This Cute Pet

Your Cat's Teeth

A cat will have two sets of teeth, a deciduous set and a permanent set, in his life time.

Kittens have 26 deciduous teeth (molars are absent).
Deciduous are also know as “milk teeth”. They begin to appear when the kitten is about four weeks of age. At six weeks of age, all 26 deciduous teeth are present. From 11 to 30 weeks of age, kittens lose their deciduous teeth. It can be equated with a child teething.

Adult cats have a total of 30 teeth. When the deciduous teeth fall out, they are replaced by 30 permanent teeth. The permanent teeth should be in place by about six months of age.

A cat’s teeth are meant to rip and cut. There are twelve tiny teeth in the front of the mouth (incisors): six in the upper jaw and six in the lower jaw . They are flanked by two upper and lower canines. These are what look like fangs. They are designed to hold prey and to tear flesh. Ten sharp premolars and four molars act together to cut food.

If a cat retains any deciduous teeth after the permanent teeth appears, it should be removed as soon as possible to avoid displacing the permanent tooth.