monitors, so I thought you should know I am laughing at you thinking you could manage a cat in any way. 🙂
It is interesting to watch a dog drink. They are messy. They curl their tongue backwards forming a small cup and then lift the water into their mouths as opposed to people who tend to curl their tongues forward when lapping.
I’m inspired to ask my cat what she thinks about the theory of relativity. Well, if she understands opposing gravitational and inertial forces?
The cat you used in the featured image could have been a photo of our cat. White fur, one blue eye and the other yellow-green. We call her Blanca.
Doesn’t it also depend on the surface structure of the cat’s tongue?
I remember when we had a cat, I noticed that its tongue was almost hairy/spiky, which would give a huge surface area to interact with the water surface.
Actually, our moggy prefered beer. Anytime I had a few bottles, it always enjoyed a few drops.