Nursing and lactation in dogs and
cats
As with humans, a
mother’s milk is the perfect food
for newborn puppies and kittens.
Nursing is a natural and beautiful
process and anyone who has ever seen
a litter nursing contentedly will
attest to this. Young
puppies and kittens have very high
nutritional requirements
for their extremely fast growth
rates and high energy levels. In
fact, eating and sleeping are the
two major activities of the first
two weeks of life! Puppies and
kittens generally double their birth
weight by the 8th or 10th day of
life.
The first meal a puppy or kitten
will have after birth is of
colostrum, the first type of milk
produced by the mother. This is a
very important substance for puppies
and kittens as colostrum
contains antibodies and nutrients
essential for the newborn animal’s
nutrition as well as to
protect them from infection. It is
crucial that each puppy or kitten
receives his/her share of colostrum
so keep an eye on the smaller, less
pushy animals in the litter at this
time to make sure they get a chance.
Colostrum is only available to the
litter for 24 hours after
birth. Thereafter
mature milk is produced by the
mother for her offspring. Mature
milk contains none of the immune
factors that colostrum does but is
the perfect source of
all-round nutrition for
puppies and kittens.
The natural way
Because
the entire litter’s energy
requirements must be met by the
mother, lactation is a very
nutritionally demanding time
for your female dog or cat.
A complete and balanced diet is very
important and she will need
between one and a half to three
times more food than usual - as well
as plenty of fresh water - while
nursing.
Peace
and quiet and a relaxing, secure
environment are important,
especially in the first few weeks
and while milk supply is being
established. Frequent visitors and
handling of the young can be very
stressful for the nursing
mother and this can
interfere with milk production, so
keep visitors to a minimum and do
not allow puppies and kittens to be
picked up by unfamiliar people,
especially if this distresses the
mother.
What is LacToll?
LacToll
is a 100% safe and natural
combination of herbal ingredients
for the support of colostrum and
milk production in nursing pets, as
well as providing a natural tonic
for the nursing female dog or cat.
