Nature 172, 688 (10 October 1953); doi:10.1038/172688a0

Suckling Reflex in the Cat

A. MOHIUDDIN

Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Singapore. July 7.

FOR experimental purposes, some new-born kittens had to be reared in the laboratory away from the mother. Difficulties were encountered in inducing the kittens to accept milk administered by means of a glass pipette, until a way of evoking the suckling response was found. It was observed that slight pressure from the pipette applied to the premaxillary part of the palate invariably produced the suckling response which was maintained so long as the kitten was disposed to accept food. The main feature of this response is a slight protrusion of the tongue with side-to-side concavity of the dorsum, which assumes the shape of a shoehorn. The nozzle of the pipette is firmly grasped between the tongue and the premaxillary palate. The upturned margins of the more posterior part of the tongue press against the palate. A closed channel is thus formed within the oral cavity. The protruded tip of the tongue works up and down the side of the pipette in a milking action. Suction is created by alternate depression and elevation of the floor of the oral cavity along with the mandible, while the margins of the tongue and the palate together maintain the closed channel.