My cat's tongue is shaped like an oven mitt.

Almost a year ago, Maximus came home with cut on his tongue. This was at my old house, where I could let him out for a few hours a day. I have no idea how it happened, but since I do know that Maximus seems to have been born without fear, my guess is that he attempted to eat a creature not meant for feline consumption. Like a coyote or a rattlesnake. I called my vet and she said that unless it became infected and needed anti-biotics, there was little they could do for him and a trip to the vet would only add stress. The underlying statement was, "Lady, your weird little cat hates us and is freakishly strong and the scars up my arms from the last time he was here haven't even faded yet, so please, for my sake, don't put us all through the stress of a visit unless it is a dire emergency, PLEASE." She told me to keep an eye on him and just wait it out.
So I mashed up his food into a bowl of milk. And made sure he got plenty of water. But have you ever seen a cat that can't lick himself? A cat with permanant bedhead? It was all I could do not to laugh at him, poor thing.
His tongue nicely within a week, but now it's shaped like an oven mitt.