When dealing with dogs and cats it may happen to have to take care of orphaned puppies and kittens who have no access to maternal care and/or cannot be nursed with their mother’s milk. The typical scenario for orphaned puppies and kittens includes: death of the mother at birth or in the neonatal period (defined by most authors as the time interval between birth and the completion of the fourth week of life), abnormal maternal behaviour, altered mammary glands or qualitative and quantitative alterations in maternal milk composition, disparity between the number of neonates and the number of mammary glands, adoption of abandoned puppies and kittens and, although less common, maternal systemic or genital tract abnormalities, neonatal diseases or, in cats, blood group incompatibility between the mother cat and the newborn kittens.
Two main situations are possible: the first is when the newborn puppies or kittens require only nutritional support; the second is when in addition to nutritional support puppies and kittens also require the maternal care typically provided by the mother dog and cat.
AGE ESTIMATION OF ABANDONED ORPHANED PUPPIES AND KITTENS
The proper management of orphaned newborn puppies and kittens requires a perfect understanding of their specific anatomical and functional characteristics as well as of the multi-systemic evolution dynamics typical of the neonatal period. In the initial four weeks of life the physiological characteristics and needs of newborn puppies and kittens undergo a rapid transformation, so the first thing to do is to estimate their age as precisely as possible. To facilitate age estimation here is a list with the main stages and timing of neonatal development (Veronesi, 2012):
- detachment of the umbilical cord stump within 3 days (Fig. 1);
- opening of the eyelids at 8-16 days;
- opening of the ear canals at 6-14 days;
- eruption of the deciduous dentition at 2-3 weeks (Fig. 2);
- sucking, immobilization (portage), urination and defecation reflexes at 3-4 weeks;
- flexor hypertonus in the first 4 days, extensor hypertonus at 4 to 28 days.
NUTRITIONAL MANAGEMENT
The nutritional management may require either the total substitution of maternal milk feeding (e.g. in cases of maternal death, total rejection of the neonate by the mother or when adopting abandoned puppies or kittens) or, in case of imbalance between the number of mammary glands and the number of neonates or of insufficient maternal milk production, a nutritional intervention which supplements maternal milk feeding. In other cases, such as in cats with maternal-neonatal blood-group incompatibility, in cases of cleft palate or when in the presence of alterations in maternal milk quality, puppies and kittens must be temporarily or permanently withdrawn from maternal milk feeding.
The nutritional management may require the use of wet nurses, preferably with nursing females of the same species (although the use of nursing females of different species is not uncommon); the orphaned neonates are to be presented for nursing with different modalities depending on the specific temperament of the wet nurses available.
Should wet nurses not be available artificial feeding becomes necessary, but this implies a major commitment on the part of those who decide to take care of the newborn puppies or kittens. Depending on their age, in their first 3 days of life newborn puppies and kittens need to take milk at 2-hour intervals, intervals which may subsequently be gradually extended while being always respectful of their physiological needs.
With respect to the type of milk to be used, it is worth recalling that there is a major quality difference between the milk of dogs and cats and the milk of other animal species. In practice, the milk of dogs and cats is much richer in energy than the milk of cattle, goats, donkeys, equines or humans; it has a higher percentage of dry matter, protein and lipids and a lower content of lactose. Although these qualitative discrepancies may be balanced with the supplementation of various ingredients (such as cream and egg yolk), the homemade preparation of milk for puppies and kittens should be discouraged, in view of the high probability of incurring in problems of deficiency or excess which could result in various disorders. Various commercial formulations for the feeding of newborn puppies and kittens are available on the market. In most cases these are lyophilized preparations to be reconstituted by dilution with water; although apparently trivial, this issue is in fact very important as in neonates an incorrect water dilution (excess or deficiency) may be the cause of even significant gastrointestinal disorders.
