Protruding Lower Canines

[s0mthinG]

Hi everyone,
My 5 month (and three days) old kitten has been nipping and chewing a lot of cords and that is to be expected from a teething kitten. However, when I checked his teeth today I noticed that his lower canines were protruding out of his gums but his deciduous teeth were still in the mouth. Should I be worried about them not falling out, or do they look like they are on their way and I shouldn't worry too much. I know tooth extractions are very expensive and my preferred vet charges quite a bit for checkups (this is only a point of issue for me because I brought him in 3 months ago for vomiting and the vet's solution was give him canned food, but it ended up working so I guess its fine). I just want to know if I am overreacting because this is the first cat I have had that has gone through teething under my care.

Here are pictures of the offending teeth

And here is my little boy as I am writing this.

 

[jen]

Nope no worries, they will fall out when they are ready. If however, he is getting older like closer to a year and you happen to see those teeth still intact then they need to be removed at the vet. That doesn't commonly happen.

 

[s0mthinG]

Thanks for the speedy response Jen, most vet websites and articles that I have read all say this is a very serious issue and to take them to the vet right away. This kind of scared me (especially since I just took the plunge and got him a sister!)

 

[jen]

At 5 months? That is when they are teething. The new ones grow in and then the old ones fall out.

 

[jen]

Usually by 6 months they have their full adult teeth so check back again then. If both sets are still there, give it a little longer and then have the vet take a look. Is he neutered yet? Many vets can remove the baby teeth at the time of neuter.

 

[s0mthinG]

Yes, he is neutered. We had it done at the local Arizona Humane Society in August (and they were able to do it very affordably (65$ w/ pain meds)).

 

[s0mthinG]

At 5 months? That is when they are teething. The new ones grow in and then the old ones fall out.

From what I read at our vet's website Retained Deciduous Teeth (Baby Teeth) in Cats any time that two teeth are attempting to occupy the same socket is bad. Again, I could just be interpreting this wrong and being a worry wart because I love my kittens.

 

[s0mthinG]

Update: These teeth are definitely bothering him. I just caught him chewing on the wicker basket on one of his cat trees, and then attempting to bite the table. He's not crying out in pain, but I do understand now why he kept persistently chewing wires in my room even after I put bitter spray on them.

 

[jen]

Yep, sounds pretty typical for a 5 month old. That is all common kitten teething behavior. It is correct you don't want both teeth there at the same time but it is usually very brief. Kittens chew things when they teeth. This is all normal. Just give it a bit for those teeth to fall out.

 

[jen]

I'm sure it bothers him a bit, just like human babies when they teeth. They actually make frozen kitten teething things for them to chew on. He is just trying to get the bothersome teeth out. They will probably be gone in a few days or so.

 

[s0mthinG]

Just a quick update!

While he was playing with his new sister I noticed some blood on the side of her face and stopped the play time immediately because I thought he had hurt her.
Turns out the play had knocked out one of the baby canines and her white fur soaked up a bit of the blood! Yay Coco! He's doing very well and I am a whole lot less wirried .

 

[calico man]

If you put that canine under a pillow I wonder what the tooth fairy will bring?!
Keep us posted!

 

[s0mthinG]

Sadly I was unable to find it
We may never know, unless I can catch him when his other one falls out!

 

[jen]

Glad it fell out. He probably swallowed it. Most cats do.

 

[s0mthinG]

Hey guys!

I just wanted to keep you all updated, coconut has lost his second lower canine, again while playing with his sister ( that seems to be a good outlet for his teething and getting those baby teeth knocked out). He also has his top canines coming in! I'm not too terribly worried about anything regarding his teeth anymore. I wanted to thank you all for helping me not worry too terribly much (and saving me a vet visit)

I was actually able to find the tooth this time! He might be getting a visit from the tooth fairy...

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

That's a beautiful toof! What a treasure!