Expert: Ali - 6/25/2009

Question
My cat was a little over 1yr when she got pregnant. She had 5 kittens - 2 days apart and one was a stillborn.  things seem to be fine, babies are growing and healthy, but I am concerned about mom.  Seems the last 3 or 4 days she lays around alot away from the kittens, I thought she was hot and needed to be away..  The kittens are 3 wks old now.  Mom is still very skinny and is still eating.. alot. Ive noticed also that she seems to pant.... i notice it when she is around the kittens , but she doesnt aways put her tongue out and sometimes she only does it for a few seconds... its almost like shes nervous?  upset?  she will lay down with the kittens and then jump up and look all around the room and pant  ..  the kittens are now under the bed this is the third time she has moved them.  We have been good about not mawling the kittens so im not sure why she seems so scared and restless.  Maybe im way off base and this is normal.  Also we have a shih tzu and mom is best friends with him.  Last night there was a knock at out door and the dog ran to it and i think he may have accidently jumped on her or near her and well  she went ballistic. I have never seen her attack him  EVER  and she used her claws and cut him in some places.  We had to pull her off him...  pls give me your opinion  i would really really appreciate knowing if this is normal or not or if there is something else I can be doing for her to make her feel better.
thanks

Answer
Jenn,

Based on your description I'm very concerned that mom may be seriously ill. It's not normal for a queen to deliver her babies over such a long period of time and that combined with her current state may be suggestive that she's got one or more deceased kittens decomposing in her uterus that for one reason or another weren't born. Mom may also have a serious infection in her womb that's causing the anxiety and panting that you're seeing. In the event that either of these two scenarios proves to be correct the vet will need to perform emergency surgery to spay mom - this shouldn't affect mom's ability to mother her kittens once she comes out from under anesthesia and is steady on her feet and in my experience this doesn't have any impact on mom's ability to produce milk to feed her kittens. This kitty should see a vet immediately, bring her babies along so that if she has to stay overnight you'll reduce the risk of severing the maternal bond because the kittens still need mom to teach them about being a cat, behaving properly, basic socialization and she needs to finish weaning the little ones - I recommend that kittens stay with their mom until they're at minimum 10 weeks old as this allows them to learn important skills from their mother.

There is an incredibly serious pet overpopulation issue that affect shelters and rescue organizations. Unfortunately many animal loving staff working for animal welfare organizations are forced to euthanize healthy, adoptable animals simply because they don't have the time, space or resources to devote to each animal until their forever family comes along to adopt them. The euthanasia rate for cats tends to be much higher than that of dogs, this might be related to the fact that there are so many unwanted cats and kittens, though the overall euthanasia rates for cats is a much higher percentage than they are for dogs. The incredibly high numbers of cats and kittens admitted to shelters in North America (and I suspect worldwide# could possibly be an indication that cats are seen as disposable, another possible explanation is simply that pet parents aren't taking the important and simple step of controlling pet overpopulation humanely by spaying/neutering their cats before they reproduce.

Many folks are uncomfortable with the idea of spaying/neutering their pets which may be a direct result of not knowing what to expect before, during and after these routine surgeries. If you'd like I can send you detailed information about spay/neuter surgeries and I'll answer any questions or concerns you might have about spaying/neutering your cats or direct you to someone that can answer these questions if I don't know the answer. Loving and caring for our cats and providing them with the incredible gifts that go along with spaying/neutering them at an early age is an important part of humane, ethical pet parenthood.

There are many good behavioral and medical reasons to spay/neuter our cats. Cats that have been spayed/neutered are spared the pain and suffering that can happen as a result of developing uterine, ovarian or prostate cancers. The earlier in life that a cat is spayed/neutered the less likely s/he will be to develop prostate or breast cancers. Unspayed female cats are at risk of developing a potentially life threatening uterine infection called pyometra which causes the womb to fill with pus, if the uterus ruptures and spreads infection throughout the abdomen the cat's chances of survival are pretty low. The only treatment for pyometra is to perform an emergency spay, this procedure is much riskier than a routine spay because the cat is already quite sick which is associated with an increased risk of possible complications while the cat is under anesthesia as well as after she wakes up from her anesthesia. The emergency spay required to treat a cat with pyometra is more complicated and time consuming so it often quite a bit more expensive than a routine spay.

The leading cause of death in cats living in North America is euthanasia secondary to behavioral issues. This statistic is heart breaking because many behavioral issues can be prevented or minimized by spaying/neutering our cats. Common behavioral problems including inappropriate elimination (urinating or defecating outside of the litter box), fighting with other cats (the resulting injuries from cat fights often require medical care because bite wounds tend to get badly infected forming abscesses which must be drained under anesthetic, flushed with sterile saline and treated with antibiotics), queens howling to advertise their availability to mate, tom cats caterwauling and fighting to win the right to mate with receptive queens and wandering over a large area are all issues which can be prevented by having the cat spayed/neutered before they reach sexual maturity. Behaviors like house soiling or fighting can sometimes occur with cats that have been spayed/neutered however these behaviors are often related to things like improper introductions to new cats in the household, poor litter box hygiene, scented litter, and other issues which can be easily solved.

Ultimately spaying and neutering our cats is a responsible and ethical choice which saves countless lives each year. For pet parents that are having difficulty getting the money together for routine vet care I may be able to help find a solution to those issues. I keep an ever growing list of resources that may be willing to cover part or all of the cost of routine care like kitten vaccines and spay/neuter procedures. The only information that I ask for in these cases is that the pet parent provide the general area they are writing from - in Canada or the US the province or state is fine. Spaying and neutering helps cats to live longer, healthier lives and as kitty caregivers that love our pets we all want to have as much quality time as possible with our furry friends.