File:Cat skull and teeth drawing.JPG

"Figures 3 and 4 show the skull of the cat and its dentition. It will be seen that the cat's teeth are set at more or less of a hooklike angle, with the points turned toward the inside of the mouth, which gives it a very powerful hold of anything which it grasps. The cat has thirty teeth in all. It will be seen in Figure 4 which represents the teeth of one side of the jaw that there is first in front a row of in- cisors (three on either side six in all), which are very small, and are practically rudimentary in this animal then two enormous tush teeth, which enable it to grasp its prey in the shape of the mouse, bird, or a simple piece of meat, and hold it firmly; then posterior come the premolars three in the upper jaw and two in the lower jaw of each side ; and behind these the molars one in each jaw. In the tempo- rary or milk dentition of kittens the molars are absent, leaving but twenty-six teeth. These, it will be seen (Figure 4), have enormous strong roots set in the jaw-bone, while the points are sharp and cutting; which allows of the man- gling of any solid food which may be taken, while it does not permit of grinding it, as is necessary in the herbivorous animals, or even, to a certain extent, in the omnivorous animals. The cat, like the dog, after having once grasped its food, tears it to a certain degree, and then swallows it whole, when its powerful stomach and organs of digestion allow of the rapid dis-