The Problems Faced in Puppies and Kittens During the Neonatal Period

Neonatal period in pupies and kittens include the first six weeks after parturition. Health condition of newborns depends on some factors, such as; genetics, health status of bitch, feeding and drug usage in the bitch during the pregnancy, fetal development, assisted birth, anomalies in newborns, infections and nutritional disorders. For healthy neonatal period in newborns, queens should be vaccinated and the monitorisation of newborn’s health status and environmental conditions should be optimal. Mortalities in pupies and kittens occur usually in the first week after parturition. Mortality rates appear at the highest level in the first day after parturition, and decreases gradually after the third day. Pre-weaning losses usually result from the non-infectious causes while those of infectious causes are more prevalent in the post-weaning period. While the neonatal mortality rates reported range from 9.23 to 26.0 % subsequent to complicated and uncomplicated whelpings in dogs, pedigree cats had an average kitten mortality of 34.5 %, as compared to 10-17 % in non-pedigree cats. This rewiev will discuss problems, such as; hypoxia, hypothermia, hypoglycemia, toxic milk syndrome, haemorrhagic syndrome, septicemia, fry viremia, diarrhea observed in puppies and kittens during the neonatal period.