Who wouldn't be alarmed when these teeth appeared on the living room floor? Since we didn't notice any of our own teeth missing we immediately checked 5 month old Ringo's mouth and nothing seemed out of order there. Could it be our little kitten was growing up? We found the answer in "The Atlas of Cats of the World" by Dennis Kelsey- Wood which is a beautiful book with tons of information and lots of color photos of innumerable paws and whiskers! It is copyright 1989 by T.F.H. Publications. This comes from page 84:

"Cats have two sets of teeth during their lives, these being the milk or baby teeth and then the permanent ones. The former are not shed before the latter appear, for a cat must always have its canines and carnissials. The permanent teeth usually grow just behind or at the side of the milk teeth, which are shed once the permanent teeth are strong enough to be functional."