My cats new kittens

Question
My cat gave birth to four Kittens one June 27th she has been taking normal care of them but when I went in to feed her today I noticed on kitten was breathing heavy almost like a panting and then it started sneezing..It is a warm summer day so I wasn't sure if the kitten was just hot or maybe it's sick..I noticed one of the other kittens sneeze yesterday..is this normal or should I see a vet? thanks

Answer
Lisa,

It sounds like there may be something happening that requires medical attention. You should pack the queen and her kittens up and take everyone to a vet. I am not comfortable with the assumption that panting is due to being too hot as cats do not typically pant unless they are having some difficulty breathing. It is possible that if you have an indoor/outdoor cat she may have come into contact with a cat who has an upper respiratory infection and passed it on to her little ones. If your cat is not properly vaccinated I would recommend that you make your vet aware of that as the possibilities are higher that the kittens could have things that are normally vaccinated for. I would suggest that you keep mom indoors to avoid further viral and infectious ailments. I would also like to let you know that cats can become pregnant while they are nursing so it is best for mom to be kept away from any intact male cats to avoid further unplanned litters. Unfortunately pet overpopulation is a serious issue that many lives are lost to each year simply because space and time are issues to finding good homes. You can have mom spayed when her kittens have been weaned for 2 weeks. Mom will usually wean her babies between 6-8 weeks of age on her own. It is best for the kittens in terms of socialisation and learning important skills like bite inhibition if they stay with their mother until they are 10-12 weeks old. I hope that you have found this information helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don`t hesitate to contact me again.