Expert: Jessica - 10/27/2011

Question
I have a stray kitten that we have adopted.  He mother had her in our garage.  She has a cleft lip.  She had a small hole in the roof of her mouth which the vet repaired when she was a week old, so she could suck a bottle.  She also repaired the open slit between her mouth and nose but the mother licked the stitches back out.  She was never strong enough to nurse.  She is 5 months old now and thriving.  My vet wants to do another surgery to repair the slit between her mouth and nose.  Do you think that is necessary?

Answer
Hi Shelly,

Minor hare lips, called primary cleft palates, aren't always necessary to repair. Sometimes they do cause difficulty eating, and if the connection between the nose and mouth is deep enough, bacteria from the mouth can travel to the nasal cavity and cause chronic infection. Only a vet can say for sure, but from your photo, this doesn't appear to be the case to me. Most owners opt to have primary cleft palates repaired for aesthetic purposes, and also because, especially in the case of dogs, sometimes it can affect how they fall in a social pecking order. If any defects are noted by other animals, the animal is considered "weak" and will fall low on the totem pole and might be subject to being picked on. I really haven't noticed this in my household of friendly cats. I have two cats with three legs and one with all four legs deformed. I also had one cat with three nostrils. Nobody ever seemed to notice their differences. And if none of this is a concern to you for Gracie, I wouldn't be very worried about fixing it unless your vet is able to back up a valid health concern.

Good luck!

Jessica