不流汗不吐舌头 大热天喵星人是怎么给自己降温的？

How do cats cool themselves off?

大热天里，人会流汗，狗会呼哧呼哧地喘气，但是猫好像却没什么反应。难道是猫不怕热？其实猫也有自己的散热方式，只不过和你想的不太一样。

When temperatures rise, humans sweat, dogs pant, and cats ... don’t move enough to overheat? Well, partially. Cats, who need to maintain an internal body temperature of 101°F to 102°F, have several methods for keeping cool in sweltering weather.

气温上升时，人会流汗，狗会喘气，猫呢？好像对高温没啥反应？其实，并不是完全没反应。猫需要保持38.3度到38.9度的体内温度，在闷热的天气里也有几种给自己降温的方式。

It’s a misconception that cats sweat through their paws to cool themselves off. As summer wears on you might see moist paw prints, but as veterinarian Kimberly May told The Washington Post, “any secretions there or from their nose, mouth, or tongue are not for sweating; they’re for protection and moisture and are insufficient to cool the blood.”

有一种错误观念认为猫通过爪子流汗来给自己降温。在夏日里你可能会看到潮湿的猫爪留下的印子，但是据兽医金柏莉·梅告诉《华盛顿邮报》说，“猫的鼻子、嘴或舌头的任何分泌物都不是流汗，而是起到保护和湿润的作用，不足以给血液降温。”

Instead, cats recreate the sweating process—which works to cool humans via evaporation—by grooming themselves regularly. The saliva from their tongues acts like sweat that cools their body when it evaporates—which is why you can also help cool your cat down by using a damp washcloth to lightly wet their fur. In extreme weather, cats will also pant, but unlike dogs who pant regularly to keep themselves cool, a panting cat is a sign of more dangerous over-heating or other serious disease.

事实上，猫通过定期舔自己的毛发来达到流汗般的散热效果。人类通过汗液蒸发来给自己降温，猫的舌头分泌出的唾液在蒸发时也可以给身体降温。因此你也可以用湿毛巾擦一擦猫的身体，轻微润湿毛发，来帮助你的猫降温。在极端炎热的天气下，猫也会喘气，但和狗不同，狗在热天里经常喘气是为了凉快，而喘气的猫则意味着过热或其他严重疾病的危险。

And if you’re tempted to shave your feline friend to help keep him cool—don’t!

如果你有给猫剃毛降温的冲动，千万别这么做！

"Fur acts as a thermal regulator to slow down the process of heat absorption,” James H. Jones, an expert in comparative animal exercise physiology and thermoregulation at the University of California at Davis, told The Washington Post.

加州大学戴维斯分校比较动物运动生理学和体温调节系的专家詹姆斯·H·琼斯表示：“毛发相当于减缓吸热过程的体温调节器。”

Fur coats are highly evolved—in the winter they keep animals warm, but in the summer, they work both to protect delicate skin from the sun and slow dehydration (Jones notes that, according to research, shaved camels fared worse in the deserts than those with their fur intact).

动物的毛发经过了高度进化，冬天给动物保暖，夏天则保护脆弱的皮肤不被日晒，并减慢脱水速度。琼斯指出，研究发现，被剃毛的骆驼在沙漠里没有毛发完好的骆驼那么皮实。

But even with these methods for keeping cool, cats also rely on the perks of domesticity to stay comfortable. So even though they evolved from wild ancestors and are able to tough it out, leave the A/C (or a fan) on for your cats when you go out, and make sure to leave them plenty of water.

即使有这些降温方式，猫也需要待在舒适的室内环境里。尽管它们是从野生祖先进化而来的，也能够忍受炎热，但是在你出门时还是要给猫开着空调，并确保给猫留下充足的水。

英文来源：Mental Floss