Cleft Palate
The palate is the hard roof of the mouth which separates the mouth from the nose. A cleft is an opening in the hard palate resulting from a failure of this area to close during the development of the fetal (unborn) kitten. This is primarily an hereditary condition but may also occur when the queen is exposed to some toxins during pregnancy. There is an increased incidence reported in the Siamese breed.

The cleft forms a connection between the nasal (nose) and oral (mouth) cavities and has major implications when the kitten is trying to suckle as they are unable to create effective suction to draw out the milk. The defect can occur anywhere along the length of the palate and can include the upper lip. The initial signs of a problem will include difficultly suckling, dysphagia (difficultly eating) and milk dripping from the nostrils whilst trying to suckle. An examination of the palate will reveal the defect.

The major problems that arise from cleft palate are an inability to gain adequate nutrition and aspiration pneumonia (milk of other fluid entering the airways and damaging the lung). The nutrition can be supplemented with feeding via a tube until they are 6-8 weeks old, at which time a surgical correction may be attempted.

This condition has a grave prognosis. The surgical correction is not always successful and kittens that develop pneumonia will struggle to survive. It is strongly advised that kittens that undergo surgical correction of the cleft palate also be desexed so that they are unable to pass on the problem to subsequent generations.