Flat-chested Kitten Syndrome

About 5 days ago I recieved a momma cat with two little boys who were two weeks old (I work with a rescue). They came from a hoarder who had 15 cats plus these three living in one small apartment. The conditions in the apartment were terrible and completely unsanitary- you could smell it just walking towards the apartment. The cats never went outside, so there was a lot of inbreeding amongst them, as none were fixed.

Until yesterday I was handling the babies only for a short time, to help Momma get used to it. I started them on immune boosters (the slightest dab of Duralactin on the tongue) at the request of the vet tech who rescue them. Yesterday I actually took them out to cuddle and noticed that the smaller of the two has a concave chest. It's shaped basically like this : /__\ (a more acute angle and the bottom may be slightly tilted inwards as well)  instead of like this: (  ).

Unsure of how extreme this is considered, they are seeing a vet tomorrow (the bigger brother is just tagging along to be looked at, his bone structure is normal).

The other thing is that both these boys are HUGE for 2 1/2 weeks (I did watch their eyes open over the days I have had them). They are the size of a 3-4 week old kitten and the smaller one is not much smaller than the bigger one, a very slight difference. The smaller one does seem to breathe faster than his brother, but both are growing well and doing things at the same rate (both can sit up on their own now and are beginning to walk instead of scoot-they had their very first play session today as well).

Unsure of what breed...momma is just being classified as Domestic Shorthair.

I've never seen that...please update us after the vet visit.

This is the little boy (His name is Nigel). From this angle you can sort of see the flattened chest. But he is up and walking and developing motor skills at the same rate as his brother.

Aww he is a gorgeous little muffin. To be honest, I can't really tell anything is wrong with his chest, but I'm sure it's obvious in real life. I'm glad he's doing well otherwise.

Can you get a picture of his brother from the same angle so we can compare? 

This is big brother Napoleon (couldn't get the exact same pose- they move too much!)

Vet says that while the ribcage is not extreme, it is something to keep an eye on. However, the fact that Nigel is not wheezing or vomiting and appears to be otherwise developing at the same rate as his brother is a good sign. Nigel is just a wee bit more wobbly than Napoleon when it comes to learning to walk, it's hard when your bones aren't quite right

We'll keep an eye out and hopefully his bones will grow into the right or at least a better shape as he gets older.

hi

we have a cat who was born with the same problem as your nigel,

from birth molly struggled to feed and her breathing was always fast,her chest/ribs dip in at the bottom,just above her stomach,you can see it dip in and out  after she been playing,she also walks with her front legs slightly out like she is carrying bags under her arms

when she was spayed the vet took x-rays,just to see how bad her chest is,it's pretty bad,her heart and lungs are barrel shaped because of the chest shape and the breast bone is shorter so her heart doesn't have the same protection as a normal cat

.the vet has told us her life expectancy is alot less than her mum and brother,about 5 years and if she gets any chest problems it's unlikely she would survive ,she doesn't have the reserves to fight them off

 molly is coming up for 2 years old and is very active,she just gets tired and starts breathing hard much quicker than our other two cats, 2 minutes with a pen light and she's tired out lol,if you didnt know she has a problem i dont think you would know,she runs,jumps and climbs just the same as any other cat molly knows no difference ,

we dont treat her any different to the others,we feel quality of life is better than quanity,

the main problem with cats like this is you can't get insurance for them and have set aside money to pay for vets bills

hope this helps

take care

Daisy xx

I've posted on another thread about my my little boy who has flat chest syndrome, but also has pectus excavatum (funnel chest).  He is 20 weeks old and seems very enegetic but I am concerned with how his chest is developing.

From what I can establish, flat chest kittens seem to do OK if they get past their baby stage... they usually don't survive the first few weeks if it's serious, but have a good chance after that.

With PE, since the ribs also fold inwards, they may pass that stage but are still not out of the danger zone as the internal organs can become affected as they grow.

The fact that you say that the 'bottom may be slightly tilted' would make me suggest that you check for PE.  Is there an indentation at the base of the ribcage?  That is classic PE.



