Cats are some of the most loved little creatures on the planet. While some appreciate their cute faces, their sly nature attracts others. These few features are the reason why many even adopt them as pets. If you have a cat as a pet, how often have you had the chance to look at its mouth correctly? Not much. Many pet owners don’t get to see the sight of their cat’s mouth and, as a result, wonder about how many teeth do cats have? We’ll give you the answer to that today.
How Many Teeth Do Cats Have?
Down to the answer, let’s understand how cats grow teeth and their amounts.
To begin with, cats start with no teeth when they’re born, just like humans. Kitten age by teeth around three weeks old start growing their first teeth and will have teething until roughly 6-8 weeks old. When a kitten is eight weeks old, it’ll have milk or primary teeth. This first complete set is a collection of 26 teeth.
Once they reach the age of 3 months, teething occurs. Teething will break milk teeth and make room for new and stronger ones to arrive. During this stage, cats might swallow their broken teeth, which is normal. You don’t need to panic if your cat ever does the same. Once a cat reaches its adult age, i.e., around half a year old, it will have its permanent teeth set in place. The new set will have a total of 30 teeth.
What Type of Teeth Do Cats Have?
Like us, cats also have four main types of teeth; incisors, canines, premolars, and molars.
Cats have six incisors on their upper jaw and 6 in their lower. Since cats are natural hunters, cats incisors are designed to help them catch hold of their prey. Cats have two canines in their maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw). The cats canine teeth at the bottom should align correctly between the upper canine and the incisor. Canines are vital to helping the cat kill their prey and tear meat.
Upon diving deeper, you’ll notice that your cat has eight premolars and four molars towards the end of its jaws. The premolars allow to bite and reduce the size of food for cats with no teeth, while molars enable cats to crush bone.
What Leads to Cat Tooth Loss?
Remember how we talked about kittens getting their first milk teeth at around three weeks? Want to know about do kittens lose teeth? Before their permanent teeth erupt, cats will naturally lose their deciduous teeth (baby teeth). This type of tooth loss is normal. If the deciduous teeth aren’t lost, it might lead to complications.
On the other hand, loss of teeth in cats adult may be a concern. Cat’s tooth loss could indicate a cat dental infection or periodontal or gum disease or cat mouth infection. It is very common and affects about two-thirds of cats. They saw bacterial plaque to be accumulated on the teeth must be treated at an early stage.
If left untreated, the plaque could turn into a hard surface called tartar. A progressive periodontal disease could result in the cat losing teeth support and eventually causing the loss of teeth.
FAQs
You can take them to a vet for brushing cats teeth, once or twice a year. Other than this, try giving your cat oral antimicrobial rinses or mouthwashes a couple of times a week. Ensure to take an X-ray report of your cat’s mouth once a year and check their gums and teeth weekly yourself for any problems.
Yes, ideally, a cat should have all of its 30 teeth.
Cats usually don’t show signs of dental problems immediately. However, signs such as bleeding gums and inflation are matters of concern and should be treated with expertise as soon as possible.
Conclusion
To conclude, cats have a total of 30 teeth. You may have noticed that a cat teeth share many similarities with humans. Their shapes and structuring may differ, but there are many akin characteristics in the teeth of a cat and a human. If you have a cat, ensure to take good care of their teeth and regularly take them to your vet to reduces issues of cat tooth loss. Also, ensure to keep their teeth hygiene with the help of a pet finger toothbrush.