Does anyone else have a cat with a smooth tongue?

[mservant]

This might seem weird but ever since I adopted Mouse when he was about 15 weeks old I noticed his tongue was quite smooth.  It's like he only has soft, short barbs so it feels more like a human tongue.  When he gives me little kisses or licks my hand it doesn't feel all raspy like it would with other cats.  For a while I thought maybe this was a Russian Blue trait (which he is) but when I asked about this I was told Russian Blues usually have really raspy tongues, presumably to cope with their dense fur.  It fits with his gentle nature but I can't help wondering if it might be significant in some way.

Has anyone else had a cat with a smooth tongue, and if so did your cat have any health problems you thought might be related? (Mouse was quite sick with gingivitis and sores in his mouth for a while after he finished teething. Plaque still builds up really quickly on his teeth so he's on a special diet and daily dental care routine). 

 

[jcat]

It's interesting to learn that somebody else has a cat with a (fairly) smooth tongue. Mogli's isn't as smooth as a human's, but is so much less sandpaper-like than most cats' tongues that I've wondered about it. It doesn't seem to affect his grooming in any way; he has a very short coat.
He does have IBD, so I'll have to ask the vet when we're there for his next check-up at the end of the month what she thinks.

 

[mservant]

Hurray, a fellow smoothy!  It sounds just like it.   

   The middle of Mouse's tongue is slightly raspy but the edges are pretty smooth and soft. Like Mogli, grooming is fine.  I've never managed to find anything written about it before so looking forward to see if there are more out there. 

  

 

[jcat]

I thought for a while that the medication (a powder) that Mogli took for his IBD might have been coating his tongue and making it feel smooth, even though it didn't look that way at all. He's been off the stuff for about two months, though, and his tongue is still pretty smooth.

Maybe all the chewing he does has worn down the barbs. :lol3:

 

[goholistic]

Sebastian's is the same way! He licked me a few times and I noticed it was quite smooth. He has difficulty eating wet foods that aren't just the right consistency, and it ends up just all smashed down in the bowl because he tongue isn't rough enough to grab the food.

 

[mservant]

Hadn't thought about that as Mouse only gets tiny bits of wet food but you're right. I was thinking he didn't like what I gave him that much because there's always biggish bits left around the bowl but thinking about it, he probably just can't get the bits up. He manages paste and thick gravy consistency best.

 

[jcat]

Mogli doesn't have any trouble eating. He practically inhales food of all types.

Apparently some Savannah cats have smooth tongues, and others don't. I found this thread: Savannah cat tongue...
Several people have asked about their cats' smooth tongues online, and two vets replied that it wasn't anything to worry about.
My cats tongue is smooth.
My 14 year old cats tongue has become very smooth.

 

[mservant]

Interesting bit in the 14 year old cat link as the vet says scarring can leave smooth areas.  I know Mouse has a scarred area on his tongue from his stomatitis but that's towards the back and I wouldn't feel that when he licks. I've never managed to see the scar but now I know what to look for I'll try again next time he has a good yawn.  He didn't have any ulcers around the edges or front of his tongue where it's really smooth though, and it wasn't rough even when he was a little kitten so my mystery goes on! 

More Savannah's do seem to have a smooth tongue than other types of cat if that article is anything to go by.   I can be pretty sure Mouse doesn't have any Savannah hybrid blood in him though - unless it was more than 6 generations ago. 

  Presumably a recessive genetic thing -  and much as he's the spitting image of his mum, and very like his maternal gran, their tongues feel like they've got razors on!

 

[archerbaby]

One of the foster kittens, a beautiful little calico with tabby stripes, that I have right now has a smooth tongue.  She's a licker, so you definitely notice, especially when she decides to try to lick your face!  I thought that it was kind of strange, so it's nice to hear that there are other smooth tongue kitties out there

 

[beadloomer]

We recently found a stray kitty. about 6 weeks old. Beautiful gray color. He licked me and I noticed a smooth tongue. Never had I even heard of this. Could it be his young age? He does well with hard and soft foods. Nice to see others with a smooth

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• beadloomer
• Oct 30, 2013

tongue.

