Fading Kitten Syndrome

[ell1]

Our cat gave birth to a litter of 4, four days ago, in the early hours of this morning we lost the last surviving one, all victims of 'fading kitten syndrome'. Something we had never heard of until now, absolutely devastated.

[5inthebed]

How sad. Your poor cat.
My cat had kittens earlier in the year and one died, two suvived. How tragic for l 4 of yous to die :(

[frostyfingers]

How sad, I've not heard of that syndrome, what are the specific symptoms? Our cat had 2 litters, of 15 in total and we managed to keep one going by hand rearing it which was horrendous. I assumed they died because she was a bit casual about the whole business but perhaps it was the same as yours.

Is mummy cat ok?

[ell1]

Hi, thanks for your replies. FF, they just stop feeding basically and die really quickly, their Mam is fine, but keeps looking for her babies which is heartbreaking. 3 of them went very suddenly, we got the 4th to a Vets and it fought for a day, but that was very very hard to watch, as we knew it wouldn't survive.

Here are some signs to look out for -

What should I look out for?

As newborns, if kittens aren't eating, they are sleeping. Your suspicions there is something wrong should be raised if you see any of the following;
?Newborn kitten sleeping away from mother & siblings.
?Newborn kitten crying excessively.
?Newborn kitten not nursing.
?Weakness & weight loss.
?Vomiting.
?Diarrhea.

[Lizcat]

This is unfortunately more common in some pedigree breeds of cat, some of these cats culture positive for strep B in there vaginas and I have had some success with pretreating positive cats with antibiotics prior to delivery of the pups. It can also be associated with a number of viruses.
It is really sad and I do recommend daily weighing of kittens to pick up changes fast.