Flat-Chested Kitten (13 weeks old)

bearswick

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Our Kitten suddenly fell ill a week after we picked him up at 8 weeks old. We took him to the vets the next morning and he was diagnosed with FCKs, as well as being serverly underweight and covered in fleas. He was given a dose of flea treatment, steroids and antibiotics to last him through the weekend before having another check-up. Since then he's been feeding on a combination of Hills A/D, KMR and more recently a mixture of A/D and kitten food and occasional treats. After the first two weeks of him recovering and being in antibiotics with constant attention and very regular feeds he seemed to have a new lease of life, playing occasionally and acting more like a normal kitten.

From 10 weeks till now he's been like a completely normal kitten, playing very often without getting tired (he occasionally takes himself to a quiet spot for a breather). To us and the vet it seemed like he has been learning to cope with his condition and his breathing well, he's still slightly underweight for his age and his ribs have remained the same shape.

The only worrying periods within this time were two days at the start of his 10th week where he was ill, breathless and lethargic. He would sleep a lot and have times where he would sit by our door before lying down with his mouth open for a few minutes or so, which looks like he could be collapsing. After these two days he was back to complete normal, playing more than ever and rarely had any difficulties with his breathing and had begun to think he had completely recovered until yesterday, where after a normal and active morning he started having problems again acting like he did during the two day period.

He's due to visit the vet tomorrow for his vaccinations and a general check-up and has had regular check-ups since the onset of his condition.

We have both read through what we could find on the internet to do with FCKs and luckily my girlfriend and I are able to give our full attention to caring for him. We both know that it's always been a guarded decision to whether he would recover or not. Obviously we want to and are willing to do everything we can but we don't want to see him have episodes where he is having troubles and in pain. We're just looking for any opinions or advice that anyone could give.
 

farleyv

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i have not experienced this, but am sending good wishes that he has a long and healthy life.  ;You certainly are devoted to him, and that is the important thing.

God bless.
 

otto

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Hello and welcome to TCS. Did you get this kitten from a "breeder"? Sounds like he was not in very good condition to begin with, fleas and all, besides. It was smart of you to take him right to the vet.


I found this article which states that the kitten may grow out of it, or you can have surgery done. There are some exercises listed here that you can do for your kitten

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/flat-chested-kitten-fck

Treatment

The prognosis for these kittens is often uncertain. If the FCK is mild, the kitten may grow out of it without intervention and eventually have a normal, rounded chest. Twice daily physiotherapy, where the kitten's legs are gently flexed and massaged into the normal position, may help. This loosens and lengthens the muscles and tendons in the legs, allowing them to gradually develop into the correct position.

If a kitten has splayed legs and prefers to lie on his back or flat on his stomach, turning him to lie on his side and gently holding him that way for a few minutes, several times a day, often helps. The kitten may need supplemental feeding with a kitten formula such as KMR or Just Born, to help maintain his weight and good condition, as kittens with FCK sometimes have trouble nursing from the mother-cat.. When the kitten is old enough, encourage him to walk, as this helps the chest return to a more normal shape.

Another treatment for FCK is surgical correction, which has proven to be successful. The most common surgical method used, is to fix the ribs and sternum to an external splint which moves them into the correct position. The earliest a kitten can have this surgery is at 8 weeks old.
I recommend you take notes on everything you have read, write down all your questions. If your vet doesn't seem to have or be willing to find the answers, a second opinion with another vet may be needed.

Please keep us posted on your baby, I'd never heard of FCK before.
 

missymotus

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The vet should be able to tell you how severe his flat chest is. In some cases they can do surgery, where a brace is fitted to pull out the chest cavity.

The breathlessness and open mouth isn't good. Sadly they do usually perk up before crashing again. I've only had one flat chest, from being on a heat pad when young, and he was fine up until 10 weeks when he started open mouth breathing etc. he let me know without a doubt it was time and I let him go.  
 
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bearswick

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Thanks everyone! Our kitten is named Banana by the way, I'll have to post some pictures of him for you all.

He was from a breeder who is a family friend, and have spoken to them about making drastic changes to improve the conditions for her cats and kittens already and threatened to report them if they continue. Our vet has been very helpful and optimistic with everything, he has constantly been doing research to find more ways to help and treat our kitten.

