Death of a 15-day-old kitten

M
M12 Icon representing the flag French
Report

Good evening,

I’m posting here because I’m quite worried.

I’m currently fostering a little queen who gave birth to 8 kittens 2 weeks ago.

Despite the size of the litter, everything went well at first. Even though some had low birth weights, they were all nursing well and putting on weight nicely.

Then, two days ago, during the daily weigh-in, I noticed that 2 or 3 of the babies were losing weight, even though their growth had been perfect until then.

They are all nursing properly and with plenty of energy. I spend a huge amount of time with them to keep an eye on everything, so I can see that they are feeding well.

Yesterday evening, one of the kittens took a turn for the worse in the space of a few hours. He didn't want to nurse anymore (even though he’d been nursing well just hours before despite the weight loss). He was doing silent meows and was very weak. He ended up passing away in the early hours of the morning... 😪😪

Looking back, I’ve noticed that two days before he died, he was very restless. He wanted to climb everywhere and wouldn't stay still in the nest; he was on the move almost constantly and was crying all the time. I just thought it was normal, that he was just a little adventurer. He was nursing normally at that point.

In hindsight, I think that restlessness must have been a sign of discomfort. His mobility and development seemed normal. I don’t think it was a lack of milk, especially since I offered him supplements which he refused every time, despite several attempts.

The problem is that tonight, 2 other kittens have also lost weight and are starting to get very restless too. It’s the same pattern: they are nursing normally—even more than the others—but they continue to cry and won't settle. I have, of course, contacted my regular vet plus another one, and they both just tell me that it’s 'natural selection', that the litter was too large, and that there’s nothing they can do for them anyway.

The others are putting on weight perfectly well, yet they seem to nurse less than these ones.

The temperature in the nest and the room is fine. I'm very vigilant about their environment and hygiene.

Mum is doing very well and is looking after them. I realise there might not be much you can do, but would you have any leads that could provide an explanation?

I thought about neonatal isoerythrolysis, but it’s a bit late for that, isn't it?

Translated from French
icon info

The forum content is sometimes translated from another language, and posts may concern countries with different animal laws. Do your research before making any decisions.

Since the forum is translated by AI, the translations may contain errors.

Write your message and upload a photo if you want to! Please remain courteous in your exchanges.

Your post will be visible to all members of the international Wamiz forum.

9 answers
Sort by:
    • Blue_Cat
    Blue_cat Icon representing the flag French
    Report
    Hi there, Could it be a heart condition? Perhaps the little ones that passed away weren't meant to survive because of a failing heart. It’s just a thought, but it would be worth checking if the mother has a heart condition herself (clearly it isn't always fatal at a young age). It would also be interesting to find out if the healthy ones have any heart abnormalities too.
    Translated from French
    M
    M12 Icon representing the flag French
    Report
    Thanks for all your replies; I’ll try to answer everyone in one go: As I mentioned, I don't think it's a case of the milk not being rich enough; otherwise, we’d see a dip in the weight charts for the others as well. They might be struggling to digest it, but that wouldn't be a milk issue—it would be an issue with the kitten itself. Regarding your friend who supposedly poisoned her daughter with her own milk, I’d be curious to hear more details, as those kinds of stories are usually completely unfounded myths. I’m not questioning her personally, but I know this subject inside out, and there’s almost always another explanation. Health professionals often receive very little training when it comes to breastfeeding, and there’s an incredible amount of misinformation out there. Anyway, I’m getting off-topic. This isn't the mum’s first litter, and all of them nursed well in the hours following the birth, so they definitely got the colostrum they needed. I’ve already tried switching to formula, but they’re refusing it, whether from a bottle or a dropper. It’s likely because they aren't actually hungry since they’re nursing so much. One option might be to separate them from their mum and the rest of the litter so I can hand-feed them myself, but that carries its own risks for their development later on. Still, I think I might have no choice but to give it a go. The temperature of the kittens, the room, and the nest (blankets, hot water bottles, etc.) is all fine; I’d already looked into the possibility of hypothermia. They’re sleeping all huddled up together, and the mum isn't pushing any of them away.
    Translated from French
    ?
    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
    Report

    Switch to kitten formula immediately and, above all, take the mother and the surviving kittens to the vet.

    If the kitten that died had shown any warning signs, the mother would have moved it away to abandon it, even if her milk wasn't nutritious enough.

