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I’m Amira, founder and editor at Cattention.
This website is dedicated to share useful but entertaining information and help You understand Your cat’s actions, behavior and needs.
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It is always reassuring to know what to expect in regards to your kitten’s rapid development including her teething.
In this article, I will share everything you need to know about kitten teething. Learn about the process, its duration and get to know the teething symptoms.
Later on, you can also find important tips that can help you with a teething kitten.
What is kitten teething? – Do kittens teethe?
Teething is a natural part of life, not only in humans but in cats as well. So just like humans, kittens will indeed go through the process of teething. In fact, there are two stages of kitten teething:
- The first stage is when kittens get their deciduous teeth (also known as the “baby”, “milk”, or “primary” teeth).
- The second stage is when these deciduous baby teeth fall out and new, permanent teeth erupt.
Kitten teething is the process by which kittens’ teeth sequentially appear by emerging through the gums. However, most people (mistakenly) refer to teething in cats as the process of the kittens’ baby teeth being replaced by adult teeth.
The reason behind this common belief is that this first period of teething passes relatively unnoticed. First of all, the kittens’ teeth have sharp edges which help their movement through the gums because of which kittens don’t really suffer during this stage. Also, as the kittens’ mother is nursing, it provides stimulation which helps the process along.
So even though kittens go through two stages of teething, we, cat owners, usually deal with kitten teething only at the second teething stage.
What happens during teething in kittens?
Teething in cats is a complex process by which the kittens’ teeth form, enter the mouth and become visible.
During the first stage, long before the first kitten teeth erupt through the gums, they are almost completely formed and are hidden from view in the kittens’ jawbones. As they develop, they are pushed upward into the mouth until they finally become visible.
After having all the primary baby cat teeth erupted, the adult, new teeth begin to develop from tooth buds underneath. As these teeth are growing bigger, they put pressure on the baby teeth’ roots making the roots weak and the baby teeth loose in its place.
As the adult set of teeth begins pushing through the gums (erupting) behind the baby teeth, they push the baby teeth out and the kittens start shedding their primary, deciduous teeth. And this is called the second stage of kitten teething.
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