Expert: Jessica - 7/16/2010

Question
i have feral mamma cat who birthed 5 kitties and today 1 was wobbly and keeps falling down she is under weight too please do you have any idea on what it can be?

Answer
Hi Vicky,

The kitten really should see a vet right away for a proper diagnosis and treatment.  There are a couple of diseases that can cause general wasting and neurological disturbances that are found in kittens.  It's difficult to say which might be most common without knowing the exact age of your kittens, but Feline Infectious Peritonitis is a concern, as well as the Feline Leukemia virus.  There is also toxoplasmosis.  All are contagious between the kittens.  Another concern is a flea-borne parasite called Feline Infectious Anemia, or if the kittens have a lot of fleas, anemia from the fleas sucking out all the blood themselves.  Loss of blood from these two sources can cause loss of weight, weakness and eventually neurological problems due to lack of oxygen to the brain.

Any kind of infection can cause a kitten to lose weight and become weak and wobbly very quickly.  One disease that's very common and very deadly (in 97% of kittens) is the feline distemper virus.  Bacterial infections can be cured with antibiotics.  If the vet feels the kitten is suffering from a viral infection, including feline distemper, then care will be supportive in nature, and may include antibiotics to prevent secondary infection, IV fluid therapy and food with added nutrients that may be fed with a syringe if necessary.

There is one final condition that comes to mind, called Cerebellar Hypoplasia, which is present at birth but usually isn't noticed until the kitten is around 3 weeks old.  It causes a kitten to be very wobbly, due to the underdevelopment of a part of the brain, called the cerebellum.  The condition is due to the mother's being infected with distemper when she is pregnant.  Sometimes a whole litter is affected, or sometimes only some of the kittens are.  The kittens generally grow up perfectly healthy and happy as long as they can hold themselves still enough to eat from a food bowl.  This condition alone doesn't explain why your little one would be underweight, and a vet visit is certainly still in order.

Best of luck!

Jessica