If your kitten is losing teeth, don’t freak out! When we adopted our kittens, it had been a long time since we had baby animals in the house. When they started losing teeth it scared us a bit. So what did we do?
Research.
It turns out that kittens, just like baby humans, lose their “baby” teeth around 3-9 months. The first set of teeth they have are often called “milk teeth”. These little milk teeth will fall out and be replaced by adult teeth growing in. Nature designed this to be the end of milking from the mother (hence the name) and the beginning of catching prey for food.
If your kitten is losing her teeth, this is the perfect time to start her on a path to a happier, healthier life.
Here are a few of our favorite tips:
- Start spending time examining your kitten’s mouth. Put your fingers in there (gently!), rub around and get your kitten used to being touched in and around the mouth. Dental disease is a real issue for domestic cats and it starts with neglect from us, unfortunately. We’ve learned this the hard way. Our cat lost 9 teeth and developed an infection that was likely the culprit behind other health issues he had. It was a heartbreaking revelation to realized we could’ve saved him so much suffering. If you have the opportunity to start paying attention to your cat’s dental health while she’s very young – do it! It’ll be much easier to catch dental issues in the future. Look for inflammation in the gum area and contact a vet if you see anything fishy (haha).
- Begin feeding a species appropriate raw diet to your kitten. The adult teeth that are coming in are designed to tear through meat and bones. This is also the best diet for dental health, as the process of chewing this food helps strengthen their teeth and jaws. Feeding kittens a raw diet is an easy and successful way to help ensure they have a longer and healthier life!
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