Updated by Sheryl on Nov 22, 2021
Do you have a kitten who is 3 to 4 months old and who is munching on everything in sight? It's because she is teething. It's time for her adult teeth to come in. Much like humans, kittens are also born without any teeth. Kittens have 26 baby teeth, while adult cats have 30.
Baby teeth grow when they are around 2 to 4 weeks old. When they reach 3 to 4 months, they lose their baby teeth, and adult teeth start pushing in through their gums. During this time, they experience soreness in their gums and may try to chew on everything, including your arm. Teething doesn't necessarily hurt your kitty. But they experience discomfort and go through certain behavioral changes.
In this blog, we will be answering all the questions regarding your tiny tiger's teething- when do kitten teeth come in? When do kitten teeth fall out? How to help a teething kitten? And the best toys for a teething kitten.
Kitten Age |
Teething conditions |
0-2 weeks |
Kittens are born without any teeth. |
2-4 weeks |
First baby canines and premolars appear by 2 to 4 weeks |
5-8 weeks |
A total of 26 baby teeth or deciduous teeth continue to grow. |
11 weeks |
Baby teeth start to fall out. |
3-4 months |
Adult teeth formation. Incisors appear first, which is followed by canines, premolars, and finally molars. |
6-7 months |
All 30 adult teeth should grow by this time. |
Teething is the process of growing and then shedding milk teeth or baby teeth (scientifically known as deciduous teeth). If you find your kitten's tooth on the ground, it's the most obvious sign of her teething.
During teething, kittens may experience mild soreness in gums because of the adult teeth pushing through their gums. This can cause a few changes in their behavior. The signs of teething in kittens are:
All of these signs are considered normal, and your kitten should be fine in a couple of weeks. Sight bleeding from the gum is also common. But excessive bleeding can raise concerns. Seek veterinary help if your kitten shows serious symptoms such as not eating, whining, red, inflamed gums, etc.
There are many ways you can help your teething kitten. Like:
This kitten chew toy is made from fabric streamers and soft food-grade rubber, which is also infused with catnip oil to attract and engage your kitty to play with it more. It's soft, gentle on the gums, and will help soothe their tender gums.
Stuffed with natural catnip, this kitten chew toy will attract your kitten to play with it and keep her busy for hours. It's made with soft, breathable linen to allow your kitty to smell the catnip easily. The soft stuffing makes it easy to chew on while relieving pressure from their sore gums.
Just in case you're worried that store-bought toys might be dangerous to cats, you can make DIY homemade kitten teething toys.
Things needed: Wool yarn, scissors, wooden stick (optional) .
Take a wool yarn and wrap it around your four fingers about 50 times. Then take the wrapped wool yarn out and tie a knot in the middle. It should look like the wings of a butterfly. To give it a shape like pom-pom balls, cut the two wings from the middle. Spread the wool threads to make them form a pom-pom ball. You can attach the woolen pom-pom ball at the end of a stick to make your kitten chase it.
Things needed: Wool yarn, plastic ball.
You can take a wool yarn and wrap it around a plastic or paper ball. Ball yarns are still one of the favorite toys for kittens. It can keep them chewing on it for hours.
Things needed: Dry Catnip, socks, fabric for stuffing.
Fill clean, dry socks with poly fibers or woolen threads, add a pinch of catnip into the fibers. Secure the filling by tying a knot at the end of the socks. Or cut the socks with the stuffing and stitch it to form a pouch made of catnip to attract your kitty.