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Saturday, March 07, 2015

Why Dogs Are Sloppy Drinkers (And Cats Are Neat Drinkers)

We know you're fascinated with the science behind the liquid lapping habits of both dogs and cats, and we even wrote about it just a couple of months ago. But this time the scientific research comes from MIT and one of our favorite holistic veterinarians, Dr. Karen Becker, tackles the topic.

Yes, dogs are sloppy drinkers, and the bigger the dog, the bigger the mess! But there's science behind their sloppiness.



But cats are incredibly neat drinkers (unless they splash their paws in my water dish, as Bella is want to do). and there's scientific reasoning behind this feline proclivity.



The basic differences are that cats do "an elegant plunge and pull" with their tongues, and "dogs punch the water surface with their tongues, then pull their tongues back in a greatly accelerated motion (about five times that of gravity). Even from this basic description you get the picture.

Ironically, in our house, Bella is the messier "drinker" because she insists on using my water bowl as a bathtub. She loves to bat her paws in my water and then clean herself, and when she's finished, it looks like someone's been swimming in our kitchen. If you have both a canine and feline, who's the messier drinker in your home? 

6 comments:

Unknown said...

So true and interesting to see the science behind the facts. Have a super Saturday.
Best wishes Molly

Kinley Westie said...

I dunno, we're all pretty messy! Da kitties like to play in da water.

Wyatt said...

No cats here, but it looks like a flood or a broken pipe, everytime an Airedale takes a drink. Chalk it up to the long beard and giant tongue!

Molly the Airedale said...

This is not a fair comparison! Look how full of water the doggies dish is!

Love ya lots♥
Mitch and Molly, who like to help mom wash the floor with our wet beards☺

Frankie Furter and Ernie said...

WE curl our tongues UNDER and Kitties curl theirs UP like a spoon... That is so cool.

Bocci said...

Yes, we noticed the dog's bowl was filled to the brim and the kitty had just a bit of milk in her bowl—we say "no fair", too!

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