So Banana was taken into the vets yesterday for his check-up and vaccination but because he's been having troubles he was given some steroids and antibiotics instead, along with a powdered solution to help open his lungs up for his breathing. We also talked about the possibility of trying a splint to help the shape of his ribs once he has recovered.

Since coming back from the vets Banana has perked up completely, back to his cuddly and playful self with an even bigger appetite than ever. (The steroids probably have something to do with this sudden change though)

I think at this stage we're just playing the waiting game for him to grow and develop whilst looking after him and giving him the best chance we can. From what we've been through at his lowest point at start we've come to terms that his condition might get worse again and we would have to make the decision so he isn't suffering, it was and is so horrible to see him in pain.
 

jennifersbar

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I have a FCKS kitten right now.  She is so spunky and just a doll.  She had a hard time breathing for awhile there but seems to be fine now.  It looks like she could be one that grows out of it.
 
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bearswick

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Just a quick update on how Banana is doing;

He's been off his medication for a few weeks now and is doing perfectly fine, any problems that he's had before don't seem to affect him anymore. He's just as active as a normal kitten, although he maybe sleeps a little more than normal from wearing himself out. His ribs have grown but haven't formed like a usual cat, which means his body is a little deformed but he's still the cutest little kitten.

 

ursala

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That is sad that you had to threaten your friend...I had a very different experience.  I too got my kitten through a breeder and all the way through the diagnosis and treatment the breeder and his vet were there to offer assistance and advice as well as history from the breeder.  I don't know who was more upset...me or the breeder.  Initially he wanted to buy him back and take care of the kitten himself. I was too attached to my Henri to do that.   He had had another litter from the same mother cat with one questionable diagnosis of the same thing and his vet told mine he had already brought the mother in to be spayed.  I felt badly that our kitten had caused this, but the breeder said he had a great home waiting for his girl...he never kept them past 2 years old for breeding and she was close to being spayed anyhow. 

Our kitten continued to thrive with no intervention at all.  All we did was monitor him closely and watch his breathing.  I took him in to visit the vet every week for about a month and then monthly.  My vet felt he was going to have no problem at all with having been flat chested.  He is 4 years old today and we have had no problems with him at all--he's my sweet angel and we do love him. 

Perhaps you did pick a poor breeder...we got our kitten from the web site of the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA).  It's the same as AKC only for cats it is CFA  and we learned that if a breeder shows poor breeding practices, their right to register kittens can be removed.  Thankfully, they have great breeders (at least from our mind set and experience) and I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone.  Breeders are not bad people!  A lot of people find unprofessional volume breeders with lots of breeds, --dogs and cats-- and they often cannot spend enough time to even tell if their kittens are well or not.  We learned all this through our breeder and our vet.  So don't be afraid of breeders, just check them out with their CFA.

Ursala
 

laralove

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Hi Ursala, welcome to TCS!

There are many good breeders, but there are also many bad ones. And I think a lot of people are of the mind that there is an abundance of animals in rescue shelters desperate to be adopted, so breeding for profit isn't helping the situation. 
 

GoldyCat

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I agree with Ursula that it's important to do careful research on a breeder before buying a cat or kitten from them. There are a number of associations around the world that register catteries, and they all have stringent requirements that have to be met before a cattery is accepted.

Good, reputable, breeders are definitely not in it for profit. They breed for love of cats in general and their breed(s) in particular. Some of their expenses include raising/caring for the queen (mother cat): food, litter, vet care, toys, and often expenses related to showing cats. Then there are stud fees if they don't happen to have their own stud. Many people also build special rooms or whole houses to accommodate their cats. And all of this is before they even breed the cats. Once kittens arrive they have vet visits, first and sometimes second vaccinations, spay/neuter, etc. Most breeders will not let kittens go earlier than 10 weeks of age and many wait until 12-14 weeks, so they are buying food for several weeks after the kittens are weaned. If they made their fees high enough to cover all that very few people would be adopting their kittens. As I said, they're doing it for love of the breed.

I am not a breeder and do not intend to become one. I do have one purebred abyssinian that I show. I'm so in love with the breed that I'm on a waiting list for another. I also have 6 rescue cats that I love just as much, so I don't believe that I've deprived any cat of a home by buying a purebred.

Just a note: this thread is over a year old. The OP has not been active in the forums since then and is not likely to see any new replies in this thread.
 
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