Fading Kitten Syndrome

Category: Nurses Club

Presenter:

Danielle Gunn-Moore BSc BVM&S PhD FHEA MACVSc MRCVS
RCVS Specialist in Feline Medicine

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About The Webinar

Kittens may ‘fade’ and die for very many reasons. Mortality is highest in the first week of life (typically >90% of all kitten mortality), after which it declines, only to rises again just after weaning. Pre-weaning losses usually result from non-infectious causes while infectious causes are more prevalent post-weaning. This is because prior to weaning the kittens are relatively protected from infectious disease by maternally derived antibody which they received in their mother’s colostrum. Causes of ‘fading’ kittens can be divided into birth / queen-related factors (e.g. kitten hypoxia, trauma, hypothermia), congenital abnormalities, low birth weight, inappropriate environment (e.g. temperature, humidity, hygiene, overcrowding, over-handling), inappropriate nutrition, neonatal isoerythrolysis (i.e. mis-matched blood groups), and infections (viral, bacterial, parasitic). This webinar will discuss these causes, consider why fragile kitten physiology predisposes them to hypothermia, hypoglycaemia and dehydration, and how best to try to treat sick kittens.

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