Expert: Jessica - 10/8/2009

Question
QUESTION: My son found a dead kitten by the food bowl this morning. The Kitten was very small maybe 3 in. long and still encased in the amniotic sac. We assume it is from our siamese outdoor cat who is very antisocial. We don't see her very often, usually from a distance. My husband mentioned when he saw her the other day she appeared pregnant. So anyway, what I am wondering is what could have happened? We could not find any other kittens and can not find our cat. This is her second litter. Her first litter were all healthy.

ANSWER: Hi Amy.  Sorry to hear this.  It's very difficult to say what may have happened.  Cats can have miscarriages of one or more kittens but go on to carry the rest of the litter to full term, and deliver those babies in full health.  There is usually no discernable reason for this.  It is possible that your cat is still pregnant with the rest of the litter.

However, it’s also possible that she’s delivering the entire litter now.  If the whole litter is premature and/or the kittens are all stillborn, the most likely causes are disease or stress.  Two of the most common reasons for stillbirths and premature deliveries are the viral illnesses Feline Leukemia and Feline AIDS.  These are most often found in outdoor cats.  Both are passed through bite wounds, and leukemia is also passed through friendly contact such as mutual grooming and sharing water and food bowls.  Both are considered terminal illnesses.  There is a simple blood test for both viruses that your vet can run, usually yielding results in 10 minutes.  I would recommend to have her tested for these illnesses since she’s an outdoor cat.  If she is negative, she should be vaccinated against Feline Leukemia, but only if she’s no longer pregnant.  Spaying her will reduce her risk of contracting Feline AIDS, since this can be contracted through bites sustained during mating.  There is a vaccine against it, but it is controversial.

It’s also possible the kitten could have been small but full term, and was alive when born, but mom neglected it for one reason or another.  Hopefully if this is the case, she is somewhere taking care of the rest of the litter.  If she returns home no longer pregnant, I would recommend to follow her from a distance when she goes back out to see if she leads you to any kittens.  If so, it would be healthiest for all to bring mom home and keep her inside, and then go immediately back for the babies.  In the average outdoor setting, fewer than half of kittens survive their first two months.  This is due not only to disease, but to predators, which range from birds like hawks and owls all the way down to hungry skunks and raccoons.

Mom can be spayed as soon as she’s stopped lactating, usually about 10-14 days after the babies have been fully weaned.  This provides her health benefits such as reduced risk of mammary cancer, a deadly infection of the uterus called pyometra, and it eliminates chances of ovarian cancer.

Best of luck!

Jessica




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: the kitten was definantly not full term the eyes and ears were still covered with the membrane and it had no hair. I hope she is still pregnant with the others, even though we don't need any more cats. We have had several appointments to get her spayed but she seems to sense it when the day comes and she disappears for a few days.

Answer
Cats definitely sense these things!  Some vets will be able to squeeze in a spay appointment at the last minute, since the procedure takes less than 15 minutes.  When the time comes, if she comes home on an afternoon and you can keep her in, you may want to call the vet and see if it's possible they could take her in the next morning.

Good luck!  I hope the pregnancy is going okay!