Something that a lot of breeders will come across at one point or another is the lateral line defects of heart murmur, umbilical hernia, cleft palate, or cleft lip. There are more but these are the ones relevant to what I have to show you. Cleft lip is related to cleft palate however it is not the same as the others as it does not heal itself. In ferrets I have seen examples of cleft lip and umbilical hernia, though heart murmurs are also regularly seen. Cleft palates surviving to adulthood are not likely due to the complications caused but are still a possibility.
I have been given the opportunity to share the development of a cleft palate closure by a Persian breeder of my acquaintance. I will not share the breeders name or cattery prefix as I do not want them getting any hate for producing a kitten with the deformity.
Cleft palates are routinely checked for by puppy and kitten breeders at birth. The reason for this is simple; cleft palates can be deadly without intervention and they are visible. Specifically, they can cause problems latching on, lack of suction and even a drowning risk. This is due to the roof of the mouth being open to the nasal cavity. When suckling young mammals’ breath through their noses and suck with their mouths, like we suck a straw. The hole can cause milk to be inhaled or simply starve the infant due to the difficulties in suckling. All this in mind if a puppy or kitten has a cleft palate it is normally either PTS or tube fed depending on the breeder’s ethics and the severity (You should also know babies can be born without anuses leading to a slow and painful death. Aside from the rare occasion where there is only a thin layer of skin closing the sphincter or an operation can be arranged within hours of birth such babies need to be PTS, with ferrets I am sad to say they would not survive such an operation. They are better to be let go with as little suffering as possible). With ferrets we might routinely check for hernias, and murmurs after a certain age, but it is extremely hard to check palates at birth due to the size the way we do puppies and kittens. If you do have kits fail to thrive or suckle however, I would look for signs of a cleft, in particular on cadaver kits.
Heart murmurs, clefts (both palate and lip) and umbilical hernias all vary in severity, but should all be qualifiers for pet homes only. They will also heal themselves to one degree or another. This example of a closing cleft palate gives a great insight into the process of a heart murmur closing as well as an opportunity to familiarise yourself with what a cleft palate looks like. Like a cleft palate, a heart murmur is a hole between two chambers inside the body. A heart murmur a baby is born with tends to be between the ventricles, lower chambers of the heart, through other heart defects can cause murmurs including narrow vessels or leaking valves. It results in blood moving between the chambers the wrong way, making the heart work harder. The sound of the blood spirting through the hole during contractions is the diagnosis and denominates the condition. Lethargic kits and kits who do not grow as well are flags for this condition. They tire very easy compared to siblings.
A hernia is a break of the stomach muscle wall and sometimes the skin as well. The stomach wall heals much the same as the other conditions discussed and may need help closing. The skin however will close over to protect the insides whether the hole in the muscle is healed or not. You can still feel the hole under the skin however. All conditions discussed on here can also require operations to fix once the animal has reached a size and strength that they will survive the operation. In the case of hernias this is generally done during spaying or castration once fully grown.
These pictures show the development of a cleft pallet closing without intervention. The kitten in the pictures is being tube fed. The breeder is optimistic at the chances of closure soon so they can begin weaning however they are aware that such a severe cleft, in this case almost the entire roof of the mouth is absent, will likely need help to completely close. It is more accurate I would say to say the hole has more or less stayed the same size and the kitten has grown around it. This can eventually lead to the hole being squeezed shut (as in many murmurs) or being less problematic as it is smaller in relation to the animal, eventually it may even close fully as the hole itself starts to heal. This is assuming that it does manage to heal fully itself which, again, is not always the case. At this age in a ferret we would be expecting not just to have begun weaning but also for the eyes to be open. Persian kittens are developmentally behind a lot of other kitten breeds, so it is not unusual for them to not be weaning at this age. Tube feeding involves pushing a tube down the kittens throat multiple times a day however, so it is not an ideal situation weaning yet or not. I have been promised further pictures as the kitten grows so we can continue to follow the palates closure and the kitten’s development as it grows.
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