What is Marsh Bane?
Marsh Bane, or ‘No Claw’ is a genetic disorder that occurs primarily in male Marsh kits, though on rare occasions a female can catch this ‘disease’ It’s a genetic disorder that attacks the paws and causes the claws to either develop weak and brittle, or not at all. 10% of the time, if the disease is strong enough within the genetics, it also may affect the canines.
What are the symptoms?
Marsh Bane is really easy to spot, as there are usually visible signs of the disease at birth. If a kit is going to have this disease, they are born with it. If the kit is born with claws, they’d fall out or break from brittleness within a weak
What causes it?
Marsh Bane is genetic, but both parents must carry the recessive genes and the kit must inherit both of these genes. It is highly rare, as most of the time the genes are dominant and even though the kit becomes a carrier for this disease, they themselves aren’t affected by it.
How is it spread?
Given it’s a genetic disorder, it can only be passed from parents to kit. It tends to be present mostly in older Clans who have a long history of the disease.
Where is it found?
Marsh Bane, as the name suggests, is only found amongst the Marsh Kats. Marsh half breeds are in no danger of inheriting this disease, but may be carriers for it
How can it be prevented?
The only way it can be ‘prevented’ is for a Kat that knows they have this disease, to find a mate they know doesn’t have this disease, but often mates aren’t that easy to come by.
How is it treated?
This Disorder can be treated in one of two ways. If started on a high calcium diet as soon as the kit is finished nursing, by the time it reaches level four it has a 50/50 chance of growing back its claws, but the claws never fully become normal in strength and are still at a great risk of breaking. The quicker, easier, and more efficient way is to have a Gold Kat restore the claws.
What are your chances of getting it?
If the parents have had this disease, there’s a 75% chance of contracting it. If it doesn’t occur, the disorder is still there, but it doesn’t take effect, instead it is carried and when that kit becomes an adult and has children of their own... his or her children have a greater chance of catching it.
Contributed by TallReed
