[brandy681]

I have a question that has been really bugging me. My mom has (2 cats) a female persian cat that is 1 1/2-2 years old and bought as a kitten and a 4 1/2 year old male persian cat that was also bought as a kitten. Her female cat is regular size and the male is a little overweight and heavier. My mom said she saw the male cat try and mate with the female but she said that he looked like he didn't know what he was doing or that he was too heavy to mate with her. Anyway she got pregnant and they had 3 kitten which was the first litter that they have ever had. Everything was fine but on the 3rd or 4th day the kittens died, my mom went upstaires and 2 were dead and the other was limp so she rushed it to the vet but it dies before she made it their. We were heartbroken! My mom said that she never saw anything like it because she was raised with kittens and this never happened! Anyway I started doing a little research and found out that some female cats don't produce milk or if the cat is too young this will happen and so I had my mom to feel of her to see if she had milk and my mom said that she did not feel any milk coming out but she was not sure. I was going to have her fixed but soon thereafter she got pregnant again and had 2 kittens, we kept a very close eye on them because we were not going to let it happen again and they both lived. We just gave the two kittens away and we have an appointment to have both cats neutered. I just wanted to see if anyone has ever experienced anything like this because I feel so bad and I don't even understand why they died, I am thinking it was because the female was too young or that she didn't know what she was doing, or didn't produce milk.

[DocWill]

Good possibility starvation. Without conformation of the colostrum, or first milk if you will as soon as possible after birth.We may never know. Normal kittens will start nursing 2 to 3 hours after birth. Maximal absorption of antibodies occurs at 8 hours after birth, and is very low at 24 hours. Without these antibodies, it is difficult for newborns to survive. If you are unsure about colostrum absorption, your veterinarian can check it with a blood test. If the kitten does not have enough antibodies, serum from the mother can be injected under the skin to provide protection. Nutrition is another key to survival. No commercial or home made milk replacer contains ALL the ingredients of the mothers milk. Cows milk is lower in protein and goats milk is also not recommended. Kittens fed milk replacer may develop cataracts and grow slower than normal newborns. If the animals will not readily nurse a bottle, they must be fed immediately and your veterinarian can show you how this is done. If newborns are crying constantly or not nursing when awake, they are probably sick. Suffocation unlikely due to the fact you found one of the kittens alive and breathing before passing. Neonatal isoerythrolysis, or NI, is a rare immune-mediated disease that is caused when newborn kittens with type A blood drink colostrum from a mother with type B blood. The antibodies contained in the colostrum are absorbed. They then bind to the kitten's erythrocytes (red blood cells) and destroy them (erythrolysis, hemolysis). Blood type A is dominant over blood type B, therefore type A cats can either be homozygous (genotype AA) or heterozygous (genotype AB). Tomcats that are homozygous type A will always produce type A kittens when bred to queens with type A or B blood. Approximately 95% of type B queens have strong isoantibodies against type A blood. I mention NI favorably due to the fact you said the word Persian. This breed is what you could say as uncommon blood type. Most all domestic long and short hair cats, can easily receive a blood transfusion caused by trauma from any domestic cat. Persains,Himalayan,Sphinx And more exotic breeds like these require blood typing to insure compatibility. Affected kittens are born healthy and start to nurse vigorously. Once they drink the colostrum, they start to show clinical signs within hours to days, stop nursing, and fail to thrive. They develop hemolytic anemia within one to two days after birth and some or all of the litter will die. Early clinical signs of the disease are pigmenturia (dark red-brown urine). Affected kittens will be anemic, jaundiced, and depressed. Immune mediated hemolysis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, acute renal failure, and anemia are the probable causes of death. Cardiomyopathy just means heart disease, and any number of unforeseen birth defects. I could bore you to death with this if I haven't already. But I think you are probably correct with the no milk idea. I wouldn't point the finger in such a blame at anyone. I know if you ever see new born kittens again your curiosity will drive you to see the mother has milk for her kittens. Plus one gold star and ice cream for you and the decision to spay and neuter. It does lead to a healthier pet from this hormonal change. Kiss you cat, it makes the dog mad.

[brandy681]

Wow! Thank you so much for the help, I really appreciate it and I don't want to ever see kittens die like that and having to suffer.. It is so sad and me and my mom feel so bad for not knowing what went wrong and thinking that we could have prevented it.

[DocWill]

I wouldn't ever suspect you would have done anything on purpus to harm them. Sometimes God teaches us in wacky ways. Weird. Anyway make sure you are feeding mum a good kitten food! She needs it !

Only 5 stars? Lol

[brandy681]

What is a good food do you suggest? I have been thinking about what kind to buy them that will be the best but I don't know. I kept switching between the regular Purina Cat Chow and the Indoor cat chow because our male is hefty. They don't get much exercise staying inside and they seem pretty lazy so I switch back and forth between the two cat foods so that they don't gain too much weight. I have bought them another brand also that a PetsMart employee recommended which was pricey and they like it too and so I basically switch between Purina and that one, I can't remember the name of it. If you have any suggestions on a really good cat food please share with me and I will definitely get it for them and see how they like it.Thanks :)

[DocWill]

I don't actually, reason is,, Its when I say, MAM buy this your cat will live 100 years and pee better and won't puke furballs all over your kids. They take it home her cat hates the food hates me, is now spraying,. etc,. My suggestion is, Buy small portions at first. If they like it great, if they hate it, your out less cash.
Look to see the food had calcium, protein,. etc
Did you know cats eat mainly by smell, dum cats!
Help with hairballs? T