Fading Kitten Caused by Bacterial Infection
Bacterial infections are the
most common infectious disease of newborns.
It
is hypothesized that many of these fading kitten deaths may be due to
bacterial infection, and the main culprit is Strep canis (also called
Group G Strep).
The solution to this problem is a one time injection of antibiotics for both kitten and queen.
Most veterinarians in feline practice have been reducing the use of antibiotics over the past several years by trying to focus their prescribing to situations where they clearly know what they are treating and why.
However, there are certain situations where prophylactic antibiotics are warranted. The best example of this is a cattery dealing with G strep.
show minimal symptoms before dying.
The kitten is gone before you know anything is wrong
In 1990, a research study by Patricia Blanchard DVM, and Dennis Wilson DVM investigated the incidence of Beta-hemolytic Streptococci ( G Strep) as a cause of newborn kitten deaths. The results were incorporated in a chapter in Greene:
Infectious Diseases of the Cat and Dog WB Saunders. While the study is technical in nature, some simple facts and conclusions can be drawn that have significant impact to cat breeders.
.
That means that even if a female is not carrying G Strep, she can
easily be infected by any male when mating with him. Males spread G
Strep in catteries.
- If the infection takes hold, the kittens die in 7 to 11 days
- If the queens are not exposed to G Strep initially but are infected by the males, the kittens die in about 3 days
- Most affected kittens are from young females having first litters
- Queens remain healthy while the kittens die.
- New queens added to established catteries tend to have higher kitten deaths due to G Strep
The successful protocol used to eliminate newborn deaths from G Strep
was a single dose of long-acting penicillin give to both the queen and
her kittens immediately following delivery.
- Newborn kittens receive a single, 0.25-ml subcutaneous injection of a 1:6 dilution in sterile 0.9 per cent saline of a product containing 150,000 IU benzathine penicillin and 150,000 IU of procaine penicillin per ml.
- The queen receives a single, 1-ml subcutaneous injection of the same product undiluted.
- Navel is dipped in 2% tincture of iodine
No ill effects have been seen in kittens or queens with routine
single-dose penicillin therapy.
Granted, this is a protocol that most of us would think very wrong headed.
Normally when antibiotics do have to be used, an appropriate duration of treatment is necessary to guard against failure of therapy and induction of a resistant infection.
In general, it takes 2-3 days of dosing an antibiotic before it has reached therapeutic levels in the bloodstream and tissues. Stopping at this point does little good and has the potential for harm. That is why it is uncommon to see treatment lengths less than 5 days. Usually a series of doses of antibiotics over a period of time is recommended.
The G Strep treatment is an exception to the rule of multiple doses, although it does utilize a long lasting antibiotic.
Antibiotics can't be used to replace healthy queens with adequate immunity or clean environments for the kittens to grow in. Using antibiotics will not overcome inherent health problems in breeding cats.
However, once we understand the nature of G Strep and the effectiveness of this unusual antibiotic protocol, all breeders, new and old-timers, have one more weapon in their arsenal to protect and preserve the tiny lives they bring into the world.