- abandoned/orphaned kittens
- death, illness or incapacitation of the mother cat
- mother has no milk or proven to be a poor mother
- mother temporarily unable to care for kittens e.g. surgery required, short-term illness, milk not yet dropped (more common if labor is premature)
- mother rejects some or all kittens
- mother has produced more kittens than she can care for unaided
- an owner has insisted on aborting near-term kittens and veterinary staff have given the kittens a chance
Note: Kittens have sometimes been successfully raised by small nursing bitches or a non-nursing bitch has helped with the cleaning, elimination and keeping warm aspects of kitten care. This is the exception not the rule. If you do have such a dog, you will already know her reaction to kittens and the extent to which she helps. Otherwise, do not tempt fate. When Not to Hand Rear There are some cases where a kitten or kittens should be euthanized at birth. The following list is not exhaustive. In some cases the decision is difficult. In a few, surgery may be possible (e.g. if it is not a genetic condition and the kitten is important to a breeding program). - Feline overpopulation means the kitten has little chance of finding a home.
- Gross deformity such as spina bifida or other spinal deformity, multiple missing limbs, fused twins (twin-headed, double bodied etc), anencephaly (lacking large amount of brain), anasarca (effusion of blood serum into tissues) or generalised oedema (waterlogged tissues).
- Cleft palate (incomplete soft and/or hard palate i.e. hole in roof of mouth)
- Hydrocephalus (water on the brain)
- Imperforate anus (no anal opening)
- Major hernia or missing abdominal wall.
- A lesser disability which is not lethal of itself, but will (in your area) prevent a kitten from finding a home. Anopthalmia (eyelessness) is one example.
Some lesser abnormalities (eyes, ears, brain-damage, spinal problems) do not show up until later on. Twisted limbs and joints can usually be rectified with physiotherapy and splinting, or with amputation if only a single limb is affected; the joints are still being formed in the weeks immediately after birth. |
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