Newborn Kitten Hemolytic Anemia: Causes and Symptoms

Section 1: What is Neonatal Feline Hemolytic Anemia?

Newborn kitten hemolytic anemia is an immunemediated hemolytic anemia that occurs in kittens after they start nursing from their mothers. This condition typically affects kittens with blood type A or AB when their mother has blood type B.

Many Btype queens naturally produce antibodies against Atype red blood cells. Therefore, when newborn kittens nurse colostrum, they ingest these antibodies, leading to severe hemolytic anemia. This condition can cause death within the first two weeks after the kittens begin to drink milk.

Cats are primarily categorized into three blood types: A, B, and AB. The Atype gene is dominant over the Btype, so a cat with blood type B must have a BB genotype. In contrast, a cat with blood type A can have either an AA or AB genotype, with Atype being the most common and Btype being less common in clinical settings. ABtype is quite rare. Recently, a new blood type, Mik, independent of the AB system, has been discovered in cats, but whether it can cause neonatal hemolytic anemia is still unclear.

Section 2: Clinical Symptoms of Neonatal Feline Hemolytic Anemia

Some newborn kittens may die within a few hours after birth without any clinical symptoms. Others may start to weaken within the first day or two after birth, possibly showing symptoms like reddishbrown urine, jaundice, rapid breathing, and pale mucous membranes. They may also experience necrosis and shedding of the tip of the tail, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and kidney disease.

Section 3: Treatment for Neonatal Feline Hemolytic Anemia

When a newborn kitten exhibits reddish urine, it is essential to isolate the kitten from its mother and test the mother's blood type to confirm if she is Btype.

However, the permeability of the newborn kitten's intestines to migrating antibodies significantly decreases after 24 to 48 hours of birth. Therefore, affected kittens can be returned to their mothers for nursing after 24 to 48 hours.

During the isolation period, kittens should be fed artificial milk or cared for by an Atype nursing cat, which can provide further passive immunity protection.

Some affected kittens may require additional supportive treatments, such as hypothermia, hypoglycemia, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalances.

Severely anemic kittens may need blood transfusions within the first 1 to 2 days of the onset of the disease. Since there are antiA antibodies in the bloodstream, it is recommended to use washed Btype blood initially, followed by washed Atype blood, and the transfusion route should be intramedullary injection.

Section 4: Prevention of Neonatal Feline Hemolytic Anemia

Cats intended for breeding should undergo blood type testing, and Btype queens should only be bred with Btype males. Alternatively, blood type testing should be conducted on the newborn kittens from Btype queens before nursing, and Atype and ABtype kittens should be isolated from their mothers for at least 24 hours. During this period, they should be fed artificial milk or cared for by an Atype nursing cat.

Given the low success rate of treating neonatal feline hemolytic anemia, emphasis should be placed on prevention.

Tip: Click on "What is Feline Anemia?" to learn more about the causes of feline anemia.