Lactation failure in Cats (Felis) | Vetlexicon
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Lactation failure

ISSN 2398-2950

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Introduction

  • Inadequate milk production   →   kittens fail to gain weight.

Presenting signs

  • Kittens crying, restless, weak, lethargic.
  • Kittens show poor weight gain.

Acute presentation

  • Mastitis Mastitis.
  • Signs of systemic illness in queen.

Age predisposition

  • Young - inexperience.

Special risks

  • Death of kittens due to starvation.
  • Severe mastitis Mastitis   →   debilitation/death of queen.

Pathogenesis

Etiology

  • Mastitis Mastitis.
  • Failure of milk letdown ; idiopathic prolactin deficiency or psychological inhibition.
  • Anatomical; absent/blind teat or undeveloped mammary glands.

Predisposing factors

General

  • Age.
  • Temperament.

Specific

  • Nervous, inexperienced queens, ie psychological/physiological failure of milk let down.

Pathophysiology

Poor milk production

  • Physiology of inhibition of milk let down due to stress (nervous queens) is poorly understood.
  • Mastitis Mastitis   →   mammary gland malfunction (absence of normal lactogenesis (the onset of lactation) and lactopoesis (the continuation of lactation)).
  • No mastitis: assume poor milk production due to absence of suckling (absence of normal lactopoesis)/ endocrinological breakdown (poorly understood).
  • Abnormal prolactin metabolism important in agalactia since pharmacological agents that suppress prolactin, eg bromocriptine , also suppress lactation Pseudopregnancy.

Timecourse

  • Variable.

Diagnosis

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Treatment

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Prevention

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Outcomes

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Further Reading

Publications

Refereed papers