    Keep an eye on the kittens' temperature; they should feel warmer than you and should be sleeping curled up together in a huddle.

    If one of them wanders off, try to put it back with the others and prioritise feeding it, even if you have to add a bit of sugar to a litre of kitten milk.

    But above all, please go to a vet, as there’s no other way to find out what’s wrong with them.

    Translated from French
    ProvetoJuniorConseil
    Provetojuniorconseil Icon representing the flag French
    Expert verified
    Report

    Hi there, there’s almost no chance it’s neonatal isoerythrolysis as that mostly occurs in pedigree breeds. Plus, death usually happens within a few hours without any symptoms, or over a few days with signs like blood in the urine, haemorrhaging, or necrosis of the extremities, which isn’t the case here. I suspect the litter was simply too large for the mum; perhaps the weaker kittens didn’t get any colostrum in the first 12 hours of life, which would explain why some are so weak. Also, if this is the cat’s first litter, the milk and colostrum quality might not be great.

    Keep in mind that a newborn with hypothermia will refuse to feed because they can’t digest milk anymore. I’d suggest taking the temperature of any restless kittens to check that the problem isn't simply that they are too cold!

    Unfortunately, I don't think a post-mortem will be possible now as too much time has passed and the body would have needed to be kept in the fridge at 4°C.

    Hope this helps,

    Best regards,

    Julie

    Translated from French
    D
    Del2244 Icon representing the flag French
    Report

    Hi there,

    If you've still got the kitten's body, take it to your vet. A post-mortem could rule out certain possibilities or help find a way to save the others.

    Translated from French
    ?
    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
    Report
    The mum’s milk might not be rich enough or could even be bad for them. It happens with humans too, where a mum thinking she’s doing her best ends up poisoning her baby—it happened to a friend of mine with her first daughter. The kitten suckles, you think they're feeding well, but they lose weight, get restless because they're hungry, and die... the best thing would be to switch them all over to kitten formula.
    Translated from French
    M
    M12 Icon representing the flag French
    Report
    Thank you so much for your reply. I really don’t think it’s a case of not having enough milk; I spend a lot of time watching them and you can clearly hear them swallowing—they aren’t just dry nursing. I’m actually a human lactation specialist and I think it’s a real shame there aren't any proper studies on feline lactation; the data I can find is very sparse and I already knew it all. I wanted to compare to see if the lactation process is truly the same as in women, oops sorry, I’m rambling! 😄 I tried the bottle anyway, but the ones losing weight refuse it point-blank. Despite all my attempts and doing everything I can to get them to take it, I think they’re simply not hungry. I’m not going to force-feed them and risk the milk going down the wrong way, yet they don’t refuse the teat. Interestingly, the bigger ones don’t mind the bottle at all (I tried them just to compare). It’s their agitation that is so strange. I went to see them several times during the night and two of them are extremely restless; they’re going round in circles and crying loudly. They are nursing, but it isn’t enough to calm them down—even the mum is at a loss. They’re following the same path as the little one who passed away yesterday. To me, it’s the same problem, even though they were gaining weight perfectly despite not being particularly big at birth (though they were all at least 0.2 lbs at birth). Could it be a neurological issue? I’m going back to see my vet this morning and I’m going to insist she takes the time to listen to me. I understand that "it’s just nature," but I feel there is a real problem here and I’m not going to sit by and watch them all die one after the other 😢. It’s just impossible to supplement them. I try several times a day, taking my time and putting my knowledge and experience into practice, but they refuse completely. I’m really at my wits' end.
    Translated from French
    M
    Mike64 Icon representing the flag French
    Report

    Neonatal isoerythrolysis usually crops up in the first few days, you're right there...

    Personally, even with all the care you're giving them, I do wonder if the poor mum has enough milk for such a big litter... they're suckling, but I reckon some teats might be producing less milk, or have even dried up completely... that would explain why they're so restless and trying to nurse more often than the stronger ones.

    Why not try bottle-feeding them with some formula? It's actually one of the treatments for NI anyway... At least that way you'll know you've tried everything, and if the little ones unfortunately don't make it... well, we'll just have to accept that 8 was probably too many and nature's taking its course.

    Translated from French
    Docline
    Docline Icon representing the flag French
    Report

    Eight is a massive litter (especially if the mum is young)

    Translated from French

  • 9 comments out of 9

    • Do you have a question? An experience to share? Create a post on our forum!
    These topics could be of interest to you!
    Find out more