A couple of reasons. Most commonly, we do kitten lab work in preparation for their spay and neuter. So we always want to check lab work before they go under anesthesia to make sure it's safe for them. Otherwise, we’d do lab work if there are any signs of illness— vomiting, weight loss, if their appetite is down, and also there's some viral testing we like to do on kittens as well.

Kitties are very stressed-out creatures in general, so we always try to minimize stressors as much as possible. We like to keep them in a room by themselves where there aren’t any dogs in the background or people that can scare them. We usually have at least two to three people on the case, one drawing the sample, one holding and petting the kitty, and maybe one distracting if we think that it's necessary.

It's about the same as a person. So your furry friend will feel a little prick in the area. But other than that, they don't seem to mind too much.

Very similar to people. We use a needle, and we draw from whatever part in the kitty that is comfortable for them. Most frequently, that's going to be one of their limbs, either the front limb or back limb. If it's more comfortable for the kitty, we might draw from the neck, but it depends on what works for them.

Once the dog's given birth, again, stay out of the way and let Mama do her thing as much as you can. But what does that look like? All I want you to do is be a conscientious observer at first. So I want you to ensure that those pups, shortly after birth, are nursing. If they're not, encourage them to nurse. If you have to, that's one way you might want to get involved. You can squeeze a little bit of milk out and try to put some on the puppies’ lips or tongue and encourage them to latch. You shouldn't have to, as most puppies figured out with the help of mom, but you should observe that they are nursing properly. You should observe that each placenta passes. If there's one puppy, that equals one placenta, so you should see that. You might have to look closely because momma might take care of that real quick. But you want to make sure that that passes.

You also want to make sure that she's cleaning them adequately. Again, I'm not implying that you jump in there in the first five seconds. Oh no, she didn't do anything. I'm going to dry it. But you know, after the first 10, 15 minutes or so, if she's not cleaning or drying that puppy, then maybe you can stimulate them a little bit with a warm towel and dry them a little bit, so they don't start getting cold. I would do that, but immediately try to put them right back with mom and let her take over that role, if possible.