Litters of Kittens dying

by Heather Tedrick
(Ocala, Fl)

I recently took a very prego cat in for a friend. The cat enclosure (she used to rescue cats but lost her income when the economy turned), it is not a good place. Most kittens that have been born there die. So when my nephew cats, (temporialy being cared for during a family emergency) got her cat pregnant, they asked me to help. I have her isolated in a medical cage and she is healthy. I suspect she may have worms because the thiness of her hips. I am waiting for my tax return but am curious as why the cats previous 2 litters died. The other kittens that also died from other cats had mucous in the eyes, diarreah. They seem to not be able to gain weight dispite roundworm and hookworm treatment but are okay, then suddenly die. I tried to help her out last year by getting medications for the worms. I do remember a few kittens sneezing. This current mama is not sneezing or coughing. Her stool is firm and normal coloring. What should I do, what should I look for? I am a wildlife rehabilitator and do not know what to look for in cats.

Reply
Hi
Often litters die because the health of their mother cat is not good in the first place and once they are born they reply heavily on their mothers milk to give them strength and the antibodies to fight off illness.

A pregnant queen needs to have the best nutrition during and after her pregnancy to enable her to be strong enough to bring up her family. Also as you say flea control is important early on as this can kill kittens via anemia.
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-pregnancy.html

Worming comes a little later on (the mother should be worm free though).

Cat flue is another killer of cats and kittens and here in the UK cats are vaccinated against this, I don't know if this is the same in the USA.
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-flu.html

I hope my pages on my site that i have listed above will help you further to assist this queen and her kittens. A lot of TLC and common sense goes a long way in these matters and mother nature is a fighter too.

My advice would be to have the queen looked at by a vet now to ascertain why she is thin. She may be malnourished or have a worm or flea problem.

best wishes kate

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