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You are here: Home / Kitty Wisdom / Do Cats Have Tonsils?

Do Cats Have Tonsils?

July 9, 2020 By: Summer Samba30 Comments

Do cats have tonsils? Summer's human wanted to know... so here you go!

Every time my human gets a photo of me like the one above, she says, “I can see your tonsils!” But then she started wondering if cats really did have tonsils. So she looked it up.

And duh, yeah, cats do have tonsils. In fact, we kitties have four sets of tonsils to a human’s three. Human tonsils are the pharyngeal tonsils (or adenoids), the the palatine tonsils and the lingual tonsils. Cat tonsils are the pharyngeal tonsil, the palatine tonsils, the lingual tonsil, and the paraepiglottic tonsils.

In case you are wondering (which you probably are at this point), those bumpy things on either side of your throat opening are the palatine tonsils. So we cat have those, and adenoids.

One interesting thing about the paraepiglottic tonsils — neither humans nor dogs have them. I’d tell you where they’re located on cats, but my human started going cross eyed at all the medical terms. The lingual tonsil was easy for her to figure out, since lingual refers to the tongue. It’s way, way back at the base of the tongue, and apparently not well developed in felines.

Fortunately, tonsillitis is rare in cats. Just in case you wanted to know.

So if, like my human, you were wondering about cats and tonsils, here’s your answer! Has my human ever seen my tonsils? In spite of what she says, I don’t think she’s ever looked that closely. But I bet my vet has seen them.

somali cat not showing tonsils

If you’re one of the few people who have seen cat tonsils, let me know! Although if you have, I imagine you are a veterinarian or a vet tech.

Do Cats Have Tonsils?
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Comments

  1. BellaDharma an BellaSita Mum says

    July 15, 2020 at 10:33 am

    Mee-yow wow mee not even know mee has 4 setss of Tonsillss Summer! You eddcated BOTH LadyMew an mee!
    LadyMe sayss shee not seen any of her catss tonsilss. Shee did see herss many yeerss ago aftur surgery……shee said they looked purrty ucky…shee had seevere Tonsillitis….
    Thanx fore a furry innterestin bloggie post!
    **purrss** BellaDharma an ((huggiess)) LadyMew too

    Reply
    • Judy fowler says

      January 22, 2021 at 9:16 am

      We humans have three sets of tonsils, and cats have four sets of tonsils, Amazing!

      Reply
  2. Katie Isabella says

    July 14, 2020 at 4:07 am

    TONSILS!? Yer kidding me?

    Reply
  3. meowmeowmans says

    July 11, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    Wow, FOUR sets of tonsils? We never knew, Summer!

    Reply
  4. JaneA Kelley says

    July 9, 2020 at 11:03 pm

    Ya know, that’s one of few things I never researched about cats. It never even occurred to me to think about whether or not cats have tonsils. Thanks for enlightening me, and I’m glad I never had a cat with tonsilitis!

    Reply
  5. Lone STar Cats says

    July 9, 2020 at 10:10 pm

    Ok, I think your momma is as weird as mine. One time, she just had to find my belly button.

    Reply
  6. Sandra Toney says

    July 9, 2020 at 9:33 pm

    I’ve never thought about cats having tonsils before. What an interesting topic!!!! I didn’t know they did, if I would have guessed. Now that I know, I will try to see them next time Angel yawns BIG! Thanks, Summer!

    Reply
  7. Emilia says

    July 9, 2020 at 9:17 pm

    I had never given that a thought. And I love the pictures

    Reply
  8. Cathy Keisha says

    July 9, 2020 at 7:07 pm

    Whoa! I learned something today. TW might have FELT my tonsils a few times. When Nicky used to snore, TW used to tell him he had problems with his adenoids.

    Reply
  9. Tamago says

    July 9, 2020 at 6:57 pm

    I didn’t know kitties have four sets of tonsils. It was an interesting read!

