Hi,

My mum took in a pregnant cat a few weeks ago and she is now just about fit to burst, today she has noticed that she has been sneezing quite a bit, so we are worried incase she has cat flu.

The babies look like they are going to come any minute, we have been expecting them since last week, but as she doesnt know how far exactly she was she doesnt know when her due date is/was.

She has just started sneezing today and this evening she has gone into a corner and is being quiet...if the kittens come tonight what does she do? Should she take the kittens away from the mum and bottle feed them or leave them with her? We know cat flu can kill kittens, so we are very worried.

Any help greatly appreciated!
Tilly

Hi, I have put this in health but I think it might be better in here..

My mum took in a pregnant cat a few weeks ago and she is now just about fit to burst, today she has noticed that she has been sneezing quite a bit, so we are worried incase she has cat flu.

The babies look like they are going to come any minute, we have been expecting them since last week, but as she doesnt know how far exactly she was she doesnt know when her due date is/was.

She has just started sneezing today and this evening she has gone into a corner and is being quiet...if the kittens come tonight what does she do? Should she take the kittens away from the mum and bottle feed them or leave them with her? We know cat flu can kill kittens, so we are very worried.

Any help greatly appreciated!
Tilly

I think that's a really difficult call. If it is viral and the mum is actively shedding virus now, then her kittens could be infected at birth. Even if the kittens were removed immediately and the mum still in the house, given that respiratory viruses are airborne there is still a very good chance the kittens could contract it even with very rigorous barrier nursing - so changing clothes, shoes, etc, etc, before going in and seeing to the kittens; that's going to be a mammoth task on top of actually hand feeding a litter day and night for 4+ weeks.

If it's viral and if the kittens contracted whatever it is then obviously the longer it could be delayed before they possibly developed it, then so much the better in my opinion as when they're that bit older/stronger they'll have a better chance - the downside of taking them away from mum and handfeeding means that they have absolutely NO immunity to anything which makes them even more vulnerable.

I guess there's also the question of whether mum is going to be well enough to feed a litter depending upon how the severity of her symptoms progress.

Sorry - none of that is much help really. I think I'd probably take veterinary advice and only undertake hand feeding from birth if your Mum has done it before (its not easy!) and is prepared for a long and difficult month or so.

ok


first things first... is she just sneezing or has she any of the other cat flu symptoms? It could be dust irritating her nose, but your right to be prepared.


I am wondering if she is being quiet because labour is imminent....



If you are at all concerned about her health then a trip to the vets for a check up is in order. The vet can give a full diagnosis.


Virus's : Calici or Herpes usually and some reports of corona virus causing same symptoms.

Bacteria: Chlamydia and bordatella are the most common.

If viral, then she will be shedding but its possible that the kittens would be exposed anyway during birth. Removing them from mum, and denying them colostrum could be disasterous.

If bacterial the vet can prescribe antibiotics. They may prescribe them just for mum, or for mum and kittens. They may also give antibiotics to support mum and babies in the case of a viral flu, because while the cats immune system is compromised they are very susceptible to all sorts of other infections alongside.

I have fostered many many mum cats and their offspring, and unless absoloutly necessary i do not remove mum from the babies. Kittens can be infected through the placenta via the womb, and during birth, so handrearing really isnt sensible yet.

However, if they do become sick, cat flu can supress the apetite. In which case you will need to supplement feed, or ask your vet to help by tube feeding. Even then it can be touch and go. Some kittens show nothing more than a touch of conjuncitivitis, others become very sick very very quickly.

What i would suggest is that your mum does isolate mum from any other cats in the household, to try and limit any cross infection.

Hope that helps xx

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I would'nt take the kittens away, she may just be sneezing because of something in the air keep an watch on her eyes & nose for discharge.

Hopefully someone who knows more about pregnancy will be along soon or maybe post in the breeding section, good luck with her & babys

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. She is sneezing still today, we have isolated her from the other cats, I called the vets and they said she needs to go in as if she starts to go into labour then she needs a c section immediately etc, they wanted us to rush her to the pet hospital but we refused as we dont think it warrants that, she is fine in herself, no discharges etc and we said we would monitor her until tomorrow.

Have posted on the other board too, thanks!

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. We have isolated her and monitored her throughout the day, she is only sneezing and there are no other signs of anything. I called the vets and they of course wanted her in, which I was expecting. When we told the vets she had been quiet, they said that if she was in, or going to go into labour then it was an EMERGENCY that we took her to the emergency clinic immediately as she would need a c section.
I said we didnt think she was, and apart from the sneezing we were otherwise not concerned, so we agreed to monitor her tonight and take her to the vets tomorrow if she was still sneezing.

She hasnt hand reared before, neither have I so any advice on what to get and do just incase would be really helpful?

Also, what is best to do if she has them overnight before we get her to the vets????

Thanks
Tilly

She needs a C section because she is sneezing??? I think you should get another opinion on that!

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Hi Tilly

I think you need to weigh stressing her as little as possible against getting her to the vet for a check over. Without tests (and even those very often aren't reliable) it'll be very difficult for the vet to know what the problem is. All I can say is that if she were in my care I'd hope the vet would cover her with a course of antibiotics just to be on the safe side but i don't think I'd want the vet to do anything more intrusive at this stage. As your mum has only recently taken her on I think it would also be wise to ask the vet about worming her once the kittens are born. I assume your Mum has checked her for fleas and has found none... both these things can be a real problem for young kittens.

Unless the cat becomes very unwell I'd strongly advise against taking the kittens away and hand feeding them. If she has the kittens overnight it really wouldn't hurt to pop her along to the vet, so long as she's not away from the kittens for more than an hour or so.

Hiya tilly

Hmmm vets think its an emergency? Herpes, and calici can be transmitted via the placenta so its entirely feasable that if she is coming down with a case of the flu the kittens would already be infected. I have NEVER in all my years working at the vets (vet nurse) and all these subsequent years fostering pregnant cats been advised to give a cat a section based on the fact that they are "potentially" getting cat flu.


Now i have heard of it being reccomended and treated as an emergency in canine herpes. It is reccomended to deliver pups via c-section, and hand rear in isolation. However, this reccomendation comes from clinical testing, and even then there was a high infection rate in the isolated pups (as although its a different virus it can cross the placenta).


Its hard to say this but if she already has it, then its likely her kittens do to. Putting her body under the massive stress of a c-section, removing the kittens from their only form of immunity and other antibodies (colostrum), and attempting to hand rear without any experience is not in my eyes a sensible move. Especially when there have been no tests done to see if mum does in fact have one of the virus's or bacteria!

Now as for handrearing. The vets should be able to sell you a good formula, which you will need to make up as per the instructions on the tin. Pop into your local chemist and ask for an eye dropper, this is often the easiest way of getting milk into tiny kittens. However practice with water beforehand because its easy to squeeze too much milk out and the kitten get it into their lungs. Once they are suckling the dropper you can move to a kitten bottle or a syringe. IF they need tube feeding then it would be best to take them to the vets as its a complicated skill to learn, and disasterous to get wrong. Kittens need to be kept warm, a heatpad on one side of their box is ideal, then they can wriggle out of the way if they get too warm. You will also need to use some warm water and cotton wool after each feed to stimulate them to poop and pee. Mum usually does this with her tongue but when handrearing you must. Newborn kittens need to be fed every 2 hours (sometimes every hour if they are weak) day and night! Handrearing is hard work, knackering, and often heartbreaking.

pm me if you need anymore help

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