Burmese kitten not growing

burbabies

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Shiloh is now 16 weeks old. He is a blue burmese male from New Zealand. I took him to the vet for his health check 3 weeks ago (at 13 weeks), he was a bit dehydrated and not eating, but now he is eating well (about 6oz both dry and canned in a day), he poops normal and drinks, and plays like a normal kitten.
However, when I took him to the vet today, the vet said he didn't gain much weight, nor did he look like he'd grown much at all. He's already gotten his 2 vaccinations, but the vet said that the breeder had vaccinated him a bit too early. We did a FIV/FeLV test, and both came back negative. So the vet went ahead and did a profile blood sample to see if there was anything wrong with him internally (liver, kidneys, etc). We won't get the results till Monday. Other than his small thin size, the doc said he was perfectly normal in every other aspect.
Does anyone have any insight on this? Do burmese just typically grow slower than usual? He is much smaller and lighter than a 3 month old persian who was twice his weight and size that was there at the vet's office. I'm a bit worried because he really doesn't look much bigger than when I got him, and he is on the thinner side, but they do say that burmese cats are muscular built. He shows no sign of illness at all. He was one of the smallest in his litter of 7, where the largest kitten in his litter was literally twice his size! I emailed the breeder today, but have yet to hear from them.
Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 

kluchetta

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In my opinion, a Burmese would be a lot smaller than a Persian of the same age, however; my first Smudge stopped growing at the same rate at about 12 weeks or so, and blood tests at 5 months showed some sort of "stress" on his system. Shortly thereafter he became very sick. So it would be best to get a full blood panel on him to be very sure.
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

In my opinion, a Burmese would be a lot smaller than a Persian of the same age
Agree, Persians cannot be compared to Burms. More than likely he's just the runt of the litter, I do hope he's okay


At what age did the breeder vaccinate him?
 
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burbabies

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Thanks for the replies. My kitten was born 7/10/07. His first vaccination was on 9/7, which would make it 8 weeks. His second on 10/1, which would make it about 11 weeks. That actually sounds about right, doesn't it?
The doc said that the stress from the flight from NZ to Hawaii may also have contributed, and that he's playing "catch-up". He may also be the runt of the litter, but don't some runts grow up to out-grow their siblings? Hopefully that will happen (and soon), and I won't have anything to worry about.
I really don't see anything unusual about his eating, pooping, drinking, sleeping, or playing habits. He really does look and act like a normal kitten. He's just not growing as fast as expected. Any more thoughts?
 

missymotus

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He should need a 3rd vaccine then. Over here they do 10 weeks, then the new owner at 14-16 wks.
Apparently if done under 10 weeks they need a course of 3 shots. Usually there is a minimum of 4 weeks between shots.
 
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burbabies

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I'll go check with my vet to see if he needs another vaccination. She did say that if you vaccinate to early, it isn't as effective. I just hope the profile confirms that my kitten is healthy, and that he is just the runt of the litter and needs extra TLC.
 

shambles

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Could you post a picture also? Being able to see the tone should give a better idea if the kitten is just on the small side or if there seems to be something more going on.
 
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