aka The Tail of The Farting Purranha
If you’re an experienced kitten mom, teething time is a growth spurt you’re accustomed to helping your furbabies endure. When kitten adoption is a new adventure, knowing what to expect can relieve human anxiety with understanding of, and compassion for, your kitten’s emotional and physical behaviors.
PetMD shares that when kittens are three weeks of age, their first teeth, the tiny front incisors, become visible. At four weeks, the canines (fangs) emerge through the gums beside the incisors. (Kittens are able to retract their claws by four weeks of age as well!) Premolars are visible in five-week-old kittens and grow in at six weeks. By seven to eight weeks of age, all 26 of the kitten’s baby teeth have grown in.
Those 26 deciduous teeth, as described by PetMD, are “three upper and three lower incisors on each side, one upper and one lower canine on each side, and three upper and two lower premolars on each side.” Kittens do not have molars.
At eight weeks of age, Kitten is old enough to be adopted, and her humans have a few days to enjoy sweet, adorable cuddles before the next phase of her growth process begins.
The Teething Process
Between three and seven months of age, Kitten loses all her baby teeth as her adult teeth push through the gums. Her adult teeth follow the same growth process as her baby teeth: incisors are visible at twelve to sixteen weeks of age; canines begin to erupt at twelve weeks; premolars at around sixteen weeks; and both canines and premolars have completely grown in by the time Kitten is twenty weeks of age. She isn’t finished yet. Cats have 30 adult teeth, and Kitten’s molars will erupt through the gums behind her premolars when she is between twenty and twenty-four weeks of age.
When Kitten’s adult teeth begin to develop and grow, they push against the roots of her baby teeth. Her body will resorb those roots, and her baby teeth will fall out as her adult teeth push through her gums.
On very rare occasion, you might actually find one of these tiny teeth in Kitten’s sleep or play area, but according to PetMD, Kitten’s baby teeth often fall out while she is eating and are swallowed along with her meal.
Help! My Sweet Kitten Has Become an Aggressive Little Monster!
No, she hasn’t! Teething makes her gums hurt, so she bites hard in an effort to relieve the discomfort.
Pain causes even the mildest-tempered person to become irritable. Kittens react in much the same way, often emitting annoyed grunts or determined whimpers as they dig in with their claws and attempt to bite and chew things might make their little mouths feel better. Teething symptoms vary, but may include any combination of occasional drooling, breath odor, and hesitance to eat when their gums are especially tender.
CHEW TOYS!
Like human babies, teething kittens will chew on just about anything, from blankets, books, and shoes to your fingers. Teething time is a perfect time to gently redirect Kitten’s teeth and claws to appropriate chewable objects using patience, understanding, and lots of love. When she applies her teeth to your hand or any other unacceptable thing, redirect her attention to a toy and praise her for biting, clawing, and playing with it.
My baby sister Medleigh enjoys Petstages Dental Health Chews, a two-pack of cat toys designed to be chewed and bitten. Though their primary objective is cleaning the teeth, these toys are also highly recommended for teething kittens. They are pliable and crunchy and withstand the vigorous chewing to which a kitten will subject them. The two-pack can be found in local pet supply stores and in online stores for under $7.
Medleigh is especially grateful for the Infused Catnip Fish toys from Pet Supplies Plus. She turns her little head sideways and chews hard on their tails with her jaw teeth. These two pliable rubber fish are pleasantly chewable and provide an exciting, erratic bounce when batted across the floor. Best of all, these fish withstand being chewed without coming apart or crumbling into pieces that could pose ingesting or choking hazards to kittens. Please remove the jingle bell from inside the fish before offering this toy to your kitten. This is easy to do, as each fish has a generous opening under its belly through which the bell can be taken out. The two-pack is sold for around $7.
Everyday items such as plastic drinking straws or squares of cloth or leather have been suggested as potential chew toys for teething kittens, but kittens should never be left unattended with such items, as they could chew off pieces and swallow or choke on them. Avoid offering any toys that could easily be chewed apart, as well as hard objects that could damage their teeth.
The Farting Purranha
You are cuddling precious Kitten, pleased that she is happily gnawing on her toy instead of devouring your fingers, when suddenly a cloud of noxious odor assaults your sinuses with such potency that you can almost taste the smell.
You’re shocked. You flee the scene. You look at the purring, smiling tuft of fur in your arms. That stench could not possibly have come from adorable precious furry three-pound Kitten!
Actually, it did. Don’t worry. Your eyebrows will grow back in a few months.
While Kitten is teething, the rest of her little body is growing and developing as well, and her digestive system is particularly sensitive during these first few months. It is important that she be fed kitten food, as kittens have nutritional needs that adult cat food does not provide. Keeping her diet consistent – feeding her the appropriate serving size of a consistent brand and flavor of kitten food several times a day, has multiple advantages. Kittens need to eat more often than adult cats, so this schedule ensures she won’t go hungry. She will get the nutrition she needs. And as long as her brand and flavor of food remains the same, her digestion and elimination should remain normal, and passing gas should be a rare occurrence, if it happens at all.
If she does eat a diffe
rent kind of food … or a treat … or a table scrap (not recommended!) … or if she sneaks a bite of her adult cat companion’s food at mealtime … or if she has to be given medication … she will develop gas, and you’ll be amazed at how effectively her tiny little self can clear a room. But as long as she is healthy otherwise, this is a momentary condition. Maintain her feeding routine, and this, too, shall quickly pass.
Most important of all: when in doubt, contact Kitten’s veterinarian! Call with questions if you’re unsure about her appearance or behavior. Don’t hesitate to take your fur baby to the doctor the moment you suspect she is falling ill or needs medical help, just as you would take a human baby to a pediatrician for treatment. Paws and fur make her no less a member of your family, no less a dependent in your care or a beloved of your heart.
All of Kitten’s adult teeth should be fully developed by the time she is seven months old. For the rest of her life, you will learn and grow and bond with this precious companion who depends on you for everything, yet gives so much more that you could ever imagine. Enjoy all of the feline love and laughter in your Extra~Ordinary World!
