Kittens and Hiccups
Can kittens (and cats) get hiccups?
The answer to that question is -- yes.
After I rescued four two-week-old kittens who were orphaned when their mother was killed, I became the "momma cat" and started feeding them kitten formula with a syringe.
When I took the kittens to the vet clinic for a checkup, the vet asked me if they had gotten hiccups yet.
At that point, they had never shown any signs of it.
"No, they haven't had hiccups," I said.
"They will," the vet said with a smile. "It happens sometimes when they eat too fast."
"Should I do anything to help them if they get the hiccups?" I asked, wondering what in the world I could do for kitten hiccups. Tell the kittens to hold their breath? That's what works for me.
"You don't have to do anything," the vet said. "They'll go away on their own."
Not long after that -- sure enough, the kittens got hiccups. And sure enough, after a while, the hiccups went away.
That was more than 13 years ago. I still have the "kittens" (three of them, anyway one died in October 2004 from chronic renal failure). And even today, as adult cats, they will occasionally get the hiccups. The hiccups last for a half a minute or a minute and then that's the end of it.
So -- if your kitten (or cat) develops hiccups, don't worry about it. The hiccups will go away sooner or later.
If you would like to read an article about feeding and caring for orphaned kittens, go to the "articles" section of my website at http://ruralroute2.com -- or if you would like to read more stories about cats and kittens from my book, "Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" (free shipping (!) on copies ordered from the author) -- visit http://ruralroute2.com and click on sample chapters.
Copyright: LeAnn R. Ralph 2004
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LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the books "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)" -- "Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" -- and "Cream of the Crop (More True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm)." You are invited to read sample chapters and to sign up for Rural Route 2 News, the FREE monthly newsletter from Rural Route 2. Visit -- http://ruralroute2.com
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