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Risks of inbred cats
Gahh....well my cat had kittens, then had kittens with her son(we are pretty sure). Bad, I know. We intended on getting the cat fixed right after we got her but alot of things came up and we coulnt afford it, then we hitt a rough patch money wise and still havent gotten her fixed....-sigh-
Well anyway, her kittens look okay.....except as of yesterday 2 of them died, one we dont know why and the other was just skin an bones....it was horrible. The remaining 3 are fine, except a little bit...I dont know 'cockeyed' and not completely straight eyed if that makes sense. They seem intelligent enough...they are also a bit small and I'm worried about them. They are around 5 weeks old. Other than the eyes they APPEAR normal.
Also the mother cat got an infection and couldnt feed her kittens(we didnt even know she HAD the kittens) we found the kittens in our basement a week ago crying because they were hungry(they had been fed before obviously, they seemed recently unfed)...like I said they are a little thin but seem okay...Im just worried about them. What are the risks of them not being okay because of their inbreeding and possibly early malnutrition? I'm really scared for them in light of the past deaths...=[
(please dont just tell me to get my cat fixed, trust me I know)
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Maybe give some free advice about: Pets?
I agree that if you truely value your cats, then they need to see a vet immediately. Only your vet could tell you if your cats are sick because of inbreeding or because of mal nutrition, and if they will be ok A payment plan could probably be worked out, or else you oculd talk to maybe your aunts or uncles and ask for a help with money. Either way your cats shoudl see a vet as soon as possible
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Take the mother and all the kittens to the vet!!!!If you can't afford to look after your cats you shouldn't have them, See if you can give the kittens to a good home just buy putting a ad in the paper don't put a price on them because they are inbreeded and will be disesed make sure they go to a good home,you can still keep the mother or a kitten BUT GET THEM FIXED!!!!!! it is cruel to the mother and her kittens, vets have a program for owners that can't afford to look after there pets they will do treatment for free.
Take good care of them they have a life to
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A small genepool is at risk from many problems.
It can limit the kittens abilities to produce some types of antibodies, making them more susceptible to some illnesses. When they are closely related, any genetic problems are more likey to show.
Some of them have lower birth weights and/or kittens with less energy, slower or stunted growth, more still births and abnormal kittens, higher losses due to illness and birth defects, asymmetry problems like crooked jaws, uneven eye size etc. Not all of them may occur but any one of them is an indication of what is known as 'inbreeding depression'.
Having said that, a great many breeders, in an attempt to 'improve' a breed will use inbreeding to some extent, but they generally ensure that the cats involved are free from any hereditary problems and don't go beyond one or two generations.
Other possible reasons for your kittens sicknesses and death could be picking up the infection of the mother through her milk or contact, you didn't say what the infection was or how it was treated. If it was not treated by the vet, there is always a chance that any medication given was not suitable for a nursing mother which can affect the kittens.
Malnutrition can cause death quite quickly in small kittens as they need to be fed regularly. If they went without food for a while but now are being fed, they could have been deprived long enough to cause a 'blip' in their development.
It really does sound as though they need to see a vet, if money is still tight, perhaps you could work out a payment plan with the vet?
As to the mother cat not getting pregnant again, until you can afford the operation, can you keep her separate from all other un neutered toms? Or just keep her in when she is in season, (she can go into season right not long after having kittens).
Hope that helps and the best of luck.
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