 

[mservant]

Aw, what a cutie, and grey too!  Loving those big ears and the serious face. It might just be his age but if you feel it is less raspy than other kittens you have known of a similar age then it could be he will be special like our other cats in this thread.  Are you going to keep this little one?  If so, thank you so much for taking him/her in.  The smooth tongue doesn't seem to do them any harm apart from maybe being slightly harder to lick some things up, but it makes for much nicer kitty kisses for us humans! 

  

 

[ca123]

Hi my cat sooty is just like Mogli I my self had never heard of this until she licked my hand today. The only health problem sooty had was getting stung by a bee in her face [emoji]128513[/emoji] it's not entirely smooth but it's smoother then my other cat Oliver's
I really want to find out more about this because it's so strange this is sooty sleeping what a cutie

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• ca123
• Mar 11, 2014

 

[mservant]

Sooty looks very cute, and she has a similar little heart face to Mouse from the look of it in your photo here.   I always wanted a little black and white cat but so far I've had 2 tabbies and a grey one. 

  Getting closer I guess!  

I was reassured by jcat saying there was information from a couple of vets saying a smooth tongue wasn't anything to worry about.  Mouse's isn't completely smooth either but it is a lot softer than your average kitty!

Poor Sooty getting stung on her face, that must have been really painful.  I hope she recovered quickly.

 

[angelinacat]

Toogie's tongue was fairly smooth.  I didn't think anything of it until his buddy, Princess, snuggled up into my arms and started to rasp my arm with his tongue and try to pull my wristwatch on my arm off me.

Both cats were absolutely healthy and I never gave any of this another thought.  They just were different cats; that was all.  After all, we are supposed to be individuals...

 

[cannonfire]

My cat George has a smooth tongue, although his litter mates did not.  The only issue for George is difficulty drinking water.  He laps a few times, then tilts his head up to swallow.  He prefers to drink from a dripping faucet because it's easier for him to get water more easily, and that helps him drink more.  He has never been dehydrated and has been a very healthy kitty for all of his 7 years.  I guess special kitties sometimes need a little special care.

 

[mservant]

Interesting you say about George liking to drink from the faucet because Mouse definitely prefers that!  He only drinks from his bowl if he has to but likes to drink a lot of water so will be up at the tap as soon as anyone is in the kitchen!  No one here minds so we just set the tap to drip as soon as he's there....  It makes sense that lapping up water would be harder work too, just like the feeding from bowls.  Mouse also loves to drink from a little syringe with water in which is quite handy when I take him out in the car for any reason.  He'll drink lapping water from a syringe even when he's quite stressed and the look on his face when he does this is the cutest face I can imagine. 

 

[binx1]

We recently added a black kitten to our family.  He's now 4 months old and his name is Binx.  I was curious if anyone else had a cat with a smooth tongue and found this web site.  Our kitten looks much like the Jcat posted here.  His tongue is very smooth, just like our dogs!  We find this very odd, as our other 4 cats have sandpaper tongues

  I wonder if this a black or grey cat trait?  I'm glad to know the vet doesn't think its bad.  He's a very sweet boy.

  Any other info that anyone has about this odd phenomenon, I would love to know.

 

[jcat]

binx1 to TCS! It's interesting that your boy is black with a smooth tongue, too. Maybe some others will post now that the thread has been "bumped" and we'll get some details about colors.

 

[mservant]

@Binx1 to TCS! It's interesting that your boy is black with a smooth tongue, too. Maybe some others will post now that the thread has been "bumped" and we'll get some details about colors.

Must have a look around:  there's another new member who posted a week or two back about their cat's tontue and I'm trying to remember if they have another blue kitty or if I'm imagining that.

 

[cheekylulu]

Hi there,

My mother-in-law recently passed away and we inherited her 11 year old cat "Lulu". This is my first experience owning a cat and I hadn't really spent much time with Lulu previously. She always talked about Lulu, saying how she's almost human like. Not until Lulu came to live with us did I understand what she had been talking about. Lulu also plays catch and fetches her toys.  In such a sad time, Lulu has brought such joy to our family.  We often wonder if she misses my mother in law like we do - she must.  Anyway, when Lulu licked my hand for the first time I expected that rough feeling and I was very surprised to feel how soft and smooth her tongue is.  I'm not sure what type of cat she is- I've attached a picture of our Lulu.  She had a sore on her nose when we got her but with medication she is healing purrr-fectly  . So happy to be a part of the cat community 

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• cheekylulu
• Oct 5, 2015