Do Cats Have Belly Buttons?
While rumpling your cats have belly buttons, thinking of its primordial pouch, you may wonder if they have a belly button like us and where it is.
Like us, cats have one navel, which is the attachment point of the umbilical cord to their mother in the womb. Part of it is that cats do not have the usual ‘innie’ or ‘outies’ we know. The belly button is very important in the lives of cats, but what is it for?
A cat’s belly button is an aesthetic feature and has some functional aspects. Fetal development depends on them because they supply nutrients and oxygen to the developing kitten. The umbilical cord is also responsible for the disposal of wastes like carbon dioxide from the fetus. As the kitten grows, it no longer needs its belly button, and the remaining tissue will be absorbed by its body.
Can You Tell Me Where Cats Have Belly Buttons?
An average belly button for a cat is around half a centimeter in diameter, found on the underbelly just below the last rib. One might observe a cowlick of fur near the tiny, white scar. Normally, you can feel a raised border around the scar. If you fail to do that, there is a high likelihood that the scar will be hidden by fur or in the same place as a spay scar. But if your cat is old, her scar may have healed so much that you cannot feel it.
The belly button of a cat is the scar that remains from how the umbilical cord attached mom to her kitten, just like in baby humans. With this link, the cat mom feeding the kitten and nourishing it with essential nutrients that it requires for its growth also delivers oxygen and carries away waste. After the birth, the cord separates from the placenta and dries up; it falls off. All that is left now is a small skin tag.
Although this process is also found in humans, we cut the umbilical cord and clamp the remaining stump. In a few weeks, the stump’s off, and a healed belly button remains. According to doctors, the popular myth that the cord’s shape determines how it was cut and clamped is false.
Thus, why do humans have innies and cats not do so? Scientists, veterinarians, and health care providers still determine why these happen. Still, it could result from progressive healing for a cat’s umbilical cord scar, the thickness of the skin, or how the umbilical cord was attached.
Umbilical hernias generally do not result in any medical complications, and your vet might advise the small umbilical hernia to mend by itself. Larger or worse, poking out might require surgery.
where is a cat’s belly button
Are there any health complications associated with the belly button of a cat?
The red, dark, or irritated tissue around the umbilical cord indicates skin or blood infection in your kitten. They must seek veterinary attention without further delay. If your kitten has something like an outie belly button, it may have a kitten umbilical hernia.
The most prevalent hernia among kittens is the umbilical one, which is more common in orphaned kittens being fostered. It requires stimulating kittens being fed by bottle, but an exaggerated handling of the belly may interfere with a healing belly button. Vets still do not know all the natural reasons behind the occurrence of kitten umbilical hernias.
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Belly Button Health Concerns:
Although they do not usually create such problems in an animal’s everyday life, belly buttons can become a type of umbilical hernia, which is the most common hernia type among dogs and cats. The development of this kind of hernia is usually diagnosed in young puppies and kittens. An umbilical hernia is characterized by a soft mass that appears under your pet’s navel. Some umbilical hernias resolve spontaneously, according to the Pet Health Network. Still, having your vet assess your dog’s hernia is best to prevent it from worsening or causing a medical problem.
Bellybuttons are an interesting physical trait that you might only consider when stroking a cat, dog, or other fur-bearing companion. Still, now it becomes clear that pets have belly buttons.