Cleft Palate in Cats: Treatment and More

A cat’s palate is the roof of their mouth. If you run your tongue along the roof of your mouth, the hard surface is called the hard palate.

As you move your tongue backward toward your throat, you’ll reach a softer surface, which is called the soft palate.

Like us, cats have both a hard palate and a soft palate. Kittens can also be born with a defect called a cleft palate.

What Is a Cleft Palate in Cats?

A cleft palate in cats is a defect that occurs while a fetal kitten develops in a mother cat’s uterus.

Among birth defects in kittens, cleft palates are an easy one to identify.

During normal development, the two sides of the roof of the mouth come together and fuse.

When a cat has a cleft palate, this fusion doesn’t occur normally, and there's essentially a split in the roof of the mouth. As a result, there is an opening between the mouth and the nasal passages.

Let's take a look at everything you need to know about cleft palate in cats—from symptoms and treatment to management and prevention.

Types of Cleft Palate in Cats

A cat can have a primary palate defect or a secondary palate defect.

• A primary palate defect occurs when there is a split in the upper lip and the very front of the hard palate (around the incisor teeth).

• A secondary palate defect occurs when there is a split in the hard and soft palate or just the soft palate alone.

A cleft palate in cats isn’t common. However, when it does occur, purebred cats—specifically Siamese cats—have the highest risk of developing the defect.

Symptoms of a Cleft Palate in Cats

Symptoms of a cleft palate in cats are usually noticed at birth or when the cat is still a kitten.

These symptoms include:

• A visible split in the upper lip or roof of the mouth

• Nasal congestion and discharge

• Sneezing

• Difficulty nursing (milk coming out of nose)

• Coughing

• Gagging

• Pneumonia

• Poor weight gain

Causes of a Cleft Palate in Cats

Genetics play a role in the development of congenital cleft palates in cats. This is why the Siamese cat has a higher incidence of cleft palate and why the condition is more common in purebred animals.

Cleft palate defects can also occur in the offspring of pregnant cats due to:

• Nutritional imbalances during pregnancy

• Taking certain medications while pregnant, such as steroids like prednisolone

• Trauma to the mother while the fetus is developing

• Viral infections affecting the mother during pregnancy, such as panleukopenia or calicivirus

How Veterinarians Diagnose a Cleft Palate in Cats

A cleft palate in cats is diagnosed by visual inspection of a kitten’s lip and the inside of their mouth.

No additional tests are needed to diagnose a cleft palate in cats.

However, if the cat has signs of pneumonia, chest X-rays may be performed to check for the condition.

The pet parent should let the veterinarian know if they’ve noticed the kitten having difficulty nursing or milk coming out of the nose.

Treatment of a Cleft Palate in Cats

If a cleft palate in cats is restricted to the lip area, treatment may not be necessary unless the cat develops symptoms of an infection or has difficulty nursing.

In some cases, a small repair can be done for cosmetic reasons.

Cleft palates that involve the soft palate or both the hard and soft palate are more serious. These kittens may need to be fed via a tube until they’re old enough for surgery, generally when they’re around 3 to 4 months of age.

Feeding options could include a a milk replacer or a suitable diet like Hill’s® a/d.

Your veterinarian may be able to teach you how to tube-feed. They will also discuss which diet is best for your kitten.

Tube feeding prevents the kitten from inhaling milk into their lungs. Inhaled milk can cause aspiration pneumonia, which can be life-threatening.

Surgery to repair a cleft palate is complicated, and not all veterinarians are comfortable performing this procedure.

Several teeth may need to be extracted so that the surgeon has more soft tissue to work with.

The surgeon will use some of the soft tissue in the roof of the mouth to close the opening between the nose and mouth.

Recovery and Management of a Cleft Palate in Cats

Recovery from cleft palate surgery in cats is long.

Cats should eat soft food and not be allowed to chew on toys or treats for at least four weeks after surgery.

Kittens will likely go home with several days of pain control medication, such as an anti-inflammatory like meloxicam.

A recovery cone may also be placed on your kitten to keep them from pawing at their face.

Your veterinarian may want to frequently recheck your kitten to make sure the surgical site is healing appropriately.

Generally, sutures in the mouth will dissolve.

If there are sutures in the lip, the veterinarian may want to remove them about two weeks after surgery.

It’s possible for multiple procedures to be required to completely fix a defect. Without surgery, the prognosis for a secondary palate defect (soft palate or both hard and soft palate) is poor.

Prevention of a Cleft Palate in Cats

Let's look at a few ways you can prevent cleft palate in cats.

• Cats with cleft palates should not be bred, to avoid passing the condition on.

• Veterinarians should avoid giving steroids like prednisolone, other medications like antifungal griseofulvin, or supplements with high levels of vitamin A, which can all cause congenital defects if given to a pregnant cat.

• Pet parents should keep their cats up to date on vaccines prior to pregnancy. It’s also best to keep a pregnant cat safely inside to avoid injury.

It’s possible for adult cats to develop what is called an acquired palate defect due to trauma—like being hit by a car or falling from a high place.

To avoid this sort of traumatic injury, it’s best to keep your cat safely inside.