'Circle of Life' prompts spring reflections

Tom Bloom, Local Veterinarian, Animal Talk Column

The spring of the year is always very intense for a small animal veterinarian. Many owners are concerned about getting their pets ready for the demands of summer.

The process is similar to getting your kids ready for camp: vaccinations, insect repellents, etc. Every spring I repeat to myself that this is going to be the spring that I don't miss.

This spring I will walk slowly, breathe in the freshness and listen to all that surrounds me. This will be the spring that I enact the philosophy to enjoy all that is around me minute-by-minute. After all, what better way to embark on the new millennium than enjoying the moments with all their intensity?

Our challenge daily, as we live, is not to miss our life. The season of spring is a reminder of Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality" as the circle of life begins once more to renew.

In the spring, cats are most likely to be queening - giving birth to kittens.

Not all species are timed to have their young in the spring. Deer are a good example of spring timing. Dogs, however, do not necessarily come into heat in spring. Their cycles come every 6-12 months regardless of the time of the year.

Humans ovulate once a month and our knowledge suggests no relationship to the length of day.

Cats, on the other hand, are somewhat timed to the lengthening day. As the winter winds down and the day extends, cats in the northern hemisphere are more likely to come into heat and be bred. Hence, around late March and throughout April, the population of kittens always goes up.

Early last March, probably just after that quick blast of winter, Tuppy apparently received her calling to queenhood. On the eve of tax day she was destined to impact feline demographics.

Most cats deliver kittens with little effort, a subject my wife and I debate. Her point is: "There is nothing effortless about delivery!" Tuppy came to our clinic because her delivery was unlike most cats.

Tuppy lived in a household where dominating the food bowl was akin to beauty, and she was a beauty - a 20-pound beauty. When Tuppy became pregnant, it truly was her secret. Her enormous tummy, which served on occasion as a floor sweeper, disguised her pregnancy till the final day.

When the call came through to the clinic, her history suggested that Tuppy was constipated. After questioning the owner and finding that Tuppy was straining outside of the litter box, I knew it was time to have Tuppy come into the clinic.

Tuppy appears to have beginning or end. In fact, were it not for a head and tail, coming and going would be a diagnostic challenge.

Her owner carried her into the clinic in a cardboard box. The wet discharge in the box was my first clue that this was probably not a colon/rectal problem. Trying to test Tuppy's abdomen was a kneading experience. Ultimately, I resorted to a radiograph.

Inside were six enormous kittens. The first one attempting to emerge was a little too big for Tuppy's birth canal.

In Tuppy's case a Caesarian section was performed. However, in 99% of queenings, no interference is necessary. The mother instinctively knows when and what to do.

Tuppy unfortunately did not give any hint of her impending delivery. Normally, owners can prepare themselves with an educational trip to the vet.

Ideally, the mother-to-be should be eating kitten formula 3 weeks before delivery. A good brand-name kitten chow is all the mother needs for her nutritional gestation requirements.

She should be given the food free-choice in the last third of her pregnancy, continuing into her 6th week after delivery.

Several days prior to delivery, the queen usually will pick a nest. Often an owner can encourage the place of queening. Once the second stage of labor begins (intense muscular movement) a kitten should follow in no more than 4 hours. Beyond 4 hours of labor a veterinarian should become involved.

Often the mother will rest between kittens. When labor begins again, another kitten should follow in no more than 2 hours. Placentas (afterbirth) do not always follow each kitten. Two may emerge at one time. However, this is rare in cats.

When kittens emerge, the mother will lick the kitten dry and stimulate breathing. Weak, fading kittens do not receive attention from the mother. Professional efforts, often in vain, are needed to save any weak kitten.

As I watch Tuppy clean and mother her new life, she is my reminder, as we start the last spring of this millennium, to stop and enjoy all the many wonders and beauty that surround us.

For additional questions or comments, please contact me at: vetdoc@pressenter.com