Can a mother cat pass cancer to her kittens? Should I be worried?

I am sorry to hear about your cat. I would definitely recommend an examination at your vet if she hasn't already had one to confirm that this is actually cancer and not an infection/abscess. Suckling on the nipple isn't going to pass cancer to the kitten but it may cause irritation to the nipple and encourage inflammation/infection.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Malignant tumours are very uncommon in such young kittens. If Moolah looks unwell, it is most likely because of fever, upper airways infection, abdominal pain, gastroenteritis and more. Once kittens become ill, they all of the sudden stop eating and playing and they look very sick. It does not mean that there is anything sinister going on. Please take Moolah to your local vets for a full clinical examination that will allow making definite diagnosis and starting appropriate treatment.

It depends on whether the siblings are older or younger. Most of the time, kittens who are leukemia-positive have been born to a leukemia-positive mother. So if kittens from a previous litter tested positive, then it's likely that the mother was positive at that time. Feline leukemia cannot be cured, so if she was positive then, she's likely still positive now - which means any kittens she currently has are likely to be infected as well. You can have a blood test done by your veterinarian to find out for sure.

I am so sorry that you are going through this again! Some cats can be genetically more prone to developing cancer, though it’s still uncommon in younger cats especially when the are FELV/FIV negative. If the newly affected cat hasn’t been tested I would recommend doing so. Also consider any toxins that they both could have gotten into. Some toxins that can cause anemia in cats include onions (inducing onion powder or dehydrated onions), zinc (such as contained in diaper rash cream), and Tylenol/acetaminophen. Again I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and please don’t hesitate to post again if we can answer anything more specifically.

Sorry to hear this! Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon situation with small kittens. They usually die suddenly like this due to a heritable defect, poor immunity, or a severe disease like panleukopenia. There are very few diseases that a kitten can pass onto people and considering that she died so quickly, I would not be concerned about any diseases that could be passed to people. Most of the diseases carried by cats that can be passed to people are not a problem for healthy people and would not be nearly as deadly. If you did get a disease like toxoplasmosis or bartenolosis there would be warning signs such as feeling malaise, or Flu-like. Again, it's extremely unlikely for this to happen to you, but if you did feel sick in the next two weeks, then it would be good to mention the kitten to your doctor. Either way, the diseases that you could get from cats can be treated and would not be deadly (besides rabies, which is extremely unlikely in this case). I really wouldn't worry though. I've seen many of these little kittens die suddenly in shelters and have never had a concern about a zoonotic disease (disease passed from animals to people). I hope that helps.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While it is hard to tell just in these pictures, I think cancer is less likely and something more benign like allergies and dermatitis is more likely. Ultimately, this requires further investigation to know for sure. This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about your kittens. The answer to your question is no but the mother is probably the source of the ringworm. Adult cats can carry ringworm (fungus) and not show any clinical signs. The fungal organisms are on the hair and skin so direct contact and even contact with shed hairs can be a source of infection to the kittens. I would advise you getting the kittens to your veterinarian. They can get a history and do a physical exam and then they can advise a diagnostic plan. A Woods lamp exam, fungal culture or other skin tests may be needed to diagnose this. Once a presumed diagnosis is made, treatment can be started while awaiting test results if needed. Your vet may advise topical treatment of the lesions and/or oral anti fungal meds to treat this condition. The worst part of this is that ringworm is very contagious to all pets in the household and all family members (Zoonotic Disease) so it's very important to get a proper diagnosis and treatment. Good luck.