As a kitten owner, you’re likely to have already been faced with the difficulties of kittens and teething, and you’re certain to have many questions... Do kittens lose their teeth? What are the signs of kitten teething? When do kittens lose their milk teeth? And when does the teething stage end?

There’s no need to panic as we’ve got it all covered in this handy kitten teething guide.

The Stages of Kitten Teeth

Cats have two sets of teeth: deciduous (also known as baby teeth or milk teeth) and permanent adult teeth. At 3-4 weeks of age, a kitten’s baby teeth will start to erupt, which cause teething pain in the same way that human babies do. To relieve this pain kittens will start teething, chewing on anything they can find!

Kittens are not born with any visible teeth, but have a total of 26 baby teeth. Do kittens' teeth fall out? Yes! They need to fall out to make room for the adult teeth.

When Do Kittens Lose Their Baby Teeth?

From 9 weeks of age kittens start to lose their baby teeth, and the teething process continues as new adult teeth come through. Most pet owners take their new kitten home from 8 weeks of age, so this may be the first time you’ve witnessed teething in your cat.

It’s a good idea to invest in some chew toys to help them relieve the pain, protect your furniture and try to discourage them from chewing on your hands! Teething will last until your cat is around 6 months of age when the full set of 30 adult teeth have erupted.

Signs That Your Kitten is Teething

The most common signs of kitten teething include:

• Chewing: kittens will chew to relieve pain. They will chew on anything that helps, including chew toys, fingers, toes, and furniture.
• Sore gums: red, inflamed or slightly bleeding gums are all normal during teething.
• Bad breath: you may notice smelly breath when your kitten is teething.
• Drooling: some drooling is normal.
• Decreased appetite: teething is usually painful or uncomfortable, which can affect how much your kitten wants to eat.
• Pawing: pawing at their mouth or face rubbing is very common.
• Grooming less than usual: they’ll lick themselves less because of the pain.
• Finding teeth: you may find baby teeth on the floor or in your cat’s bed. Kittens usually swallow their teeth, which doesn’t cause any harm.

What Can I Do to Help My Kitten When Teething?

To help with the pain and discomfort that comes with teething, make sure you have plenty of kitten teething toys. The toys shouldn’t be too hard though as your cat could break a tooth on them. It’s probably best to ask your vet for advice on the best cat teething toys.

Chilling toys in the fridge or freezer can help to alleviate sore gums. Avoid brushing your cat’s teeth when they’re teething. And never try to remove a loose tooth, just leave it to fall out on its own.

To make food easier to chew, feed your cat wet food or soak dry food before giving it to your cat. Don't make any drastic dietary changes though as this can cause an upset tummy, so introduce any news foods slowly over a few days.

Taking Care of Your Cat’s Teeth

It's a good idea to get young kittens used to having their mouth touched, to make dental care easier when they’re a fully grown adult. Introduce brushing when they have all their adult teeth as they’ll no longer have a sore mouth from teething. Starting earlier than this could cause your cat to resent having their teeth brushed.

Aim to brush your cat’s teeth at least 3 times a week. Use a cat friendly toothbrush and toothpaste – human toothpastes contain fluoride, too much fluoride can make them very poorly.

To get your kitten used to having their mouth and teeth touched, start by gently touching their mouth and then reward them with their favourite treat. When they’ve gotten comfortable with this, start to lift their lip slightly to see their teeth, then reward them with a treat again. Then progress on to gently touching their teeth with your finger and rewarding them for every successful attempt.

When your cat has finished teething and you’re ready to start brushing, first let them get used to the toothbrush and paste. Let them sniff and lick the toothbrush with a bit of paste on it. Cat toothpastes are flavoured to make them more palatable, making the brushing process more appealing to your cat.

When your cat's at ease with the toothbrush, you can start to introduce it to their mouth by lightly brushing it over some of their teeth and rewarding them. Progress on to more teeth until you have covered the whole mouth. With time, you’ll be able to brush all your cat’s teeth and rewarding them right at the end.

If your cat reacts with discomfort or shows signs of aggression, stop brushing and let them walk away. You may need to go back a step until they’re more comfortable with the process. Forcing your cat will only result in stress and a bad association with teeth brushing will be formed, making it a very difficult association to break.

Are There Any Dental Issues for Kittens?

Luckily, there aren’t many problems associated with a kitten’s baby teeth. The most likely problem is persistent deciduous teeth or retained teeth. This is where baby teeth haven’t fallen out by the time the adult teeth start to appear. That means the space the permanent tooth is supposed to grow into is already filled by the baby tooth.

The permanent tooth is then forced to grow at an abnormal angle or in the wrong position. This can cause overcrowding or poor positioning of the teeth, leading to an abnormal bite, this is called malocclusion. This is commonly seen on the upper canines, lower canines and incisors.

Food is likely to get trapped, leading to tartar deposits, tooth decay, gingivitis, and periodontitis. This can lead to early tooth loss and infection. The teeth can also rub against other teeth, wearing away at the enamel, which weakens them. Occasionally, retained teeth can cause dental interlock, affecting the normal growth and development of the jaw.

The best treatment for malocclusion is to remove the retained deciduous teeth to allow the adult teeth to move into their proper position. If you notice your kitten’s adult teeth growing in a strange position, call you vet for advice.

Don’t be alarmed when you see your kitten’s teeth falling out! It’s all part of the normal teeth growing process that a cat goes through. Other commons signs of kitten teething include chewing, bad breath, some bleeding, sore gums, drooling, reduced appetite and pawing at their mouth. By the time teething ends, your cat will have 30 adult teeth that need taking care of. Brush them regularly and get them checked at least once a year by your vet. 

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Content provided from Vetstream's Vetlexicon Felis – https://www.vetlexicon.com/treat/felis

Vetlexicon is the world’s largest peer-reviewed online clinical reference source. All our content is written and peer-reviewed by over 1,000 of the world’s leading veterinarians, ensuring relevance, accuracy and quality.