Fading Kitten Syndrome:
The Warning Signs

What Is Fading Kitten Syndrome?

The first four weeks of life can be the most perilous time for young kittens. Kittens face so many dangers. Because they lack mature immune systems, kittens face the constant threat of diseases. And a sick kitten can have a difficult time reaching the milestone of adulthood.

Some kittens may have suffered birth trauma or other physical conditions that cause them function below the level of their siblings.

Fading kitten syndrome (FKS) is spectrum of disorders. The common denominator in all of the disorders is that they cause a failure to thrive in kittens. FKS is best described as a feline version of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

In a litter of kittens, you may notice one or two kittens not behaving like the others. They may not take to nursing from their mother. And may be smaller than their siblings. The mom cat may even reject the kittens in order to focus on her healthy offspring. A few days later you may even find one or two dead kittens that have wandered off from the rest of the litter.

Because fading kitten syndrome does not have one single cause it is important to look at a multitude of factors that can contribute to failure to thrive in kittens.

Risk Factors

A newborn kitten is fragile and very dependent up its mom or surrogate to provide a safe environment. Often, young kittens are often exposed to congenital and environmental factors that can cut their lives short. Let’s examine the most prevalent risk factors for the development of fading kitten syndrome.

1. Prenatal infection

   While in the womb, kittens can be exposed to a wide range of infectious agents. The feline leukemia virus is a major cause of fading kittens.

2. Feline Infectious Peritonitis/Feline Panleukopenia

   Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a serious illness that can be transmitted by mom cat to her offspring. Newborn kittens have difficulty fighting off the virulent infection. FIP starts off as cold symptoms and evolves into a disease that affects many organs of the body. FIP is one of the top causes of kitten death.

   Feline distemper is a highly contagious virus that attacks the white blood cells. Some estimate that the virus kills 90% of the kittens it infects.

3. Congenital Disorders

   Congenital defects can impact a kitten’s ability to survive. Defects can be mild or non-life threatening or they could be severe enough to end a life. Hydroencephalus (water on the brain) and spinal cord defects (spina bifida) can be life threatening.

4. Parasite infestations

   Parasitic infestations can be very pervasive in young kittens. Kittens can be infected with many types of worms including roundworms, tapeworms, and hookworms. Newborn kittens can easily die from a worm infestation due to their small stature and immature immune systems.

5. Poor diet

   Without proper nutrition, young kittens cannot grow and thrive. A small, immature kitten can easily be crowded out during feeding time by its bigger siblings. There may also be problems with mom cat’s milk supply. She may not be producing enough milk or may be transmitting diseases to her offspring through her milk.

6. Hypothermia

   The first few weeks of life, kittens are dependent upon mom cat to provide warmth. Newborn kittens cannot regulate their own body temperatures.

7. Maternal Illness

   Sick cat moms are often in poor condition to mother newborn kittens. Sick queens can also pass on diseases to their kittens in the womb or via their milk supply.

8. Maternal Neglect

   Feline moms have the instinctual ability to know when something is wrong with their kittens. Many times, mom cats will reject or neglect kittens that they feel will not survive. In addition, feline moms may have few mothering skills if they had been rejected as kittens and hand-raised by humans.

9. Maternal Obesity

   Obese cat moms have a higher risk of kitten death than non-obese queens. They are prone to more health problems because of their obesity: diabetes and birth complications. These factors can put kittens’ lives in jeopardy.
   
   

10. New Mom Cats
    
    Some new queens may be unable to make the difficult transition into the role of mother. They may lack the skills to effectively nurture their offspring.

11. Dehydration

    Dehydration can easily shorten the lifespan of a young kitten. A kitten’s body needs water to create blood volume and to help excrete waste. Without water, a kitten could become too weak to nurse and die. Diarrhea and inadequate consumption of milk are two causes of dehydration.

Signs and Symptoms

There are tell-tale signs of fading kitten syndrome that indicate the when a newborn kitten is not developing as it should.

• Low birth weight compared to it siblings
• The “runt” of the litter
• Physical weakness
• Poor appetite
• Lack of coordination
• Little to no crawling
• Lack of socialization with mom and siblings
• Difficulty breathing
• Sudden death of unknown origin

Treatment

Healing fading kitten syndrome involves treating the individual disorders causing the failure to thrive. Your vet plays a crucial role in treating FKS. Your young kitten may need to be hospitalized or medicated to solve the underlying problems. Preventing Fading Kitten Syndrome

There are a few steps that you can take to help prevent FKS.

• Intervene if you see your mom cat not caring for her kittens
• Make sure mom cat has been vaccinated and dewormed
• Take any kittens not thriving or growing to the vet
• If breeding a female cat, make sure she’s healthy enough to carry a litter
• If you have a pregnant cat, do not to give her any medications that can cause birth defects

Remember…preventing fading kitten syndrome requires watching for its early warning signs.

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