Cat panting after giving birth

[Makk]

We recently brought in a pregnant cat. She gave birth to 2 kittens between 3am-5am 10/13/20. She’s acting okay for the most part: eating, drinking, nursing her kittens, etc. However, we noticed last night that she’s starting to pant. We’ve only noticed it while she’s in the birthing box with her kittens. We do have that room warmer as we don’t want the kittens getting cold. We’ve called several vet offices and unfortunately none are able to get us in today and have pretty much given us the same answer of “it could be normal, but you could also get her checked out.” We don’t have the financial means right now to take her to an emergency clinic. Has anyone else experienced this panting with their new mother cats? Is she just getting overheated and I’m overthinking it?

 

[LTS3]

Is there a vet ER in your area that you can cal? Any vet hospital will have an after hours voicemail message with info on who to call for emergencies. Give that number a call.

 

[white shadow]

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Makk - any news ?

Sarthur2 - did I hear you say one time that 'panting' after birth can be normal/expected ?
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[Sarthur2]

Panting is usually a sign that a new nursing mother’s body is working hard, and it is often the result of low calcium. Low calcium reserves can cause seizures, so get calcium into her ASAP through full fat yogurt, cheese, or kitten formula. You can give her a small amount of cow’s milk if you have nothing on hand, though cats are lactose intolerant, so cow’s milk can cause diarrhea.

Otherwise, finely crush an eggshell and sprinkle a spoonful over her wet food daily. Eggshell is pure calcium.

Also feed her extra meals as she needs all the nutrition she can get while nursing.

She should stop panting once you get calcium into her. A vet would give her a calcium shot.

Please keep us posted. Makk

 

[Makk]

Panting is usually a sign that a new nursing mother’s body is working hard, and it is often the result of low calcium. Low calcium reserves can cause seizures, so get calcium into her ASAP through full fat yogurt, cheese, or kitten formula. You can give her a small amount of cow’s milk if you have nothing on hand, though cats are lactose intolerant, so cow’s milk can cause diarrhea.

Otherwise, finely crush an eggshell and sprinkle a spoonful over her wet food daily. Eggshell is pure calcium.

Also feed her extra meals as she needs all the nutrition she can get while nursing.

She should stop panting once you get calcium into her. A vet would give her a calcium shot.

Please keep us posted. Makk

Thank you for the reply! We’ve been giving her kitten formula and the panting has subsided! She and babies seem to be healthy and doing fine now.