As for the amount of milk to be administered daily, this depends on the milk’s caloric content, on the neonates energy requirements and on their gastric capacity, which is dependent on their age and body weight. In view of a daily energy requirement of about 22-26 kcal/100 g of body weight and in consideration of the energy content of 1 to 1.2 kcal/ml of commercial milk preparations for puppies and kittens, the specific requirement for each neonate can be calculated based on their body weight. The daily milk volume is calculated based on their gastric capacity (max 5 ml/100 g body weight), while the frequency of administration and the volume of each individual milk dose is based on their age. It is worth recalling that it is always preferable to reduce the amount of milk per meal (amount based on the calculated gastric capacity) and instead opt for a higher frequency of administrations. The frequency of administration is also dependent on how the milk is being administered. Puppies and kittens which are lively and with adequate sucking and swallowing reflex may be nursed with a baby feeding bottle (Fig. 3) or by means of an orogastric feeding tube (Fig. 4). Bottle-feeding, which is more physiological, favours a more gradual gastric distension and ensures a greater sense of satiety, thus allowing longer intervals between milk feedings. Milk administration with an orogastric tube implies instead a faster gastric filling, with an inferior sense of satiety, and thus requires a higher milk feeding frequency. Orogastric tube feeding is necessary in neonates with cleft palate or with poor sucking or swallowing reflex, in order to avoid the possible aspiration of milk, a possible direct cause of death, or of aspiration pneumonia, another often life-threatening condition.
The nursing frequency is strictly dependent on the age of the neonate and should be of about 10-12 feedings/day in the first 3 days of life, stepped down gradually to 6 feedings/day until 7 days, then 5/day in the second week and 4/day starting from the third week of life.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
Among the numerous physiological peculiarities of newborn puppies and kittens there is the immaturity of their thermoregulatory mechanisms; consequently, their body temperature depends on the temperature of the surrounding environment and of the bodies with which they come into contact with. In neonates, hypothermia is dangerous, as it may reduce vitality and predispose to neonatal defects or death. Although the body temperature changes from birth until the end of the neonatal period, in general it can be said that the body temperature of neonates (with the exception of the immediate postnatal period) should never fall under 35° C. Neonates must therefore be kept in environments with temperatures appropriate for their age and placed in contact with materials which are not thermal dispersants. Furthermore, hypothermic neonates should not be fed until the gradual correction of their body temperature. Body temperature control is particularly important in single, individual orphans, in whom besides the absence of maternal body heat there is also the lack of contact with the bodies of the littermates. The ambient humidity must also be adequate (55-65%), as a reduction or an increase in humidity may be the cause of an increased risk of dehydration or diarrhoea, respectively.
NEONATAL CARE
In contrast to herbivores, whose neonates - immediately after birth - have a sufficient sensory and locomotor maturity and urinate and defecate spontaneously, the offspring of dogs and cats are described as "inept". Newborn puppies and kittens are characterized by physiological ankyloblepharon (closed eyelids) (Fig. 5), non-patent external ear canals, poor responsiveness, inability to spontaneously ambulate, urinate and defecate, until the third to fourth week of life. For these reasons, when taking care of orphans it is also important to provide neonatal care, including the stimulation of urination and defecation, which are normally evoked by maternal licking. The micturition and defecation reflexes can be evoked by gently massaging the genital and anal area with a warm wet cloth before or after each milk feeding (Fig. 6).
Given the vulnerability to infectious agents, the hygiene of the orphaned puppies and kittens and of the surrounding environment is also very important, especially for neonates who did not take any colostrum, which is the main source of passive immunity in both the dog and the cat. All the items/equipment used while managing the neonates, especially the ones used for artificial feeding, must be thoroughly cleaned and possibly sterilized, following the indications described for newborn babies.
Finally, especially for single orphans, it is also necessary to ensure a correct behavioural development, modulating the manipulations and the interaction with animals of the same or of different species, as well as by providing play toys fit for their age (Fig. 7).
Suggested reading
- Veronesi MC, Castagnetti C, Taverne MAM. Neonatologia veterinaria. EdiSES. Napoli, 2013.