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Kitten birth defects

Published on: April 16, 2023 • By: mdddeleon · In Forum: Kittens
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mdddeleon
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April 16, 2023 at 04:29am
557EC664-01E4-4A5F-9BDE-261124E955C3I have a 3 week old kitten that was born with deformed front paws, its toes looked like they formed together instead of separately. (kind of like a snow mitten)..  some of the “toes” didn’t have claws and some looked like they did but then came out when it started trying to move around. I wasn’t sure what to think at the time, of course I was concerned but everything else looked normal and healthy so I decided to give it a little while to see if anything changes. They have since then formed what looks like a big scab covering its toes. Then tonight I noticed that one of the scabs fell off and with it the kittens “toes”. And I know it sounds bad it almost looks better?..  IDK the kitten is doing very well other than this, it’s feeding and developing normally, gaining weight and even has its eyes open now. This is not the first time we’ve had kittens but it is the first time having something like this happen. What do you think could have caused this? And should I be more concerned? I’m posting a picture it’s not the best but my phone isn’t the greatest.
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Liz Buchanan BVSc MRCVS
Keymaster
April 16, 2023 at 09:36am
Aw, the poor little mite.  I'm not sure what caused that.  Perhaps the blood supply wasnt getting to the ends of the toes and they fell off....   Perhaps the toenails simply didnt develop or the body's immune system attacked them..... or perhaps there was an infectious disease.  Trauma is also always a possibility, and sonetimes a poor nerve supply to the toes may make trauma almost inevitable (this is what happens in leprosy in humans).  In short, I do think that you need to be worrying a little bit more about this - or if not worrying as it may not help,  then certainly acting.   It sounds as though the kitten's life might otherwise be extremely viable, so your vet might even want to take samples to work out what's going on with the foot, and to see if they can keep your kitten comfortable (if the nerves are intact, that must hurt, even if the kitten is used to it) and furthermore, to see if they can  help those wounds to heal.    If there's a wait for an appointment, describe what has happened on the phone so that the appointment can be made more urgent if necessary. Please will you let us know how you / the kitten gets on?
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