Mode of inheritance for Cleft palate in cats

[siameseifyouplease]

I have scoured the internet, looked through all my breed/breeding related books and my Merrick Vet manual, asked my vet and I cannot find any information on the mode of inheritance of cleft palate in cats. I have found information on dogs and 1 study from the University of Pittsburgh on a family of Siamese cats in which shows that Cleft Palate is inherited, but there wasn't enough information to prove how.

I have been breeding Siamese since 2013, we have had two Celft palate kittens born in the last two years from two sets of unrelated cats that had healthy litters with the opposite mates.

Thor x Mimi= 5 healthy kittens
Thor x Tally= 5 healthy kittens, 1 CP female
Max x Tally= 4 healthy kittens
Max x Mimi= 4 healthy kittens, 1 CP female

I would really like to know how I can prevent this in the future. If anyone has any information at all on this subject I would really appreciate if they shared it!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I would guess you found these articles?
Surgically treated congenital cleft palate in a 4-month-old kitten: medium-term clinical and CT assessment - PMC (nih.gov) This one also includes some additional related links.
Cleft Lip and Palate in Kittens (pethealthnetwork.com)

And I am sure you found these articles as well.
The Basics About Cleft Palate in Cats | PetGuide
Cleft Palate in Cats and Kittens | PetMD
Cleft Palate | American College of Veterinary Surgeons - ACVS

 

[catapault]

I found this: " Exposure of a pregnant cat to certain chemicals, cortisone, medications, or excessive intake of vitamins A and D has also been linked to the development of cleft palate in embryos. "

 

[siameseifyouplease]

C catapault I read that as well, I suppose the may have come in contact with something that I wasn't aware of.

 

[furmonster mom]

I thought it was genetically inherited. Or maybe it could be either/both?

 

[siameseifyouplease]

furmonster mom I think that it can be either or both. Because it is more common in breeds like Siamese, there must be a hereditary component to it at least some of the time. And just like in humans it makes sense that improper diet and exposure to certain mediation or toxins could have an affect.

While there is a possibility that they came into contact with something, with my guys I am leaning more toward it being an inherited issue, but I am just not sure how it's transmitted. My vet suggested trying one pair that had a CP kitten together again to see if it was a one off, but I am not sure I want to risk having to tube feed another kitten if I don't have to!

 

[catapault]

If you are near a university, see if there is a geneticist you can talk to about this.

Question #1 If genetic - is cleft palate a dominant or a recessive? I would suspect recessive as it is inconsistent with the matings you shared.

A litter from the same pair that did have a kitten with cleft palate might / might not have it appear in their next litter. The dice are rolled anew for each kitten and there were several in each litter that were fine.

Question #2 Has there been cleft palate in these four cats ancestry? Since you indicate it is not unusual in Siamese there should be some records?

 

[StefanZ]

If you are near a university, see if there is a geneticist you can talk to about this.

Question #1 If genetic - is cleft palate a dominant or a recessive? I would suspect recessive as it is inconsistent with the matings you shared.

A litter from the same pair that did have a kitten with cleft palate might / might not have it appear in their next litter. The dice are rolled anew for each kitten and there were several in each litter that were fine.

Question #2 Has there been cleft palate in these four cats ancestry? Since you indicate it is not unusual in Siamese there should be some records?

Good idea, but the records are pretty unsure. As far I know, you register the living one, not the dead ones... Unless its a try out provisoric certificate.
BUT it should be possible to contact personally the owners of Ancestors, and talk with them face to face.

Also, I suspect some breeders wont even breath about they having had problems, not to diminish the reputation of their breedery.
So, taking an example, in the breeds where points arent allowed, its not uncommon breeders get rid of born pointed kittens... Sometimes killing them at birth...
This practice has been abandoned now in RB, as being pointed is no sickedness and these kittens are healthy even if you cant use them for breeding nor shows; there are other genes you must try to suppress / exterminate. And the nowdays born pointed RB are either sold as pets "companion animals" to some friend, or kept in the family. But alive and well, and pics on them happily published.

 

[StefanZ]

I have scoured the internet, looked through all my breed/breeding related books and my Merrick Vet manual, asked my vet and I cannot find any information on the mode of inheritance of cleft palate in cats. I have found information on dogs and 1 study from the University of Pittsburgh on a family of Siamese cats in which shows that Cleft Palate is inherited, but there wasn't enough information to prove how.

I have been breeding Siamese since 2013, we have had two Celft palate kittens born in the last two years from two sets of unrelated cats that had healthy litters with the opposite mates.

Thor x Mimi= 5 healthy kittens
Thor x Tally= 5 healthy kittens, 1 CP female
Max x Tally= 4 healthy kittens
Max x Mimi= 4 healthy kittens, 1 CP female

I would really like to know how I can prevent this in the future. If anyone has any information at all on this subject I would really appreciate if they shared it!

May I ask, how did you treated these kittens? Its common they perish / are pts, - so feks, one of my " grandchildren" of our stud didnt survive. (btw, no other known CP in the family, and we had contact with all the breeders, and we had Ancestor, his son and multiple sonson as our family cats, and working studs).

But some DO survive.
Did yours survive? What did you do?
Tube feeding, syringe feeding? Something else?

There is at this moment a thread in Preg & kitten care, with a suspected CP.... Good advices and experiences / other knowledge are welcome in there.

Newborn Abandoned Kitten, Trouble Nursing/Syringe Feeding

I just had a post on here about a separate sick kitten. This one is a newborn that our neighbor says was abandoned. It's litter mates had already passed. She believes they were born yesterday. They all had the umbilical cords still attached. We tried to get it to feed on the other momma cat we...

thecatsite.com

You are welcome to answer here, in a PM to me, and or in the thread if you have practical advices