We take all our kittens to the Kansas State University vet school for their check-ups. The vet school is very thorough in going over every area of kitten health. They make sure to note anything that is not normal for a cat - but some things that are not normal for a full grown cat are fairly normal in kittens. In order to help our customers understand some of these common findings we wanted to explain them in more depth here. We let all new owners know the entire findings on their new kitten before they leave our home. If you have any questions about any of the following information please contact us.

Luxating Patellas or Patellar laxity

Patella is a fancy name for knee caps. It can be common in kittens for there to be mild luxating patellas or patellar laxity. This just means that the knee caps are a little looser than would be normal in an adult cat. Most of the time these "loose knees" are gone by the time the kitten comes to you, but occasionally a little laxity remains. Luxating patellas are rated on a scale of 1 to 4, one being the tightest and four being the loosest. We have never had a kitten with a rating higher than a 1, which means that outside force is needed for the kneecap to move out of position. If your kitten has grade 1 luxating patellas it is nothing to be concerned about. We have never had a kitten that has not had their patellas firm up as they mature. Our vet just wants to make note, so that your vet can continue to monitor the knees and make sure they continue to firm up normally. If for some reason your kitten had a higher rating of luxating patellas we would definitely let you know, since the higher ratings could mean more possibility of trouble in the future. As it is - our vet is confident that even if the mild form we usually see in our kittens remains, it is very unlikely to cause future problems for your kitten.

Lens y-sutures

A kitten's eye lens forms by 3 pieces coming together to form the whole. The result is a y-joining where these pieces have come together. It is fairly common for the vet to see y-sutures when we take the kittens in for their first appointment. This is a remnant of where the lens has joined during development. These will commonly continue to fade to where they are barely visible. They will usually not cause future problems for your kitten unless they remain very prominent, which is not very common. It is again, something that our vet wants your vet to know, so that the kitten can be observed to make sure all continues to go well with their development.

Hyaloid Artery Remnant

The Hyaloid Artery feeds the lens of the eye as it is developing. After development is complete the artery recedes and disappears. It is fairly common that a little bit of this artery will still be seen by our vet. This artery normally continues to fade and go away completely, but sometimes a faint remnant remains. When this happens, there is a very small risk of cataract formation where it attaches.

Grade 1 or 2 heart murmur - or innocent kitten murmur

The first time we heard that one of our kittens had a heart murmur was a very scary time for us. We asked many questions and needed many reassurances from our vet. For this reason, we know how you might be feeling if you have found out that your kitten has a heart murmur. Since that first scare, we have come to realize that this is very common for kittens (and puppies, and even humans). We have had at least one kitten in every litter with a grade 1 heart murmur. Heart murmurs are graded 1 to 6 - with one being the softest and 6 being the loudest. All of the grade 1 heart murmurs that our kittens have had are gone before they are 6 months old. We've also had several kittens with grade 2 heart murmurs, which have all gone away as well (it just takes a little longer). The tendency for these murmurs to disappear is why vets will call them innocent kitten murmurs. For this reason - we consider a grade 1 or 2 murmur to be a common kitten finding that will go away with time. The following website has quotes from many sources about innocent murmurs, in the first section. It also talks about HCM which is a heart condition associated with Ragdolls. We can thankfully say that all our breeders have tested double negative for the HCM gene, so your kitten will not inherit the genetic form of HCM.

Link: http://www.mariama.ca/heart.htm

Mild Ocular and Nasal Crusting

These are the dark crusty things (sometimes called "sleep") that cats and kittens can get in their eyes and/or nose. Our vet has said that this is perfectly normal and that our kittens have a lot less than most cats she sees. The herpes virus is most likely the cause of the "crust". It is estimated that 90% to 95% of all cats get the herpes virus, which is why most cats have ocular and/or nasal crusting. In most cats, a few minor cold-like symptoms appear (sneezing, etc.), but only for a short while. They usually continue to have the black "crust" for a little while longer, but then even those will go away. The crusting might return occasionally if the cat/kitten is under stress of some sort (transition to a new home, etc). This is because the herpes virus never really leaves their system and can flair up when they are under stress. For a human comparison, think of the virus that gives us cold sores or canker sores, which is also a herpes virus. Almost all of us have had it and it can flair up from time to time if we are under stress of some sort. Herpes in cats is very similar and shouldn’t cause any severe problems for your kitten. However, just like in humans, sometimes instead of the mild reaction cats will have severe reactions to the virus. When this happens it usually presents when they are kittens. Instead of the crusting, the severe reaction can lead to big ulcers forming in their eyes and nasal passage. Thankfully, none of our kittens have ever had a severe reaction. Nevertheless, I have asked our vet many times if there is any way I can prevent herpes or make our cats’ response to the herpes even better than it already is. She assured us that our cats have one of the mildest herpes responses that she sees and there is really nothing I can do except give l-lysine when they are old enough, which can help alleviate the symptoms more quickly. We do this on a regular basis for our kittens when they are old enough just to help them with the virus as much as we can, since we have no way of preventing it. Most of our cats get over the virus and never have any trouble again. But if your ragdoll has a flair-up later in life, l-lysine is always the best treatment to help them fight it off. Ask your vet about where you can get this treatment or contact us and we will give you the doses that our vet recommends.

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