Why do cats have chins and dogs don't?

[Kestrel]

:help:

Dumb question, I know ... but I've looked on the internet a bit and didn't even find the question, let alone the answer. Some dogs appear to have a bit of a chin, but not nearly so much as cats do, or appear to have. I know they both have big lower "canine" ("feline"?) teeth that would definitely need a lot of support, but apparently cats need more? Or not? :confused:

Just wondering today ... :thankyou:

[Mrs-M]

LOL, Kestrel! We are a non-pet family, but how about the jowls that some dogs sport?

I love "wondering days"! In fact, wondering days, are what inspire some of the thread topics I create. :)

[Mrs-M]

To add, without wondering days, life would be boring.

[Jilly]

Dogs have chins. Uh-huh, they do. I am pretty sure that all placental animals have chins, as well as navels and other parts of parts. I think I remember that correctly.

Otherwise when spending time with your dog, instead of scratching his/her chin, one of his/her favorite spots, you would have to say that you are scratching the most forward prominence of her/his lower mandible. :~)

[Kestrel]

WELL ... look at dogs straight-on ... most of them don't have a chin, per se, rather a lower lip, so to speak :D . Not much there. Cats, on the other hand, have a well-defined chin ... not as defined as mine or yours, obviously, but much more so that a dog's. And yes, there are some dog breeds that seem to have a nice chin.

Perhaps cats do more ripping and shredding than some dogs do. But it seems like dogs might have bigger jaws than cats do?

One of life's mysteries.

And there are many many more to wonder about! Like ... why do we humans need such a big chin? :confused: