Milk teeth
Good oral health starts off when your kitten is young! When she comes home, she will still have her milk teeth, which she will enjoy using to nibble at anything she can find. These baby teeth are quite fragile, so her kibble needs to be softer and easier to break open than an older cat’s.
Adult teeth at 4 months
Around the age of 4 months, her adult teeth start coming through. You might find the odd milk tooth lying around, but most of the time the kitten swallows them (don’t worry, it’s completely normal). Her food now needs to be a bit harder, so that as her tooth breaks the kibble it gets ‘brushed’ while she’s eating.
Toothbrushing for optimum dental hygiene
Toothbrushing is the gold standard for oral care, using a special cat toothbrush and veterinary toothpaste is recommended. You may have to persevere as many cats and kittens may not take to brushing straight away! The right food will go a long way towards good dental hygiene.