MSD Manual

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Pet Owner Version

Dental Development of Cats

By

Sofie Muylle

, DVM, PhD, Department of Morphology, Ghent University

Reviewed/Revised Aug 2018 | Modified Oct 2022

Each type of companion animal has its own unique type of teeth, depending on what type of food the animal normally eats. For example, a meat-eating animal, such as a cat, has quite different teeth compared to a grass-eating animal, such as a horse. However, all domestic animals have 2 sets of teeth during their lives, as humans do: a set of deciduous (“baby”) teeth that fall out, and a set of permanent teeth that come in later.

Most cats have 26 deciduous teeth and 30 permanent teeth. The deciduous incisors begin to erupt at 2 to 4 weeks of age, and the deciduous premolars at 5 to 6 weeks of age. Permanent teeth usually begin to appear at around 4 to 7 months ( see Table: Feline Adult Dentition Feline Adult Dentition Feline Adult Dentition ).

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