Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Lactation heat cycles in cats and effects on kittens
By Furthner, Etienne·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2023·Vetmidi Veterinary Clinic·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of lactational oestrus in cats and consequences for kittens.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cat breeders reported that nearly half of their nursing queens (mothers) experienced a return to heat while still caring for their kittens. This unexpected behavior led to issues like reduced milk production and quality, which caused problems for the kittens, including weight loss, vomiting, and even death in some cases. The study found that smaller litters and births during certain months were more likely to see this issue. Breeders were advised to monitor their queens closely and consider contraceptive options to prevent these complications.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Although lactation and suckling suppresses fertility in most mammals, some feline breeders have reported spontaneous oestrus during lactation, causing distress to kittens. This led the Official French Feline Pedigree Registry (Livre Officiel des Origines Félines - LOOF) to send a questionnaire to cat breeders requesting data on their last three litters. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of lactational oestrus, its impact on litters and potential associations with litter size, age, parity, breed and seasonality. METHODS: Answers from 108 breeders were collected, providing data on 238 litters in 23 different breeds. Data were also collected on successive litters from multiparous queens (n = 20) and were analysed separately from the 195 independent births. RESULTS: Of the 195 independent births with complete data sets, 96 (49%) queens came into oestrus during lactation, 37 (38%) of which were associated with loss of maternal interest (n = 20), milk quality variation (n = 2), clotted milk (n = 3), reduced milk quantity (n = 13), which in kittens led to reduced weight (n = 6), diarrhoea (n = 9), vomiting (n = 4), nausea (n = 2) or death (n = 4), and bottle feeding (n = 2), early weaning (n = 4) or modified litter behaviour (n = 1). A significant association was found between small litter size (one or two kittens) and the onset of lactational oestrus ( = 0.007) and between births occurring in February, March and April and lactational oestrus ( = 0.005); there was no association with age or breed. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Breeders perceived a relationship in 38% of cases of lactational oestrus with maternal disinterest, clotted milk, reduced milk yield and in kittens, weight loss, vomiting, diarrhoea or even death. An association between small litter size and lactational oestrus was found, as well as with births occurring between February and April. Breeders presenting with at-risk females should be warned. Conservative and preventive measures such as contraceptive options are discussed as a possible therapy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37288741/