Cat Teeth: Types and What They Tell You

1 Overview

The Role of Different Teeth:

Incisors: the cutting teeth between the canines, upper and lower. They are the tool herbivorous mammals use to cut food, but a cat’s incisors are for daily grooming and nail care, and also for holding food.

Canines: sharp and pointed, usually to grab and crush food; they sit on the cat’s sensitive gum tissue to sense prey.

Premolars and Molars: for shearing, cutting and chewing meat.

Judging a Cat’s Age by Teeth:

Day 14: kittens start teething.

2-3 weeks: baby incisors fully grown.

3-4 weeks: baby canines (the two upper and lower fangs) start growing.

Near 2 months: all baby teeth grown, white, thin and pointed.

3-4 months: first baby incisors replaced.

5-6 months: second and third baby incisors and baby canines replaced.

6-8 months: permanent teeth fully grown.

After 1 year: lower incisors start to wear.

After 7 years: canines gradually age and wear into blunt rounds.

After 10 years: upper incisors are all gone.

Note: during teething a cat may lose appetite; watch its tooth growth for abnormalities and offer easy-to-chew food to protect the new teeth.