Missing Cat Teeth

[Donald Johanesen]

We are feeding and sheltering a stray/feral cat who showed up when not fully grown. He has adopted us and been around for 2 years. His only teeth are 4 molars, 1 top and bottom on each side, but his gum line is pink and healthy and he doesn't appear to have had any teeth ripped out or broken. Are cats ever born this way? He is jumpy and frightens easily and has had several patches of fur ripped out of the back of his neck, so I believe several cats have tried to kill him. We feed him pate soft food, but he also swallows whole crackers we leave outside for our TNR feral colony.

 

[abyeb]

If he was ever someone’s pet, he could have had extractions. It is possible that he was born without teeth, or that after he lost his kitten teeth, the permanent ones never came in. Cats are adaptable and do quite well even without teeth: Can Cats Manage Without Their Teeth?

 

[Donald Johanesen]

Thank you for the information. He looks subtly different with his saggy, floppy lips.