Honors Anatomy Cat Dissection Project: Cat vs. Human Comparison

How are the human and cat digestive systems similar and different?

Similarities

Both have a tongue, salivary glands, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, gallbladder, liver, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus.

Both can digest meat.

Both have molars and premolars.

Both secrete saliva in order to moisten, soften, and chemically break down starches in food.

Differences
Humans	Cats
Omnivores	Obligate carnivores-Can only get nutrients from meat and bones. Can tolerate only small amounts of vegetation & plant matter (only to aid in digestion & to make hairballs)
Humans obtain necessary nutrients and vitamins from plants and animals.	Plants are unnecessary for a cats’ diet. A healthy diet for a cat involves high levels of protein and low levels of carbohydrates.
Humans need carbohydrates to make energy.	Cats need no carbohydrates for energy; it is even unhealthy for them to have carbohydrates such as wheat, corn, and soybeans because they make digestion more difficult.
Slower metabolism than cats and meat must be cooked to eliminate harmful bacteria. Slow metabolism= a higher chance for harmful bacteria to grow (for example: salmonella)	Higher metabolism than humans. Also, a higher metabolism decreases the risk of illnesses from harmful bacteria.
Digestive juices in a human are less acidic than a cat because we do not need to break down bones because we do not eat them.	Digestive juices are highly acidic. This is to help it break down the bones of its prey that it may have eaten.
A human’s liver has 4 lobes	A cat’s liver has 6 lobes
A human large intestine includes the ascending, transverse, and descending colon.	A cat’s large intestine does not include an ascending colon.
Humans do not require the same levels of taurine to function and maintain proper health like cats do.	Cats require high amounts of taurine (an amino acid) in order to maintain proper vision, digestion, heart functions, & immune system.
Tongue is used only to mechanically break down food.	Tongue is used to not only break food down mechanically, but for self-grooming purposes with the papillae.
Teeth are blunter than cats, and are used mainly to just help tear up meat.	Cat teeth are sharper than human teeth, and are used to hold and kill prey.
Premolars and molars are used primarily for grinding up food.	Premolars and molars are used primarily cutting up and tearing food.
Incisors are used to cut up food.	Cat incisors are smaller than a human’s and are used for grooming.
Humans have a wider range of movement for the jaw than cats do, including being able to move the jaw both side to side and up and down.	Cats can only move their jaw vertically, not side to side.
Adult human has 32 teeth.	Adult cat has 30 teeth.