ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2018
Cats use hollow papillae to wick saliva into fur.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Decoding diversity: Are there patterns in the organization of grooming movements in domestic cats?Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2026Article
- Multifunctional Fluidic Units for Emergent, Responsive Robotic Behaviors.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- Feline papillomavirus-associated Merkel cell carcinoma: a comparative review with human Merkel cell carcinoma.The Journal of veterinary medical science · 2023Review
- Dual-bionic superwetting gears with liquid directional steering for oil-water separation.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Article
- Skin wrinkles and folds enable asymmetric stretch in the elephant trunk.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Article
- Domestic cat damage to plant leaves containing iridoids enhances chemical repellency to pests.iScience · 2022Article
- Human allergy to cats: A review for veterinarians on prevalence, causes, symptoms and control.Journal of feline medicine and surgery · 2022Review
- Characterization of the cutaneous mycobiota in Persian cats with severe dermatophytosis.Veterinary dermatology · 2021Article
- Increased Water Viscosity Enhances Water Intake and Reduces Risk of Calcium Oxalate Stone Formation in Cats.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2021Article
- Hello, kitty: could cat allergy be a form of intoxication?The journal of venomous animals and toxins including tropical diseases · 2020Article
- 3D Biomimetic Tongue-Emulating Surfaces for Tribological Applications.ACS applied materials & interfaces · 2020Article
- Persian cats under first opinion veterinary care in the UK: demography, mortality and disorders.Scientific reports · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The cat tongue is covered in sharp, rear-facing spines called papillae, the precise function of which is a mystery. In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we use high-speed film, grooming force measurements, and computed tomography (CT) scanning to elucidate the mechanism by which papillae are used to groom fur. We examine the tongues of six species of cats from domestic cat to lion, spanning 30-fold in body weight. The papillae of these cats each feature a hollow cavity at the tip that spontaneously wicks saliva from the mouth and then releases it onto hairs. The unique shape of the cat's papillae may inspire ways to clean complex hairy surfaces. We demonstrate one such application with the tongue-inspired grooming (TIGR) brush, which incorporates 3D-printed cat papillae into a silicone substrate. The TIGR brush experiences lower grooming forces than a normal hairbrush and is easier to clean.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.