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Neonatal Losses 687

PEARLS & CONSIDERATIONS Technician Tips Client Education
• A body stocking on the queen is a good Counsel feline breeders on the breeds at risk
Prevention
VetBooks.ir • Blood type the queen and tom before mating; needed. This allows the queen to continue typed before mating. Diseases and Disorders
and the need to have the queen and tom blood
method to prevent kittens from nursing, if
avoid mating type B queen with type A tom.
care for the kittens (e.g., warmth, stimulation
of elimination).
• If a risky mating has occurred, the kittens
should not be allowed to nurse from the • Cord blood is useful for blood typing kittens SUGGESTED READING
Silvestre-Ferreira A, et al: Feline neonatal isoeryth-
queen until they have been confirmed as in at-risk breeds. rolysis and the importance of feline blood types.
blood type B or after the first 24 hours. Vet Med Int 2010:753726, 2010.
• Be alert for this complication in a bitch that AUTHOR: Jonathan E. Fogle, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
has received transfusion before pregnancy. EDITOR: Leah A. Cohn, DVM, PhD, DACVIM

Neonatal Losses Client Education
Sheet

BASIC INFORMATION CONTAGION AND ZOONOSIS Etiology and Pathophysiology
• Brucella canis infection • Mechanisms
Definition • Herpesvirus infection ○ Hypoglycemia, dehydration, hypoxemia,
Life-threatening illness occurring between birth • Bartonella infection and hypothermia are the main mechanisms
and 4 weeks of age • Toxoplasmosis for neonatal losses in dogs and cats.
• Parvovirus ○ Hypothermia causes failure to suckle
Synonyms • Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) or feline and intestinal ileus, which causes bacte-
Fading kittens, fading puppies, stillbirth immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infections rial translocation. This process occurs at
body temperatures < 96°F (<35.6°C).
Epidemiology GEOGRAPHY AND SEASONALITY The most common route of entry for
SPECIES, AGE, SEX Colder climates may negatively affect neonatal bacterial organisms is through the umbi-
• Canine or feline; both sexes survival. licus, but oronasal exposure and contact
• Neonatal mortality rates: 5%-30% with infectious vaginal fluids are also
○ Greatest incidence occurs within the first ASSOCIATED DISORDERS important.
week of birth. Failure to thrive (weight loss), vomiting, diar- ○ Meconium aspiration may cause pneu-
○ Kittens have second peak in mortality at rhea, respiratory distress monia and systemic bacterial infection.
3-4 weeks, usually of viral origin ○ Neonatal isoerythrolysis (p. 686)
Clinical Presentation
GENETICS, BREED PREDISPOSITION HISTORY, CHIEF COMPLAINT DIAGNOSIS
• Purebred puppies and kittens are more prone • Low birth weight, low weight gain, and/or
to congenital and hereditable defects. failure to gain weight Diagnostic Overview
• Dogs: breeds prone to anasarca and cleft • Separation from the dam or other The syndrome is defined by the death of pups
palate littermates or kittens or by persistent crying, anorexia,
• Cats: British shorthair, Scottish fold, Devon • Sudden onset of illness is characterized by weakness, lack of weight gain, hypothermia,
rex, Abyssinian, Birman, Himalayan, Persian, depression, anorexia, bradycardia, hypother- abdominal pain, or a combination of these in
Somali mia, persistent crying, abdominal distention/ puppies and kittens younger than 2-3 weeks of
pain, and failure to suckle. Death can occur age. Specific cause of illness can sometimes be
RISK FACTORS in 18-24 hours or less. determined by careful history, exam of dam and
• Dam condition • Primarily respiratory and gastrointestinal offspring, and performing additional diagnostic
• Premature labor (GI) signs in puppies and hemolytic or tests.
• Dystocia, causing fetal distress respiratory signs in kittens. With infectious
• Prolonged labor (6-12 hours) causes, clinical signs vary according to the Differential Diagnosis
• Low birth weight or failure to grow route and time of infection. See Etiology and Pathophysiology above.
• Lack of colostrum ingestion, immunodefi- • Severity of presenting signs influences
ciency survival. Initial Database
• Endometritis in the dam • CBC, serum chemistry profile, urinalysis
• Congenital anomalies PHYSICAL EXAM FINDINGS ○ Volume of blood withdrawn should
• Malnutrition or nutritional diseases • General: weakness, diarrhea, gasping/panting/ be conservative due to small body size
• Assisted feeding (potential aspiration labored breathing/respiratory distress (maximum: of 1 mL/100 g body weight/
pneumonia) • Red-tinged abdominal skin and nail bed wk). In very small patients, minimal
• Unhygienic environment, maternal stress, tips database should consist of hematocrit,
low ambient temperature • Decreased activity, decreased muscle tone, total protein, glucose, blood urea nitrogen,
• Parasitism pale mucous membranes, decreased GI and urinalysis.
• Infectious diseases sounds, dehydration, hypothermia ○ Neonates normally have mild serum
• Inbreeding • Neonatal isoerythrolysis (cats): pallor, icterus, alkaline phosphatase and phosphorus
• Cats: tom with blood type A having mated tail tip necrosis, tachypnea, discolored urine elevations, and mild blood urea nitro-
with queen with blood type B (p. 686) (hemoglobinuria) gen, albumin, globulin, cholesterol, and

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