The appearance of kittens is a joyful event. If these kittens are not just purchased, but born with your own cat, this is just a holiday! It would seem that when all the kids are curled up in a basket, you can breathe calmly. But it was not there. Now it is necessary to closely monitor the newly minted mother, because pregnancy could lead to a dangerous disease called eclampsia. The cat that just gave birth has no chance to cope with the disease without your help.
Eclampsia
This is an acute nervous breakdown manifested in recently born and nursing animals. Eclampsia in cats after childbirth is most often caused by a lack of calcium in the body. This leads to metabolic disorders, which entails the appearance of seizures, and often the death of a pet. Clinical signs of the disease are similar to manifestations of epilepsy. Most often, this pathology overtakes young cats in the first week after the offspring. In addition, the disease can occur against the background of teething, poor nutrition, infectious diseases. Whatever the cause of the pathology, it is necessary to immediately begin treatment.
Causes of occurrence
According to observations, postpartum eclampsia in cats occurs most often for three reasons. This may be a genetic predisposition, impaired metabolism or external causes. The latter means too frequent births, mastitis, a large number of cubs in one litter, and a lack of nutrients.
Symptoms
Eclampsia in a cat has certain symptoms, but sometimes they can be confused with signs of nervous breakdown. That is why it is impossible to prescribe treatment to the animal on its own, it should be done by a specialist after a series of tests and analyzes. Especially important is a blood test, which will show the concentration of calcium in the blood.
After giving birth, it is necessary to carefully monitor the animal in order to see in time that it develops eclampsia. In cats, the symptoms of this disease may be as follows:
- the pet behaves inappropriately, she seems to be lost;
- mastitis appeared;
- the mood of the cat changes dramatically from horror to happiness;
- temperature is reduced;
- coordination is broken;
- dilated pupils;
- cramps.
Just yesterday, a friendly cat today can begin to hide from everything and from everyone, including its own kittens. Here she can rush to offspring, carry cubs one by one, moving them to other places. Eclampsia in a cat can also manifest itself in the fact that she begins to bite herself, bite kittens, and remain in fear all the time. Sometimes such behavior even ends with the fact that she eats her offspring.
About 8-12 hours after the first signs of the disease appear, the muscles lose their elasticity and become stiff. For this reason, the cat can take strange poses, bend, trying to eliminate this inconvenience.
Treatment
Treatment should be started immediately. It consists in saturating the body with calcium. However, it must be remembered that its excess is as harmful as the deficiency. Therefore, only a doctor can prescribe medications and recommend doses.
So, having noticed the signs of the disease, you should immediately contact your veterinarian. Before taking, you can enter one and a half cubes of calcium gluconate and 3 cubes of "Gamavita". If it is noticed that the cat licks, drags, bites kittens, they must be separated for about a day.
In severe cases of the disease, the animal will be left in the clinic for several days. Eclampsia in cats, the treatment of which is started in the early stages, passes rather soon. The animal is injected with a calcium solution intravenously. If you will be injecting at home, you should remember a few simple rules:
- at home, the drug is administered only intramuscularly;
- to get better “human” calcium, it is absorbed by cats much better than veterinary;
- the introduction must be done in different places, each time changing the limbs;
- Calcium should be heated to a temperature higher than room temperature, so it is worth holding the syringe for several minutes before introducing it.
Forecast
Postpartum eclampsia in cats, the treatment of which is started in a timely manner, has quite favorable prognoses. Only a few injections of the drug, and the cat does not even remember the disease. However, only a few days without treatment, and help to the animal is no longer required at all.
It is for this reason that it is necessary to pay maximum attention to the giving birth to a cat, noticing any, even minor, deviations from its usual behavior.
Prevention
In order to avoid such a dangerous ailment as eclampsia in a cat, prophylaxis is necessary. In this case, prevention is proper nutrition. And not only during pregnancy and lactation, but also before that. An optimal amount of calcium should be present in the animal's diet.
If for some reason the cat does not receive the indicated macronutrient, it is necessary to give it calcium preparations, which will compensate for its lack in the body. However, we must not forget that its overabundance is no less harmful. Therefore, if a cat receives calcium from medications, their dosage should be calculated by a veterinarian.
Only a careful attitude to the pet and a timely visit to a specialist in case of suspicion of eclampsia guarantee the preservation of the health and life of the cat and its cubs.