The neonatal period represents the first two to three weeks of life. In that period, neonatal patients are completely dependent on the mother and thus neonatal mortality is very high. Neonatal patients have developed motoric function and... more
The neonatal period represents the first two to three weeks of life. In that period, neonatal patients are completely dependent on the mother and thus neonatal mortality is very high. Neonatal patients have developed motoric function and react only to pain, touch and scent. Kitten mortality can be up to 85% between the ages of one and seven days, which is very concerning. The main cause of neonatal mortality is hypoxia, followed closely by hypothermia, hypoglycaemia and dehydration. These four emergencies commonly appear all at once but need to be resolved in the right order to avoid causing more damage. In order to treat and diagnose these four emergencies, the physiology of the neonatal period has to be understood. Neonatal patients sleep 80% of the day and must eat every two to four hours. The thermoregulation centre is not fully developed until the age of six weeks, making body temperature dependent on the ambient temperature, and the low percentage of fat tissue makes the animal to developing hypothermia. Hypothermia always needs to be resolved before hypoglycaemia because of the vicious circle that can develop if feeding a hypothermic neonatal patient. Since the liver is not fully developed until the age of eight weeks, the gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis processes are not active during the neonatal period and glucose levels depend on ingestion alone. Neonatal patients are also prone to developing dehydration due to the underdeveloped kidneys and inability to concentrate urine, increased skin permeability and decreased possibility of blood flow autoregulation through the kidneys. The undeveloped liver and kidneys also dictate the types of drugs that can be used. Clinical signs of a sick kitten are constant crying, anaemic or cyanotic mucous membranes, diarrhoea and weakness, weight stagnation or loss, and bradycardia. A sick neonatal patient requires a full exam, with blood sampling and testing of haematology and biochemistry parameters. The interpretation of blood parameters is different than in adults. In case of the arrest or persistent bradycardia, the ABC + D protocol should be applied.
