November 13, 2010
A scientist was watching his cat drink water one day, and started to wonder why it was able to drink so neatly and quietly - especially because his dog made so much noise and mess slurping up water from its bowl.
So, he did what scientists do when they have a question - he called some friends and they decided to run an experiment. Drinking cats lap with their tongues so quickly - four times per second - that all our human eye can see is a blur. So, the scientists used high-speed cameras to capture a cat drinking. What they discovered was pretty amazing.
A drinking cat darts its tongue into the bowl so delicately that the tip just lightly touches the surface of the milk. When it pulls its tongue back, it is moving so quickly that a thin stream of milk gets pulled up behind it. Just at the moment when gravity is about to take over and cause the milk to fall…..SNAP! The cat closes its jaws over the stream of liquid and swallows it.
A perfectly neat solution!
Since I have written books about both DOGS and CATS, kids often tell me which one they really love, and which one they think makes a better pet. The truth is that both dogs and cats can each be good and loyal pets.
But when it comes down to who is a neater, more elegant drinker? Cats win, paws down!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
