Jeff Barrett, age 9, of Kingston, Ont., Canada, for his question:

WHY IS A CAT'S TONGUE ROUGH?

A cat's tongue is covered with tight rows of fleshy little spikes. This helps him to lap up milk and water. When he dips down his tongue, some of the liquid stays in the crevices long enough for him to put it into his mouth and swallow it. He needs this rough tongue to drink and also to clean his coat.

As a rule, a cat spends a lot of time preening his coat. He cleans up after every meal and several times during the day. And his rough tongue is used to wash and scrub, clean and comb his fur. Sometimes he shows his affection by licking a human hand. Then you feel that those little spikes on his tongue are very rough indeed.