Hypocalcaemia - low blood calcium - can affect queens in late pregnancy or early lactation. Understanding this condition is important for the welfare of breeding cats and their kittens.
Feline eclampsia is a welfare emergency that is entirely preventable with appropriate nutrition and monitoring. The condition causes severe suffering - muscle tremors, inability to walk, and convulsions - alongside risk of fatal cardiac arrhythmia if untreated. Breeders and owners of queens with large litters must be aware of the early signs. Avoiding calcium supplementation during pregnancy - counterintuitively this increases risk - and feeding high-quality queen-specific food are the key preventative measures. Rapid veterinary intervention dramatically improves welfare outcomes.