My Persian Seems Quite Small For Her Age -- Opinions PLS

pussy_cat

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My Persian is now almost 7 months old. She came to us at 2.8lbs the beginning of December and she is now only 4.8lbs. I did have problems with her having diarrhea and we did a fecal test (negative), physical examination, antibiotic treatments as well as a food change. The antibiotics seemed to help along with the food change. Her diarrhea has now been gone for about a month however she does still feel bloated.

Any how, her size really does bother me because I also have an 8 month old Himalayan and he is more then double her size. My Persian is FIV/FeLeuk negative and PKD negative.

The kittens father and sister have both grown to about 13lbs.

I guess I just need some input here... PLS and TY!
 

carolina

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I don't know what to tell you, besides ask what she is eating... She is small though - she should be close to 7lbs... is her appetite normal? Do you free feed her? She should be eating some wet food, and have plenty of dry food available at all times... She should also be in a kitten food.
So... what, how much is she eating?
 
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pussy_cat

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When she came here she was eating Innova kitten. She had loose poop when she arrived here but we thought it was just because of the stress of flying and a new environment. I slowly changed her over to Orijen. She continued to have loose bowel movements so finally the vet decided it was best to change her to Iam's low residue. That combined with the antibiotics seemed to stop her diarrhea. I have just recently started to slowly mix the Orijen with the Iam's low residue in the hopes that she can now tolerate the Orijen because this is the food I prefer to feed. If not, she will be put back on Iam's. So far so good though. She does free feed and she seems to eat quite a bit. She doesn't feel skinny, she is actually quite fat (or bloated) but she is just small, if that makes sense.

Thanks for the reply btw!
 

aswient

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Some cats are just small. I kept a litter of 4 kittens and all 3 are very big and little Lili is very small compared to her brother and sisters she looks like a kitten and she is 4 years old. Mine didn't starting really gaining their weight until after a year old. I also feed mine wet food twice a day and free feed dry.
 

carolina

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I hope she can go back to Orijen, as the Iam's low residues ingredients are not nice at all...
Not all cats do well with grain free foods, it can be too rich for them, and this might be the case for yours... A couple of good grain food, that you might want to consider, are Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care Indoor Kitten, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul.
She might just be too small... I remember your earlier posts about it...
 

mews2much

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That is small.
My sphynx is the same age and almost 7 pounds.
I am glad sheis pkd neg.
Has she had any other blood tests?
My friend used to breed Persians and some would not grow right either.
Has she had any heart tests?
 

proudmamiof4

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I just had a rescue kitty ( who just went to her new home last week
) whjo at 18 months only weighed 6lb! she was perfectly healthy!shiny coat bright eyes and very playful
she ate well and everything.She was just small.I think it depends on the cats bone structure, she was a very petite cat.My cat Mischief on the other hand is only 8 months and is 16 lb (big boned) he is also perfedctly healthy NOT OVER WEIGHT AT ALL!! according to my vet.He is just big boned and very solid!!
 

mews2much

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My Oreo is very small and she was born Aug 29th 2007.
She was half the size of the other kittens when I got her but she has fcks.
She weighs mabe 6 pounds now.
 

pami

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If she is not emaciated then her weight is fine. I have a 7 year old who is 8 lbs. Weight is not a factor of health not unless there are physcial signs such as being emaciated. Cats come in all sizes.
 

starfish

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Mons is 4.2 pounds at 8 months although he is currently underweight. However, the vet doesn't expect him to pass 7 pounds.
 

lyrajean

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One of our previous cats, Gracie, was adopted as a persian-shorthair mix. She was 4yrs old when adopted and never crossed the 7 pound line. Just a very petite cat.

She lived a long life (for an in-outdoor cat) of 14yrs and was happy and healthy and extremely athletic until her last couple months.

Cats do come in all sizes. As long as the Vet thinks she's healthy.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by proudmamiof4

I just had a rescue kitty ( who just went to her new home last week
) whjo at 18 months only weighed 6lb! she was perfectly healthy!shiny coat bright eyes and very playful
she ate well and everything.She was just small.I think it depends on the cats bone structure, she was a very petite cat.My cat Mischief on the other hand is only 8 months and is 16 lb (big boned) he is also perfedctly healthy NOT OVER WEIGHT AT ALL!! according to my vet.He is just big boned and very solid!!
That's Bijou and Mika - full brother and sister. He is big and needs to lose a couple pounds but is also very muscular. He weighs in at 22 lbs now and Mika is about 8 lbs. She looks so tiny to me now when Jen brings her over for a visit. But she is very healthy and I may be biased but I think she's beautiful.
 

proudmamiof4

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

That's Bijou and Mika - full brother and sister. He is big and needs to lose a couple pounds but is also very muscular. He weighs in at 22 lbs now and Mika is about 8 lbs. She looks so tiny to me now when Jen brings her over for a visit. But she is very healthy and I may be biased but I think she's beautiful.
wow!! 22lb! Mischief will most definatly get overweight if I didn't start scheduling thier meals as opposed to free feeding!lol he has a huge appetite! My brothers cat is a huge cat too, but he is fat!!lol last vet visit my brother said he was25 lb and the vet said he needs to come down to atleast 19.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by proudmamiof4

wow!! 22lb! Mischief will most definatly get overweight if I didn't start scheduling thier meals as opposed to free feeding!lol he has a huge appetite! My brothers cat is a huge cat too, but he is fat!!lol last vet visit my brother said he was25 lb and the vet said he needs to come down to atleast 19.
Yes, Bijou needs to lose a few pounds but it's difficult. I've asked hubby to measure his dry food but he feeds him in the mornings and I don't have control over it. I have mentioned a few times that Bijou is getting too big, but hubby hates to be nagged so I have to bide my time and choose my words carefully.
 

kittybernard

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I have a girl NFC who weighs about 6/7 pounds @ 6 yrs. She is VERY petite. My two boys who are ten months old aren't only heavier than her, but they're bigger.

She was appropriately named 'Kitten'!
One theory we have for her small size is that she didn't receive the nutrients she needed in the womb as well as outside in her first few weeks.

Then again, some cats mature slower than others and like everyone else said, some cats are just smaller!
 

twokatz

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If you are concerned I would have the Vet do a thorough checkup for parasites and have some bloodwork, etc. For your peace of mind if nothing else.
I have two Himalayan sisters. When we got them there was a whole pound difference. Now they are almost 3 and Lani weighs almost 13 lbs. and Sparky not quite 8lbs. Some Persians are quite small. I know what you mean tho, I feel like I am always trying to get Sparky to eat more, which is silly actually as she is not really skinny. I am just a worried kitty mommy at times
 
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