Neo Natal Care

Signs of healthy kittens and puppies

Respiration rate: 15-35 breaths/min.
Heart rate: 200 beats/min for first two weeks.

Kittens' birth weight: 100g (+/- 10g).  Kittens should weigh 500g by 6 weeks of age.

Puppies' birth weight varies with breeds- 100g for miniature breeds up to 750g for large breeds.
Puppies should  gain 5%-10%of birth weight daily.
Puppies should be double their birth weight by 12 weeks.

Signs of neonatal illness

• Crying for more than 20 minutes is abnomal
• Decreased activity
• Decreased nursing activity
• Failure to gain weight
• A rough, dry coat

If litter mates are piled up on each other, they are probably cold.
If they are separated and not touching, they are probably too hot.

Failure to gain weight at expected rate:
Tx- start supplemental feeding with milk replacer.

If a neonate looses more than 10% of its birth weight, the chances of survival are small.

Non-infectious causes of neonatal mortality:

• Hypothermia
  Tx. Warm slowly over 1-3 hrs until rectal temp is 36.1-36.7
  Find cause of hypothermia. Drafts need to be eliminated.
  
  
• Hypoglycemia
  Tx. Give oral glucose.  It is best to warm the glucose.
  
  
• Trauma
  Ie. Accidental puncture wounds, umbilical herniation or crushing can be caused by the dam.
  
  
• Infection
  Poor environmental conditions.
  Inadequate sanitation practices.
  Intermingling of animals of all ages.

Causes of fading puppy syndrome are often diagnosed via post mortem

Please call us if you suspect you have a litter that is not doing well.

Back