The transition from baby teeth to adult teeth is a fundamental stage in a cat's life.
Sometimes this process doesn't go smoothly, triggering more or less serious issues.
Let's look at all the stages that make up this process together.
All newborn kittens have no teeth, which is why their only food at this stage is mother's milk.
After about 2 weeks, baby teeth start to come in, finishing around week 5, for a total of 26 teeth.
Around 3 months, adult teeth begin to grow, putting pressure on the gums and baby teeth. This process completes around 6–7 months, when all 30 teeth will erupt (12 incisors, 4 canines, 6 upper premolars, 4 lower premolars, and 4 molars)
But let's look at all the symptoms that signal this phase and can disrupt our kittens' lives:
- they may suffer from bad breath,
- to find relief, they will try to nibble on any object
- loss of appetite or longer chewing time
- they often lick their gums
- they tend to tilt their head to the side
- they drool frequently
These are the most common symptoms to watch for, but they shouldn't cause us to worry.
If we notice the onset of a fever or significant increase in pain, the best thing to do is contact a veterinarian immediately to prevent possible complications.
Prevention during teething can be a great help and save our kittens from possible pain.
The best choice for us is to take them to the vet around 6–7 months of age to check for misalignments or other complications.
Most common complications
It's very common for baby teeth to be very resistant and grow alongside adult teeth.
This can cause problems during meals, and especially great pain in the gums, which will inevitably become inflamed.
In these cases, it is extremely important that the vet removes the baby teeth to encourage proper growth of the adult teeth
Another very common issue is broken baby teeth.
If this happens, we need to act promptly to completely remove the broken tooth, to prevent bacteria from causing a serious inflammation of the jaw.
Some tips to make the process easier
- during these stages, try to only use wet food so as not to tire the kitten out during meals
- offer snacks or chew toys to give the kitten relief
- If possible, try massaging their gums to ease the pain.
As we've seen, the teething process is a fundamental stage in the life of our beloved kittens, to which we must pay special attention and try to help them as much as possible.