# kittens dying at 6 weeks old



## catcoonz

this is not me by the way but as i cant answer this question i said i would ask your advise.
kittens born perfectly fine, weaned well gaining weight then suddenly at 6 to 8 weeks old they go downhill very quickly. lose weight and if the vet doesnt give a saline injection the kittens die...what would cause this, my first thoughts are shes using a studboy which is not vaccinated but probably not the right answer. she is a registered breeder but her mentor also cant help and she has phoned other breeders who sadly dont have the answer. kittens are wormed and flea treated and looked chunky babies. the vet cant shed any light either. any thoughts please. :confused1:


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## lymorelynn

First thought that came to my mind was some sort of virus  Has the vet tested for anything?


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## havoc

> the vet cant shed any light either


Not even after doing a post mortem? I can half understand someone not doing a pm if it happens to one kitten but if there's been more than one die surely you'd insist.

There's no way anyone online could give a half sensible suggestion without a lot more information. Does it happen after worming? Why are the kittens being treated for fleas and what's she using? Etc. Etc. Etc.


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## havoc

> First thought that came to my mind was some sort of virus


The timing is perfect for this, immunity from mum waning. Can't see how a saline injection would make that much difference though


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## lizward

Dehydration - kills them very quickly indeed at this age. I bet they have had diarrhoea. I find this is the age where deaths are most likely to occur which is why it is a mystery to me that people want to take them at this age. I suppose it's a lack of education.

Liz


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## havoc

I'd be horrified if I was losing kittens at this age. I've lost one as late as 4 weeks and it shook me to the core. I guess the next question has to be what's causing the diarrhoea then


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## catcoonz

thankyou for the replies. i have myself lost kittens at 2 days old but never after this age, mostly stillborn but just cant understand at 6 weeks. i have spoken to her and told her your replies.
her queen is blood tested at her booster vaccination's only ( not good enough in my eyes but there you go) all tests are clear, however her studboy has never been vaccinated nor been blood tested and i have questioned her on maybe the stud has a virus.
post mortems never been done and yes i agree with losing entire litters or most of them, she has lost 3 kittens but one survived and only due to a saline injection to get the poor thing eating again. 
diarrhoea....yes the kittens did have this as she likes to get them used to different foods before leaving ( i only keep mine on one food) if it works why change it.
worming and flea treatment she worms every 2 weeks with panacur from 2 weeks onwards and flea uses frontline spray at 4 weeks old. why i dont know, would have thought if the queen was kept up to date with wormers and flea treatments the kittens wouldnt need doing quite so young.


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## havoc

> i have questioned her on maybe the stud has a virus


I'd have thought any viral or bacterial infection from the stud would affect things at a much earlier stage but I am only guessing as I don't have any experience of anything similar.



> uses frontline spray at 4 weeks old. why i dont know


Neither do I.


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## 1290423

not got a blinking clue! dont come into the cat section, but you say it 'happens' which indicates to me it has happened more the one!
Was the same stud used on th other occassions?


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## catcoonz

yes she uses the same stud boy as i understand its her friends boy who is closed stud but for cheaper rate lets her use him. this has happened many times. she says last year both litters of 5 and 3 kittens only 1 kitten survived. she thought at first it was all the male kittens dying as that left the 1 female. this year she has lost a litter of 2 female kittens but the 3 males survived. funny though the stud owner uses this boy to her queens but she hasnt lost any kittens which is why im unable to offer advice as i really dont know whats going wrong. at 5 weeks kittens are eating whiskas kitten food but still have access to the milk bar. i just cant get my head around how a healthy kitten running around one day can suddenly die 3 days later being very ribby. i know this last litter she has just lost the vet gave them synulox. maybe she has a virus or a cat whos a carrier of a virus.


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## chillminx

With those kind of survival rates I'd want to stop breeding until I had got to the bottom of the cause of so many deaths. Just off the cuff -- is there any way the deaths could be due to 'foul play' from someone in your friend's household?


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## catcoonz

she lives on her own. children all grown up and left, no other pets apart from her 3 queens. i know she had one queen neutered after she ate her first litter.


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## lymorelynn

Under such circumstances I would stop breeding. A queen eating her litter is certainly not normal behaviour and to have the majority of the kittens dying in other litters would be enough for anyone to stop and try and sort out the problem surely


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## catcoonz

i completely agree with you, if this was me i would have already given up. its bad enough losing kittens at 2 days old or stillborn but 6 weeks of age there is something seriously wrong. i have told her i started this thread so she can read what others have put and lets just hope she stops breeding for the cats sake. ive never heard of queens eating their young before surely if the mum has done a good job doing the cords and cleaning them why on earth would she then eat them at a week old. :confused1:


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## catcoonz

a message from my friend. thankyou for all your help and advise she appreciates this very much, also for not being harsh on her after all the upset she has already been through. as her queen she thought was 6 weeks pregnant has just come back into season she is now retiring from breeding to save more tiny graves being in the garden.
i would also like to say a big thankyou for being able to help as i had no clue what to tell her. her 3 queens will now be her neutered pets which i think is for the best.:thumbup:


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## lymorelynn

I'm glad to hear that catcoonz. I am sorry that she has lost so many kittens but wish her well with her girls now they are to retire and become, I am sure, much loved pets.


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## lizward

havoc said:


> I'd be horrified if I was losing kittens at this age. I've lost one as late as 4 weeks and it shook me to the core. I guess the next question has to be what's causing the diarrhoea then


You are doing very well indeed if you've never lost one this late. The other possibilities would be herpes virus (but that doesn't kill overnight), or a very undersized kitten can indicate there is something fundamentally wrong. I have lost very tiny ones at 8-9 weeks, even when they have been eating well and running around just a couple of days before, it's as if suddenly the fact that they are only about the size of a two week old catches up with them and their bodies just can't sustain them any more 

Liz


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## lizward

catcoonz said:


> ive never heard of queens eating their young before surely if the mum has done a good job doing the cords and cleaning them why on earth would she then eat them at a week old. :confused1:


I had that this year, Mum changed from being perfection itself to cannibalism when the kittens were five days old. I am not completely sure whether the kittens died first or not, when the first one was found in bits I gave her the benefit of the doubt as I had not been entirely happy about the condition of that kitten but when I then found her eating another one I removed her quick  There was no reason at all that I could see to trigger this behaviour. I desperately hope she isn't going to do it again!

These death rates sound like mine last year when we had Tritrichomanas foetus - did these kittens, or their mothers, have diarrhoea? It could be as simple as that.

Liz


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## havoc

Giardia or T Foetus did cross my mind once diarrhoea was mentioned but I didn't feel I had the experience to say so I left it as an open question in an earlier post


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## catcoonz

TF may have been the cause but i dont know anything about this condition.
i know she said before she heard a very loud noise from a kitten and whilst alive the queen ate its back leg, then before she could get the queen out from her kittens she bit the tail off the other kitten and just spat the tail out. these 2 kittens was taken to the vets immediately to be pts. cant imagine the pain those poor babies must have been in, she had mum neutered after this.


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## havoc

> You are doing very well indeed if you've never lost one this late.


It isn't that I've never had a sick kitten. I do tend to react pdq though and will start with rehydration fluids straight away on spec so I don't get to point of a dehydrated kitten. I honestly believe they are a lifesaver.


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## chillminx

catcoonz said:


> her 3 queens will now be her neutered pets which i think is for the best.:thumbup:
> 
> 
> 
> Very pleased to hear this catcoonz, your friend has made a wise decision.
Click to expand...


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## OrientalSlave

Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cats


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