    Reply
  10. Mark's Mews says

    July 9, 2020 at 5:35 pm

    We sure dint know we had tonsils. Which is funny cuz it means we do an TBT doesnt!

    Reply
  11. Fraidy Cats! says

    July 9, 2020 at 4:10 pm

    you know, Summer, we have never thought about our tonsils and our mom never considered if we had them or not! interesting kitty factoids 🙂

    minnie, hollie, sharpie, ditto, TL

    Reply
  12. Purrjamm cats says

    July 9, 2020 at 3:38 pm

    Mom has seen many tonsils in her days of surgery. She’s a anesthesia surgery technician and her primary responsibility is to anesthetize and monitor pets under anesthesia. She say’s the feline mouth is unique and super cool. Ok, she’s a cat lady, MOL. Great post Summer and mom! What a wonderful topic. Purrs

    Reply
  13. Memories of Eric and Flynn says

    July 9, 2020 at 3:26 pm

    That was interesting.

    Reply
  14. Melissa & Mudpie says

    July 9, 2020 at 3:17 pm

    How interesting! I never wondered but I’m glad that I now know!

    Reply
  15. Ellen Pilch says

    July 9, 2020 at 10:37 am

    Very interesting. I had never thought about kitty tonsils.

    Reply
  16. Meezer'sMews&TerrieristicalWoofs says

    July 9, 2020 at 9:17 am

    Wow, such stuff should be in the game of Trivial Pursuit! We learn a lot, and this will be the I learned something new today thing:)

    Reply
  17. Raven says

    July 9, 2020 at 8:58 am

    I knew we both had tonsils, but didn’t know there were different sets. And the good thing about wide yawn is it gives our people a peek inside our mouths to see if everything looks healthy.

    Reply
  18. Coco & The LunaTicks says

    July 9, 2020 at 8:37 am

    I wonder if the paraepiglottic tonsils cats have (that dogs and humans don’t have) have something to do with how purrs are generated?

    Reply
  19. Lola The Rescued Cat says

    July 9, 2020 at 7:57 am

    Wow! We didn’t know that! I hope our mom doesn’t get any ideas and look for ours!

    Reply
  20. Catscue says

    July 9, 2020 at 6:55 am

    When a cat yawns, I’m just too fascinated by the whole vista, I don’t notice details.

    Reply
  21. The Florida Furkids says

    July 9, 2020 at 6:46 am

    Wow….we never knew cats had tonsils. Mom doesn’t have hers anymore.

    The Florida Furkids

    Reply
  22. Brian says

    July 9, 2020 at 6:30 am

    We do hear that too from time to time and now we know it’s real!

    Reply
  23. Eastside Cats says

    July 9, 2020 at 5:33 am

    Summer, when a cat yawns, that wide cavern is rather fascinating to us humans!

    Reply
  24. the ISland Cats says

    July 9, 2020 at 5:09 am

    Our mom says the same thing…without knowing if we did or not. Thanks for sharing that info, Summer.

    Reply
  25. Pat K says

    July 9, 2020 at 5:01 am

    I never thought about cat tonsils. But, I have seen
    the big yawns some cats do. You have given me today’s
    “learning”. You know, learn something new every day….

    Reply
  26. Janine says

    July 9, 2020 at 4:49 am

    This is really interesting. My meowmy said she’s going to google cat tonsils now. ….Miss Lulu

    Reply
  27. LESLEY CASTLE says

    July 9, 2020 at 2:41 am

    I never knew! <3

    Reply
  28. The Poupounette Gang says

    July 9, 2020 at 1:54 am

    How very interesting! We always learn a lot from your blog, Summer!

    Purrs,
    Tama and Genji

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Have You Ever Wondered Whether Cats Have Tonsils? | tajharasummersamba says:
    July 9, 2020 at 10:08 am

    […] ‘Cause I have answers (that may surprise you!) in this blog post.https://www.sparklecat.com/special/do-cats-have-tonsils […]

    Reply

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