The first step to adopting a kitten is to know its age. The older your pet is, the better your chances of finding a loving home for them. Often, a simple look in the mouth can provide a good general indication of their age. But this process doesn’t come easily, so be sure to pay attention to the teeth as well. Baby teeth usually start erupting around three weeks of life. Then, about three to four months later, permanent teeth start appearing. These are the middle and back incisors, which start erupting at 14 weeks, and the second and third incisors follow around fifteen and 16 weeks of development.
At three to four weeks of age, a kitten can be bottle-fed if it is still young. During this time, your kitten will need bottle feeding and will begin to learn to use the litterbox. By the time your kitten is four weeks old, it will have developed all of its teeth and will need a litterbox. By the time it reaches nine to ten weeks, it will have all of its permanent teeth in place and will be ready for solid food.
By six to seven months of age, your kitten’s teeth should begin to erupt. By this time, a cat’s permanent teeth should have replaced the deciduous teeth. If they don’t fall out, they’re called retained deciduous teeth and should be surgically extracted. As the adult teeth start to emerge, the teeth will be replaced by the adult teeth. If a kitten has too many teeth, it will need to be treated with an antibiotic.
A four-week-old kitten should have permanent canines and first molars. By this age, the veterinarian can estimate the age of the kitten’s teeth. During this time, the kitten’s teeth start to develop and the vet will check for problems that may occur during the eruption of the permanent teeth. Extra teeth are a problem, and they may have retained the deciduous teeth from the time they were born.
At six weeks of age, a male kitten should have its first set of adult teeth. By this point, they can no longer nurse or eat solid food. However, they should be eating solid food and getting enough nutrients. By eight weeks, they will have their first two full sets of permanent teeth. A female kitten will have their last set of teeth before the next two months of life. In addition to having teeth, a cat’s tongue will be able to chew on hard objects.
Despite the fact that kittens have no teeth yet, they begin to eat solid food after about four to five months of age. It is not uncommon for a cat to have 26 baby teeth, and the new teeth replace the deciduous ones. As the mother cat discourages their babies from nursing, the cat’s teeth will begin to show. By this time, the kitten’s eyes will be fully open, and its ears will unfold. Then, the teeth will begin to form.