I just found a cat’s tooth at home! It looks gray and black, so it must be a cat’s tooth, right?
Why do cats suddenly lose their teeth! What should I do if my cat loses its teeth? Should I take my cat to the doctor?
Why do cats lose their teeth?
Reasons for cats losing teeth 1. Periodontal disease
If your cat is not a kitten under 1 year old, nor an old cat over 11 years old, then the reason for losing teeth is probably periodontal disease.
Many statistics show that 70% of 2-year-old cats have periodontal diseases.
In fact, many owners only realize the importance of cat oral health after seeing “cat teeth falling out”.
Periodontal disease will eventually lead to “gum atrophy” and “tooth loss” in cats, so many cats lose all their teeth when they get older.
Although the gums have already loosened, “teeth cleaning” and “tartar removal” can still help cats keep other teeth as much as possible.
Reasons for cats losing teeth 2. Tooth replacement
If your cat is “over 4 months old” or “under 1 year old”, then it is very likely that the “milk teeth” have fallen out, and the kittens are about to start tooth replacement!
Cats have “milk teeth” and “permanent teeth” just like us humans. Usually, they start to replace their teeth at 4-5 months old, and at the latest, they will replace all their teeth at “7-8 months old”.
At this time, kittens are “moody” and “love to bite randomly”!
It is recommended to provide kittens with toys that can be used for teething. You can choose toys that are “softer” and “large enough” so that kittens are “not easy to eat by mistake”.
You can also use chicken soup and canned juice to make ice cubes for kittens to “play and chew”, which can help solve the kitten’s “desire to bite things” and slightly “relieve the itching feeling” and discomfort.
Reasons for cats losing teeth 3. Aging
As they age, cats over 11 years old may lose teeth due to aging, even if they have no oral problems.
Fortunately, even if our cats have no teeth, they can still eat!
Because cats’ teeth are mainly used to “tear food into small pieces”, so even if cats have no teeth, they can “swallow” the “finely divided dry food and canned food” we buy on the market.
What should I do if my cat loses teeth?
Excluding tooth loss caused by tooth replacement and aging, the most common reason for cats to lose teeth is periodontal disease.
Therefore, when we find that cats are losing teeth, we should start to treat their oral problems.
Step 1: Veterinary examination
First, cats should be taken to a professional veterinarian for diagnosis. Usually, cats with periodontal disease will be “cleaned” to “remove dental calculus”.
If the periodontal disease is already very serious, the gums should be turned over to clean them, and then “bone powder” should be buried to supplement nutrition and let the bones grow back. This is how to treat it.
Step 2: Learn to brush your cat’s teeth
Cats, like dogs, need to brush their teeth. While brushing their teeth, we can also “touch” and check the cat’s oral condition regularly.
When brushing your cat’s teeth, because cats are naturally “unwilling to brush their teeth”, we need to “step by step”.
First try to “touch the cat’s teeth” with your hands. After getting used to it, “apply” the cleaning product on the cat’s teeth, and finally “brush the cat’s teeth” with a fingertip or toothbrush.
What’s special is that cats can eat when brushing their teeth, so we can give them “meat paste as a reward” while brushing, so that cats are more willing to accept brushing!
Step 3: Use tooth cleaning aids
If you really don’t have time to brush your cat’s teeth, there are many “passive tooth cleaning products” on the market, such as “tooth cleaning tablets”, “tooth cleaning drops”, and “tooth cleaning feed” that can assist in cleaning.
These dental cleaning products mainly help control the formation of plaque and have certain effects, but they still cannot replace brushing and scaling!