pectus excavatum in kittens

Question
A stray cat decided to have a litter under my deck.  I called the animal control and they said they would need a foster family to care for them.  At that point I said I would as the mother brought them to me.  However, one of the kittens has a deformity.  The animal control brought him to the vets and found out he has pectus excavatum.  He has rapid breathing and a low stamina for exercise, extreme chest deformity, no vomiting or coughing.  My son has fallen in love with this one and we decided to keep him.  I'm still fostering all of them.  My problem now is that he is eating regular cat food and is having excessive problems with bowel movements, poop getting trapped in his hair. I have to wash him.  His back is rounded due to his deformity and causes him to sit in his stool which in turn impacts on himself.  I'm going to mention to the animal control officer of my discovery and wonder if he should be put to sleep.  Wonder if you have any advice for me to help him with this disorder, especially with the bathroom issue.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Answer
Brenda,

Bless you for being an angel and fostering the litter.

I am sending you a link on chest deformities in kittens.

http://www.catvet.homestead.com/FCK.html

Generally, the prognosis is poor.  Their chests do not develop properly and their internal organs end up crowded and tend not to function properly.

Frankly, if the kitten does not die on its own and the chest does not show signs of becoming normal (which can happen in true pectus excavatum but CANNOT happen in flat cehsted kitten (FCK) syndrome (see the link for an explanation of the difference between the two)).

In the long run with most FCK and pectus excavatum kittens, euthanasia turns out to be the most merciful thing to do.  The kitten will probably die anyway and, meanwhile, it will be misearable not being able to keep itself clean.

I know this may break your son's heart, but it is necessary to do what is best for the quality of life of this kitten.

Sorry that the news is not good.

Sad regards... Norm.