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 Description and Physical Characteristics of Cats: Feline Adult Dentition).

Last full review/revision July 2011 by Dana G. Allen, DVM, MSc, DACVIM; Sharon Campbell, DVM, MS, DACVIM; Ben H. Colmery, DVM, DAVDC; James G. Fox, DVM, MS, DACLAM; Carlton L. Gyles, DVM, PhD, FCAHS; Walter Ingwersen, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM; Lisa E. Moore, DVM, DACVIM; Sofie Muylle, DVM, PhD; Sharon Patton, MS, PhD; Andrew S. Peregrine, BVMS, PhD, DVM, DEVPC; Stanley I. Rubin, DVM, MS, DACVIM; H. Carolien Rutgers, DVM, MS, DACVIM, DECVIM-CA, DSAM, MRCVS; Jörg M. Steiner, DrMedVet, PhD, DACVIM, DECVIM-CA; Thomas W. Swerczek, DVM, PhD