Any idea why my 3-4wk old kitten died? Need some closure please.?

Question

My cat had kittens in February about mid month (both mom and dad are ours and 100% healthy) i picked one out during week 1, a male... The litter was 2 of each gender. The kitten was 100% fine for the first 2 weeks.. Eating from mom etc.. Though he did section himself off from the others rather often (he would go lay with dad instead or by himself completely) we thought it was just a personality thing till later in week two when one night we woke up and he was in the middle of the room (had escape his enclosure with the mom and others) and was cold.. He stopped growing after that, stopped eating from mom (we started bottle feeding him) and seemed to have a cold often. When he slept he sometimes shook .. Barley could walk .. Not even half the size of the other kittens, head was always down.. He was doing AMAZING thurs-friday and then saturday during bottle feeding he passed- out of no where. Note: we DID talk to a vet- but they wouldn't treat kittens that young. The best we could do was what we did. I would really like some certainly as to why he died, some closure. Thank you.

Answer 1

First you never allow the father of the kittens near or in the same room as the momma and kittens. They will kill the kittens to bring the female back in heat. The kittens should never be allowed to leave the nest at all. Second if you wanted to find out what happen to the kitten a nycropsy would have to be done by a vet. Male cats can not take care of kitten they need to nurse every 2 hours till they are about 3 weeks old and then it is very 3 hours and so on. Once a kitten is cold it body will start to shut down if not found at once.



R P CAT

Answer 2

If you've never had your male and female cats vet checked and blood tested to see how internal organs are functioning you wouldn't know if those two cats are perfectly healthy. Also, heart problems are not visible so it could have been something genetic the kittens inherited.



You say you were bottle feeding. What did you bottle feed, KMR or another kitten fomula? If not then you fed the wrong food. Did you help the kitten to go to the pee and poo after every feeding by massaging both areas with a damp rag or cotton ball? Did you keep the kitten in a box with a heating pad on low wrapped in a pillowcase? Kittens need to stay warm and in a small space. You should not have let it travel around out in the open! They should all have been in a large box big enough for mom to get in and out of easily and stretch out to nurse but keep the kittens in one place warm. If he had been in a box he wouldn't have escaped and he shouldn't have been sleeping with the dad. Kittens huddle together to stay warm and it doesn't sound as if that ever happened with this kitten nor did you provide it for them and especially him.

Answer 3

More than likely he was born with some kind of condition or defect that just wasn't visible from the outside. Kittens are extremely fragile and can die without warning; it's not uncommon. I know it's terribly sad, but try to be glad that he passed quickly and didn't suffer a long life of illness or pain. God bless and comfort you.

Answer 4

Most likely it was genetic related (maybe heart). Unless the parents were tested for genetic problems and heart related problems you won't know for sure.



Sorry for the loss. I suggest you spay and neuter mom quickly, especially the male - he will end up breeding her again when she's nursing kittens.