Animal Welfare Professionals

Introduction
In many shelters across the country, neonatal and weaning kittens are one of the groups most at risk of losing their lives. Even for organizations with robust kitten programs, sick kittens can pose major challenges. Through effective preventive care, a thorough understanding of common kitten medical conditions, and prompt recognition and treatment of those conditions, shelters and rescue groups can expand their capacity for kittens and increase kitten lifesaving.
Disclaimer: As with all treatments and medical protocols, the following recommendations should only be implemented under the direction of a veterinarian. It is also the shelter’s responsibility to ensure that all legal and regulatory requirements are met. This playbook is meant to provide a broad overview of management strategies for common kitten conditions but does not address every possible diagnosis or treatment, and there are numerous causes of illness in kittens that are outside the scope of this document. For any sick individual, consultation with a veterinarian is recommended.

Program Overview
A robust medical program for kittens has several components. The most important of those is preventive care. It’s much easier and more resource-effective to proactively keep them as healthy as possible, instead of addressing disease as it occurs. When disease does occur, these are the most commonly observed conditions of neonatal and recently weaned kittens:
• Fading kitten syndrome
• Upper respiratory infection
• Diarrhea
• Panleukopenia
• Constipation
Special consideration should be given to the issue of combining litters of kittens or placing a single kitten with an unrelated nursing mom. In some shelters, this is a valuable lifesaving tool, but it comes with some risk. As with all things in sheltering, the risk must be understood in order to make an informed decision on whether the lifesaving benefit outweighs that risk.
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