Over the previous months we have discussed problems associated with pregnancy and whelping. Having now exhausted this topic, and with the pregnancy now ended and puppies/kittens having been born, we can begin a new chapter and turn our attention to ailments that might occur in these newborn puppies/kittens.
Breathing difficulties in the newborn
We had described in a previous column how the mother dog/cat severs the umbilical cord and begins to massage the newborn pups/kittens. We had also said that each pup/kitten is surrounded by (enclosed in) its own “container” (amniotic sac). This sac ruptures as the pup/kitten is born. Sometimes, however, the puppy/kitten is born enveloped in the
