You probably don’t give your cat’s tongue much thought, unless she licks you. Then you might recoil from the sandpaper feel of her cute, little pink tongue. Have you ever wondered why a cat’s tongue is so rough?
Just like her claws, her tail, and her whiskers, the cat’s
tongue has a unique purpose. It’s a grooming tool. Grooming for cats in the wild is vital to their well-being. They clean all traces of their meals from their face and paws so as not to attract predators through the scent. Licking keeps them cool in the summer. Cats sometimes lick to relieve stress—in fact some over-groom.
The design of a cat’s tongue can get them into trouble. I once had a cat swallow a needle. I believe what happened is that she was sitting too close to my pin cushion while I was sewing and, in the process of grooming herself, she licked up a piece of thread which happened to be attached to a needle.
With cats, whatever gets caught up on the tongue 
pretty much must be swallowed. There’s no release mechanism on that barbed tongue. What goes in, must go down. We discovered the needle sideways in Crystal’s throat and the veterinarian was able to remove it. Whew!!!
Be aware that cats can get into trouble if they lap up a strip of rattan, ribbon, string, yarn, tinsel, and maybe even feathers and straw. It can get caught up in those barbs and swallowed.
The cat’s tongue is instrumental in lapping water. You’ve all watched your cat drink from a bowl, maybe your glass of water, and even from the tap or a fountain. The tongue is a big part in the process of drinking. It used to be thought that cats drank by forming a spoon shape with their tongue. The fact is that they fold their tongue back and sort of flick the water into their mouth, closing it in time to swallow. Whatever their process, they certain can lap up the water and sprinkle a few beads of it all over their face and whiskers in the process. Cute!
