Because every young patient deserves and will benefit from the best start in life, it is crucial that vet practitioners have access to accurate and specific information and advice provided by top experts in their field. This helps us offer the best care to puppies and kittens from birth to the beginning of adulthood.
Puppies and kittens are born immature, and their organs will reach maturity and full functionality progressively. Before three months of age, their immune systems are not strong enough to protect them against most of the pathogens they will encounter. Further, they are energetic and will grow tremendously, multiplying their birth weight from anywhere between 30 and over 150 times, depending on their breed, by the end of their growth to achieve their adult body weight. Consequently, their needs, especially nutritionally speaking, are highly specific, so special attention must be paid to fulfil these unique needs.
Why are the early stages of life crucial for puppy and kitten health?
As for human babies, the early months of every puppy and kitten’s life are a world of discovery but also a wonderful window of opportunities.
The developmental origins of health and disease
Awareness of the important link between early life experiences and adult health outcomes began in the 1980s when epidemiologists demonstrated that the onset of chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular, mental or metabolic diseases) in human adults is related to childhood nutrition and maternal nutrition during pregnancy (Wadhwa et al., 2009). Since then, the same phenomenon, referred to as the “developmental origins of health and disease” (DOHaD), has been observed in multiple animal species, including cats and dogs – but there is still much to discover to meet the needs of our pets (Gaillard et al., 2022).
The concept of DOHaD relies on epigenetic marks, which are themselves influenced by the environment of the individual. These environmental factors, such as nutrition, hormones, pollution, stress, etc, influence the way genes are expressed, or, in other words, how the organism will respond to any situation. During the critical developmental stages of gestation, early growth and puberty, the epigenetic marks are highly plastic – more so than during adulthood. Ultimately, this means they are particularly susceptible to environmental influence at these times of life (Figure 1).
What does DOHaD mean for veterinarians?
DOHaD, in a way, solidifies the responsibility of the veterinarian to put the puppy or kitten on the right track – to give them the best chance of living a long and healthy life. The early stages of life are a wonderful window of opportunity for every puppy and kitten: providing young and growing animals with a favourable environment and quality care is a promising way to prevent the occurrence of chronic diseases and foster a healthy life in adulthood. As professionals actively involved in preventative care, vet practitioners should emphasise being comfortable with the unique individual needs of our young patients.
Providing young and growing animals with a favourable environment and quality care is a promising way to prevent the occurrence of chronic diseases and foster a healthy life in adulthood
Empowering vet practitioners with puppy- and kitten-specific knowledge
In comparison to knowledge in other species and within other, more developed specialised areas of veterinary medicine, the fields of canine and feline neonatology and paediatric care have received relatively less attention.
A crucial need to acquire or update our knowledge
Although puppy- and kitten-specific knowledge has been developing over the last 10 years or so, there is still a lot to be discovered in this area of veterinary medicine compared with other species, and one can no longer be satisfied with approximate extrapolation from them. Consequently, the wealth of knowledge acquired on these topics in veterinary schools around the world still has plenty of room for improvement. The same applies to the continuing education of practising veterinary surgeons.
‘Developing expertise in neonatology and paediatrics would allow vets to increase their efficiency for animal health improvement – both short- and long-term’
“In the current veterinary skills, neonatology is most often restricted to neonatal resuscitation after parturition or a C-section,” stresses Professor Sylvie Chastant, a specialist in small animal neonatology who teaches animal reproduction at Alfort Veterinary School, France. “The medical interest for puppies and kittens between two hours of life and roughly six months of age is limited. Developing expertise in neonatology and paediatrics would allow vets to increase their efficiency for animal health improvement – both short- and long-term – but also to enter neglected professional fields, creating new networks: with breeders, for example. Practical knowledge sharing is now needed, together with pursuing research in these scientifically ignored specialities.”
Introducing the Feline and Canine Neonatal and Pediatric Care book
These observations prompted Royal Canin’s research and development team to fill this knowledge gap with a new practical guide for vets covering the period between birth and the beginning of adulthood. Royal Canin’s book Feline and Canine Neonatal and Pediatric Care was created by calling on 25 world-renowned academic experts and seasoned practitioners, most of whom are board-certified diplomates of a European or American college (Figure 2).
The guidebook, available in digital format on the Vet Focus website from Tuesday 9 April 2024, features concise and practical articles addressing the key questions that veterinary teams are most likely to encounter in daily practice, bringing together the fundamental knowledge required for optimal care of puppies and kittens.
The first chapters focus on how to prepare for and manage parturition, either naturally or by caesarean section, and highlight essential advice you can share with dog and cat breeders. The following neonatology chapter presents comprehensive knowledge a vet can rely on to reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality. The latter chapters are devoted to the period up to weaning and the remainder of the growth period up to adulthood. They cover all the specificities of this stage of life, including frequently encountered diseases (presenting clinical signs, diagnosis and treatment). For instance, when administering analgesia and anaesthesia, and using antibiotics judiciously, the physiological differences in terms of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of puppies and kittens in comparison to adults must be considered.
Expert articles about nutrition, behaviour and socialisation for the ages covered in the guide are provided to help veterinary professionals confidently guide pet owners and answer their questions. Building trusting relationships with pet owners is an undeniable benefit of investing in better puppy and kitten care and can be achieved through setting up and adopting the paediatric visit protocols proposed in this book. We believe that the more often veterinarians see young pets when they are healthy, the more readily they will detect health issues when they arise.
Building trusting relationships with pet owners is an undeniable benefit of investing in better puppy and kitten care and can be achieved through setting up and adopting […] paediatric visit protocols
Conclusion
The main objective of this guide is to unlock excellence in paediatric care to support veterinarians in daily practice for the short- and long-term benefit of their young pet patients.
One of its first readers, Ann Van Soom, professor in small animal reproduction in veterinary medicine at Ghent University in Belgium, said: “This book is the missing link in the educational books for the veterinary students when it’s very difficult to find good manuals about small animals’ neonatology or practical and not only organ-based paediatric books. With only a few pages per topic, one can immediately find the information that is important and the practical things [one] needs to work with. A very big advantage of this book is that it doesn’t stop at the clinical things; it continues with socialisation, behaviour problems that can occur, advice to bring to future owners, all details on vaccination and so much more. Here everything is together, put in one book.”
