
Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
Emergency care for kittens
Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
Read
Kittens will frequently present as emergencies at first opinion veterinary clinics, and the initial care they receive can make the difference between life and death. Guillaume Hoareau gives some basic pointers as to how such cases should be approached.
Guillaume L. Hoareau
DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVECC, Dipl. ECVECC
Dr. Hoareau earned his veterinary degree from the Toulouse National Veterinary School, France before completing a residency at the University of California-Davis. He is now board-certified by both the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, and also holds a Ph.D. from the University of California-Davis in Integrative Pathobiology, specifically in resuscitation and hemorrhage control. He is currently a research fellow in trauma and critical illness in collaboration with the United States Air Force while continuing to care for veterinary patients.

Key Points
- Every kitten presenting on an emergency basis should undergo a triage examination, and a clinic should have specific protocols designed to assess every animal that presents as an emergency.
- Neonates and kittens have specificities that make their care unique. Nursing or vascular access can be challenging, and such patients also have different normal values on physical examination and laboratory work.
- Appropriate dietary intake is key for young patients as they have a high metabolic rate. Sufficient calorie intake is vital to prevent common conditions, especially hypothermia and hypoglycemia in neonates.
- Dehydration and shock may result from an imbalance between salt and water intake and losses. Since the baseline fluid requirement is higher for kittens than adult cats, fluid therapy should be adjusted accordingly. ...
Introduction
Kittens and young cats are often presented to veterinarians with life-threatening conditions. Due to their small size and unique physiology they can represent a significant challenge, and it is therefore crucial that veterinarians understand the specificities of this patient population and develop an adequate skillset to care for these animals in the acute care setting. This clinical review will present general concepts for the emergency management of kittens and young cats, and emphasize specific points relating to these animals. Note that it can be helpful to divide this patient population into neonates (from birth to two weeks of age) and pediatric patients (from two weeks to six months of age).
General emergency approach
Triage examination
Every patient presented on an emergency basis should undergo a triage examination. The word "triage" is of French derivation and refers to the action of attending to the patient while determining priorities for action. The goal of this process is (i) to decide if the patient requires immediate life-saving measures and (ii) to prioritize resources toward specific individuals when multiple patients require medical attention simultaneously. It is important that each clinic develops specific triage protocols tailored to their own situation, but it is also essential to remember that the triage examination is the first contact with a pet’s owners, who can often be very distressed, and communicate with them accordingly.
Traditionally, the “ABC” algorithm has been used to initiate the triage, as it evaluates airway patency, breathing (is the patient breathing spontaneously? Are there signs of respiratory distress?), and circulation (are there signs of circulation or shock?) (Figure 1). The presence of shock can be assessed on physical examination by evaluating perfusion parameters: mentation, heart rate, pulse quality, mucous membrane color, capillary refill time, and extremity-to-core gradient temperature. [...]

Figure 1. The “ABC” algorithm, which can be used to evaluate airway patency, breathing and circulation, with appropriate responses indicated.
* cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Get access to all handy features included in the IVIS website
- Get unlimited access to books, proceedings and journals.
- Get access to a global catalogue of meetings, on-site and online courses, webinars and educational videos.
- Bookmark your favorite articles in My Library for future reading.
- Save future meetings and courses in My Calendar and My e-Learning.
- Ask authors questions and read what others have to say.
About
How to reference this publication (Harvard system)?
Author(s)
Copyright Statement
© All text and images in this publication are copyright protected and cannot be reproduced or copied in any way.Related Content
Readers also viewed these publications
Subscribe
Access to the content of the Veterinary Focus website is reserved for animal health professionals. If you do not yet have a user account with Royal Canin you can create a free account by selecting the New User form. Subscription to the journal is free and issues in your preferred language can be obtained at the Veterinary Focus website.

Comments (0)
Ask the author
0 comments