False pregnancy often occurs in an unrelated cat. Previously, animal owners did not attach special importance to this phenomenon and did not appeal to veterinarians for help. In addition, all the recommendations were that females should be distracted, they should be less fed and watered, and tight bandages applied to the mammary glands.
How does modern medicine look at this disease?
False pregnancy in cats - signs
First of all, false pregnancy is associated with a serious violation of the hormonal balance, and therefore requires treatment without fail. The consequences of the disease can be very dangerous for the life of the animal.
False pregnancy in cats has the following symptoms:
- increased mammary glands;
- the emergence of the instinct of nesting;
- manifestations of aggression or apathy;
- loss of appetite.
It happens that a cat can find itself fertilized, after which there are nonexistent signs of pregnancy , through time, as if giving birth and starting to feed non-existent kids. The female as a result of this behavior may even appear milk, which remains not sucked, which leads to mastitis and tumors. The temperature rises, the psyche is also disturbed. The animal begins to prepare a lair for the young, dig or gut the furniture upholstery. Sometimes for their little ones cats take any soft and fluffy things, drag them in their teeth from place to place and protect themselves from the owners. It also happens that two adult cats play in the "daughter-mother".
Causes of false pregnancy in cats
The reason for this behavior of the cat is that the animal has a very strong instinct for procreation. However, in order for this disease to appear, certain conditions are necessary, such as heredity (there is a line with high and low lactation), the presence of stressful situations, the presence of a number of alien pups, the characteristics of the character (there are good and bad mothers).
False pregnancy in cats - treatment
In this disease, the animal will be assisted by parenteral administration of prolactin inhibitors (direct and indirect).
The drug naloxone (a morphine antagonist) is applied 1-2 times a day until the condition of the female is improved. The dose is selected from the calculation: for 1 kg of the weight of the cat 0.01 mg of the drug. Naloxone can cause nausea and vomiting, so for 30-40 minutes give the cat one tablet of an antiemetic drug icicum, raglan or metocloramid.
The saddest thing is that, despite the treatment, a false pregnancy can be repeated in cats from season to season.