# Cryptorchidism or "late blooming"?



## NorthernDarkness (Jan 9, 2013)

Has anyone here had experiences with a male kitten whose testicles have descended later than usual? How late?

How common is it for a cryptorchid cat to have both of his testicles "missing"? Which would be more likely: for this kitty to be chryptorchid, or just a "late bloomer" who's testicles will descend later than usual?

Situation: Male kitten, will be 13 weeks this week, both testicles still undescended. (Kitten's breeder is currently doing background check of his lines and possible hereditary issues).


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## dagny0823 (Oct 20, 2009)

I don't know if this is of any help, but our cat Blake (a moggy who looks like he's got a fair amount of Maine Coon in him) had strange things happening with one of his testicles. After we adopted him from the shelter at about 7 or weeks old, we took him to the vet for his regular check-ups and vaccinations. I believe he went three times altogether and the vet always checked and he had 2 testicles descended.

The morning of his neutering at just under 6 months, I got a call about an hour later. They had put him under and were shaving him, only to find he only had 1 descended testicle. I have joked since that one of them heard what was going to happen and tried to hide . They ended up having to do a regular neuter and then gave him a little spay scar in order to look for the missing testicle. He was fine, just took an extra day to recover and he's grown to be our largest cat.


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

I used to have a line of breeding where this could be a problem, though at a low level in terms of how many kittens were affected. For the most part, whether it was one or both, the testicle(s) descended fully, at the latest, by 9.5 months but usually by around 5/6 months. The undescended testicle (and it was almost always one, not both) the vet would be able to feel it, just above the scrotum in the inguinal canal. With a few, the missing testicle never descended and was found to be in the abdomen at the time of neutering. All far from ideal obviously.

I personally believe that most cases are genetic and hereditary in origin and, having experienced the problem in the past, I'd be very reluctant to knowingly be working again with breed lines where this was an issue.


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## NorthernDarkness (Jan 9, 2013)

gskinner123 said:


> I personally believe that most cases are genetic and hereditary in origin and, having experienced the problem in the past, I'd be very reluctant to knowingly be working again with breed lines where this was an issue.


That's why the breeder is doing a background check, the kitten has long lines from certain cattery in his pedigree so it's fairly easy to check that as the cattery is still active.
Obviously he won't be a breeding cat if he turns out to be cryptorchid. (Fifé won't even register kittens from a stud who's both testicles haven't descented. And showing such cat will be allowed only in the Premier (neuter) class.)


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

NorthernDarkness said:


> That's why the breeder is doing a background check, the kitten has long lines from certain cattery in his pedigree so it's fairly easy to check that as the cattery is still active.
> Obviously he won't be a breeding cat if he turns out to be cryptorchid. (Fifé won't even register kittens from a stud who's both testicles haven't descented. And showing such cat will be allowed only in the Premier (neuter) class.)


I do appreciate what you are saying. GCCF registered studs must have a Certificate of Entirety (signed by the vet who has checked the cat for entirety) lodged with them before they will register any offspring - no certificate, no offspring registered.

All I would say is that, however much one checks back through a pedigree/lines of breeding when it comes to this issue, one is very much relying on the integrity of the breeders/owners of the cats in the pedigree. One has to assume (and hope) that all the males in the pedigree were fully entire... what a pedigree doesn't show us is how long all those males took to *become* entire, i.e. both testicles fully descended, nor does it tell us how many of their male littermates were not, and never became, entire. Do remember also that it is a trait which is carried/passed on equally by the female parent, not just the male parent.


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## NorthernDarkness (Jan 9, 2013)

I am aware of that. The cattery in question has existed since the 80's, so their lines are widely spread and I think that possible issues would be in "common" knowledge as these circles are quite small, specially here in Nordic countries.
Mostly I'm wondering how normal it would be for the testicles to descend late, if it's not cryptorchidism (which is autosomal recessive?).

Fife also requires a proof from the vet for the stud.


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## gskinner123 (Mar 10, 2010)

Yes, it is thought to be autosomal recessive. The best link I have ever found is the one below. It's lengthy, but very interesting and also contains a detailed section on the related genetics.

Cryptorchidism and Undescended Testicles - all you need to know.


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## MummyCat (Jul 25, 2011)

NorthernDarkness said:


> Has anyone here had experiences with a male kitten whose testicles have descended later than usual? How late?


When I got my boys in 2012 I somehow ended up with 2 unrelated boys with an undescended testicle each. My MC cross boy was just a late bloomer and the remaining testicle descended by the age of 6 months but at the same age my Ragdoll still just had the one descended and the vets had to go searching for the remaining testicle.


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