The sandpaper quality to their tongue lets cats get more water per unit area. Dogs lose a lot of water doing the ladle thing.
Plus the sandpaper tongue is really burrs on the tongue and help them groom their coats all day.
Cats are smart. :)
What I’ve never been able to figure out is how the cats manage to collect water in their mouths and keep lapping between swallows.
*lap*lap*lap*lap*lap*lap*lap*swallow*lap*lap*lap*lap*lap*lap*swallow*....
My dog is the sloppiest drinker in the county, maybe the state......then she drips on the floor when she is done...