The side-on Xray below is of a kitten with PE... you can see the indentation of PE (funnel chest)



Let us know what the vet says?  Mine diagnosed FC until I went back to her with what I've researched, as people often confuse the two.

There is definitely an slight indentation at the sternum, though it does not seem extreme. I talked to a vet I know, but my appointment was canceled; unfortunately, with a rescue, other emergencies happen and we needed the appointment, so we have to wait a little longer to actually see the vet. Unsure of when he will see the vet as of now. Hopefully soon- I would like to know the status of his heart and lungs. Still keeping a very close eye on him. So far he's just being awfully cute learning to play with his brother.

ClaraAdele said:

There is definitely an slight indentation at the sternum, though it does not seem extreme. I talked to a vet I know, but my appointment was canceled; unfortunately, with a rescue, other emergencies happen and we needed the appointment, so we have to wait a little longer to actually see the vet. Unsure of when he will see the vet as of now. Hopefully soon- I would like to know the status of his heart and lungs. Still keeping a very close eye on him. So far he's just being awfully cute learning to play with his brother.

Click to expand...

The indentation is often just slight.  There are operations available in the US, itseems, but they are really expensive, need to be done early and there are contra-indications.

My boy seems really healthy at 20 weeks, but I am concerned when I feel his ribcage as the heart seems constricted.. I can feel it beating.  I'm going to take him for another check up before we think about getting him neutered next month.

I would really love it if you could let me know how you're going. 

Good luck, and a big thank you for the work you do!

I know what you mean, about feeling the heart beating. He is a little slower than his brother, but he is up and walking and they do 'rough-house' (about as much rough-housing as babies can do, that is.)

They turned three weeks old yesterday (yay!) and I weighed them today. Nigel is 11 ounces and his brother, Napoleon, is 13 ounces (the average weight of a 3 week old is 10 ounces...13 ounces is the average weight of a 4 week old- my boys sure aren't small!)

I am still waiting on a vet appointment. The head of the rescue is trying to get him in, but with kitten season starting, we've got a lot of kittens who need to be seen.

I had a real glitch with my boy and raced him to a specialist vet who says he's going to make it, but he'll be quieter, smaller and with a little less energy (not that you'd notice at the moment!)  The indentation wasn't as bad as we thought, but there is significant depression in the spine, which doesn't help. 

Hopefully your little boy will make it it.  He's growing well, putting on weight etc, not panting when he plays?  If he's at all compromised he'll just need a quieter home, but he may be totally unaffected.

Here's a link to my specialist vet's write-up on it:

http://www.thecatclinic.com.au/medical-and-health-info/pectus-excavatum/

He's growing very well! He's not dehydrated and his belly is nicely round (not too round, just perfect.) He does breathe faster than his brother, but there is no change in his breathing before or after play time. Crossing my fingers, knock on wood, that last time I felt his ribcage I noticed that the front of the chest was no longer very flat (though the back is still concave slightly). Here's to hoping his bones heal themselves!

That's excellent, and from the reading I've done, it isn't uncommon.

My kitten's back is very concave, but the vet reckons he'll be fine.  Sounds like your foster boy will be too.

Got some pictures of the boys playing around today- Nigel's ribcage really does seem to be forming back to the correct shape, I noticed it seemed even less concave now more towards the middle, instead of just the front! They are 3 weeks, 5 days old today.

Oh my, I just about squealed out loud! Cute, cute, cute! :love:

They are so cute! They almost look identical. Hope everything turns out okay with his chest.

They are nearly identical! The only difference is Nigel has a small white stripe going into the black patch and Napoleon has more of an 'n' shape.

We can definitely feel that his chest is now expanding to the correct position! His breathing also seems better- both he and his brother now toddle around my room twice a day. We are keeping an eye on his hearing however- Napoleon's eyes are starting to turn green, but Nigel's are still a very very bright blue and Nigel has shown signs of possible deafness.

That's terrific! 

My little boy is going from strength to strength too, which no-one expected.