There are two places in the cat's body structure where dense barbs have evolved. One is on the tongue and the other is on the cat's male reproductive organs. The structure of cat males seems unreasonable, which will cause female cats to be scratched during mating. So in those late nights during the cat's estrus, we can often hear the cats making heart-piercing screams during the mating process.
However, this kind of barbed structure is also common in the bodies of other cats, and its existence is reasonable. This shows that the barbs are actually conducive to the survival of this kind of animals. They have not been eliminated in the long-term evolution, but have always been eliminated. Saved it. So, why did male cats evolve a small barbed structure? What does the barbed structure do?
If you have been licked by a cat, you will find that the touch of your cat’s tongue is not smooth. Because the cat’s tongue is covered with fine barbs, you will feel a slight tingling sensation when you are licked.
These barbs in cats are made of keratin. This tough fibrous protein is also common in many animal tissues and organs, such as paws, feathers, and shells. Human nails also contain keratin.
The barbs on the tongue are very useful for cats. They all rely on the barbs on their tongues when they eat, drink, groom their hair, and clean up odors on their bodies.
The barb on the tongue is like a comb. When the cat licks the hair, it can comb out the dust, fleas, floating hair, dander, and other foreign objects in the hair, preventing the hair from knotting, making the hair smoother, and also conducive to distributing excess hair. Heat. They keep their hair smooth and shiny, and are more likely to be favored by the opposite sex and get the right to mate.
When eating, barbs can also help pick out bad things, and some small pieces of meat stuck to the bones can’t be bitten off with the teeth, and the tongue with barbeds can break the bones. Cut the meat off, don't waste it!
Cats also use their tongues to lick off their own odors to prevent predators from smelling their own odors.
Therefore, the barbs on the cat’s tongue are actually for survival, while the barbs on the cat’s penis are for reproduction.
The reproductive organs of male cats are also covered with barbs, the scientific name is penile spines. This is not something they are born with, but they grow out later in the development process. Cats will enter "puberty" when they are 6 months old, when their lower body begins to develop barbs. But if they are sterilized when they are young, they won't grow these barbs either.
So, what is the role of penile spines? Its existence makes female cats so painful during mating, why can they be preserved?
- Stimulate female ovulation:
The pregnancy process of cats is different from that of humans. Cats will ovulate only when they mate with a male during the estrus period. If there is no mating, they will not ovulate.
When two cats mate, the cat’s penile spines will scratch the inner wall of the female. It is the penile spines scratching that causes the female’s pain, which can stimulate the female cat’s brain to secrete a special hormone, thereby urging the eggs in the ovaries to mature, but The number of matings must be at least four times before the concentration of this hormone is so high that the eggs are fully mature and discharged.
In order to ensure that their lives are not threatened while the cats are reproducing, each time they complete mating in a very short time, it is more secure, so cats belong to the quick-fighting group, and each time they mate for about 10 seconds. . However, because it is uncertain whether a female can successfully ovulate at one time, it takes several times to stimulate the female to ovulate.
The main reason for the existence of penile spines is that barbs can sting females in a short period of time, which increases the chance that females will shed egg cells in a single time, which will increase the chance of conception and ensure the success rate of gene continuation.
- Clean up "predecessor" sperm
The mating strategy of cats is polygamy. Female cats will mate with multiple different male cats during the estrus period, which also allows males to evolve this structure that can clean up other sperm. During mating, penile spines can scrape out the germ cells left by the "predecessor" in the female body, play a role in cleaning up the battlefield, and ensure that only their own offspring are produced as much as possible.
- Prevent escape
The mating of cats is indeed a very painful exercise for females, because the penile stab injury can cause discomfort or even severe scratches to the female cat. When the pain is unbearable, the female cat may try to escape. Therefore, in order to prevent the female from escaping halfway, the male will bite the female's back neck at the beginning of mating to make it immobile. The barbs on the penis can also play a role in preventing escape. At the end of mating, the female cat will turn her head and retaliately attack the male.
to sum up
Therefore, cats with barbs have special advantages when they mate and reproduce. The success rate of reproduction is higher than that without barbs, and they can produce more offspring. Over time, cats without barbs are gradually eliminated, and the barbed genes that are conducive to the survival and reproduction of cats have been retained.
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