One of my friends just mentioned to me she thinks her cat will end up having a c-section because she's miserable and is past her due date... animals have c-sections!? Maybe i'm completely in the dark, but why would someone give an animal a c-section? *confused*

One of my friends just mentioned to me she thinks her cat will end up having a c-section because she's miserable and is past her due date... animals have c-sections!? Maybe i'm completely in the dark, but why would someone give an animal a c-section? *confused*

Some breeds of dogs, like the English Bulldog, are born exclusively by C-section because they've been bred to have such large heads that it makes it nearly impossible for them to be born the normal way.

The procedure is performed on animals if they're having difficulty giving birth for some reason (sometimes a stillborn is blocking the birth canal or something like that). In animals that aren't primarily for breeding, they usually remove the entire uterus, spaying the animal in the process.

I just helped with another dog c-section today (they were not breeders and had her spayed at the same time).
If they think the cat is even a couple of days over due, they need to get here checked by the vet. If there is a problem and they wait too long, they could not only loose the kittens, but also her in a not so nice way. How do they know when she is due anyway? A cat's gestation is about 63 days (2 months). If she does manage to have the kittens without a problem, suggest she get spayed when the kittens are weaned to prevent more kittens. If she does need a c-section she can get spayed at the same time with little to no extra cost and less trauma to the mom.

NOTE: a vet can not legally remove the uterus without owner consent unless there is a major medical reason to do so.

I'm told that some rodent breeders (show & lab types) do C sections to avoid passing along disease to the young, eg. mycoplasma. This is done in such a fashion that the mother doesn't survive.

I got my rats from a breeder and have never heard such a thing!

I know she said that she would provide a c-section if the mother was having trouble birthing. But not for that reason...

I thought that lab mice were "sterile" in that they are some of the only ones that do not carry mycoplasma. I would imagine the cost/pain of hand rearing rodents would be extradonarily prohibitive both cost-wise and time-wise.

In fact, I can't really see how that could possibly pay off unless there is a hand-rearing system like a big row of fake mousey teats that they stick baby mice/rats on. Which they may... but still...

paige

To get "sterile" lab rats they have to be born by c-section, myco is passed to the kittens in the birth canal since it lives in the respiratory and reproductive tract. I've never heard of breeders for the pet industry doing such a thing though, the rats would be poorly suited to survive w/o any immunity to myco outside of a lab setting.

The people I was told did this were in the lab industry - we bred pets and feeders. The ex -- against my advice -- brought in some blue pups from someone sketchy, and everyone got myco from them.

Eek, I never knew they did that to poor little ratties! That's terrible!

Back to the OP, in my experience, c-sections are done more on dogs. There is such a range in size between different breeds and when someone is stupid enough to breed a small female to a large male, problems arise. The babies are usually too big for the mom to pass.

http://www.veggieboards.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=5025&catid=member&imageuser=356 <--a pic of a puppy that was born via c-section because her mom's owners were irresponsible breeders. There were only two pups, and they definately would have died if they had been left in there.

Another time, the results weren't so happy. A small pitbull mix was bred with a malamute. She went into labour and nothing happened. Dumbass owners waited 2-3 days before bringing her in to the vet, and waited days more before they finally agreed to the surgery. All 5 puppies were dead, stuck inside the birth canal. The mom nearly died too, of septic shock. The uterus was filled with pus and it was spreading throughout her body. Poor little pups never had a chance. I tried giving one of them CPR because he was still a bit pink meaning there was some oxygen in him, but it was no use, I couldn't revive him. The others were already rotting. :(

And the stupid owners actually said they wanted to breed the mom again!!! But no way, part of our condition to do the c-section was that we spay her at the same time. Haven't heard from them since. :(

ugh. :(

So can animals have abortions too?

So can animals have abortions too?

Yes, but it is typically done along with a spay.

just like human abortions there is a certain time limitation in which the surgery has to be performed though.

So can animals have abortions too?
Yes, eg. in the production of some kinds of leather :grr:

If an animal is preg when the spay is done, the kittens are taken out with the uterus.

My friend took in a stray (young) cat who was preg and got her spayed right away and when they were in there found out she was expecting.