Do animals have umbilical cords?

[EnumaElish]

Main Question or Discussion Point

If they do, why can't we find Ms. Mimi's belly button?

 

[matthyaouw]

All mammals do according to this: http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/may97/863469598.Zo.r.html

Quite why you can't find (what I presume to be) your cat's, I don't know. Come to think of it, I've never noticed my guinea pigs' either.

 

[gerben]

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_001a.html

 

[somasimple]

Hi,

Cats, guinea pigs are mammals so they have one. Dolphins have too...

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/

 

[Moonbear]

All placental mammals have an umbilical cord during fetal development. You won't find a clear belly button like humans have (it might be more interesting to ask why humans get such a distinct belly button "scar" that other mammals don't get), but there will be a small, usually flat, scar with lighter coloration than the skin around it. Typically it's hidden under fur.

 

[cronxeh]

So wait animals dont have to cut an umbilical cord, right? Does it just tear off by itself?

 

[Averagesupernova]

Most of the time the cord tears off by itself. Animals that birth standing up will tear the cord on the way out/down. I have seen a litter of kittens where the cords stayed attached to several kittens for what appeared to be a couple of days. They were all wrapped up on various body parts and it was hard to cut them apart.