Extremely small kitten

Hello everyone...I am new here and recently acquired a new kitten when she hitched a ride in my vehicle motor last Friday. She's a beautiful white baby with blue eyes The concern I have with her is that although her motor developement ages her at 7 to 8 weeks her body weight tells a different story. This kitten is a tiny 7 ounces big! I have 7 cats of my own and have been an assistant at a single doctor veterinary practice for 15 years yet I've never seen anything like her. She is not an achondroplastic dwarf....she is proportional....just small. Although heart, kidneys and liver were all a concern...labs are normal. She eats and plays. She runs and climbs....but after having her a week she has only grown 30 grams(1 oz). Pituitary dwarfism also doesn't seems likely as her mental development is on target and she's missing other symptoms as well. Has anyone had such a tiny kitten who was healthy...just small? Again she is just under a pound yet despite her small size she is in good body condition.

I assume that's a photo of her as your avatar.

Some cats are just small.  I've seen it happen in inbred cats.  Once you've ruled out the medical reasons (and it sounds like you know more about it than I ever will), you just have to assume it's either genetic or a bad start.
 

she's adorable!

If you want her to gain weight, I'd go for high calorie, high protein, low to zero carbs.  Her stomach may be really small so she won't be able to eat a lot, hence, low bulk.

We acquired a cat like that once she was a pregnant tortoiseshell that climbed into the engine compartment of my dads bc-tel truck up north during a cold spell. We named her Trucker and one of our neighbors took her in and adopted out all her kittens. Sorry I don't have any suggestions, just felt like sharing that story.

Thank you...that is indeed her as my avatar. It will be interesting to see how big she gets. O know some have the capability of taking off after getting good nutrition...we shall see what the future holds

Oops...I noticed that I said "she is just under a pound"...she is actually just under half a pound at 7 ounces

Oops...I just noticed that I stated her to be "just under a pound" when in reality I meant just under half a pound. Such a big difference in a tiny critter I thought I should correct myself.

She is adorable! She probably started off life rough. I have two they were from a malnourished mom, after getting more nutrition into mom the kittens started to grow and seemed to be doing fine for a few weeks and then they kinda just stopped growing. I started losing kittens in the litter and took the 2 survivors into the vet. When I brought Penelope and Delilah to the vet the first time they were 6 to 7 weeks old and 6oz and 7oz. We are not really sure what was wrong exactly with the girls to start but after a few days of antibiotics and nutritional boosts Penelope started to improve to a normal happy kitten. Delilah became very sick (she came really close to dying) but she survived and is catching up too. Penelope really blossomed into a healthy kitten when she was eating every few hours so she got the maximum nutrition I'm sure. It will probably take your little girl a while to catch up. Penelope and Delilah are 14 weeks old now and Penelope weighs just over 2lbs and Delilah is just under 1.5lbs (but she got super sick before she got better). I'm sure working at a vets you know about a/d food my little ones ate this for over a month, I started mixing it with other high quality food to get them to eat it better after a while. I also had viyo that I gave them too. I'm curious to see how big my two will get as well, especially since they are from a maine coon mix mother.

Keep us updated on how she grows, I am very interested to see.

Thank you Panda...and yes...a/d is exactly what she is eating and although she has only gained an ounce in the last week at least its something to the gain. I will post an update as she grows. I think she is going the be a beautiful girl..OH and I also failed to mention....to this point it is suspect that her hearing is also not normal. I think we will know more as she gets older but at this point she is non responsive to auditory stimulus.

Can you tell us what you mean by "hitched a ride"?

Sounds like there's a story there.

Did you discover her after you'd started the car? Or when you arrrived where ever you were going?! 

Just as a reference, you know "Homer," the famous blind cat, weighs only 3 pounds as a fully grown adult.

But my wife's cousin, who was something of a hoarder, had some inbred cats who never got much over a pound.

I took in a litter of malnourished kittens a few years ago. 2 didn't make it (1 died before I got them, 1 after), but 2 did and are now normal-sized cats (10-12 pounds). They were 8 ounces at 8 weeks. Pursue an aggressive de-worming regimen (those worms can really stunt their growth, and frequently one dose doesn't get them all. I gave pyrantel once a day for 3 days then once a week for a few weeks), and put her on a high-calorie, high-fat diet (I used kitten Fancy Feast mixed with KMR). I think she'll catch up .

A lot of blue-eyed whites are deaf. They usually do just fine as indoor cats .

4catsNcounting said:

Can you tell us what you mean by "hitched a ride"?

Sounds like there's a story there.

Did you discover her after you'd started the car? Or when you arrrived where ever you were going?! 

Click to expand...

4cats...I left work at 5 last Friday and drive down a few blocks and stopped at the local feed store. I went inside and spent about 10 minutes buying esbilac and dog food. When I returned to the car I heard meowing from under the hood. Sure enough there she was! I am guessing she was in the car before I ever left work. Its well over 100 degrees here and she was heat exhausted :/ She is actually the 3rd cat to climb into my car over the past 10 or so years...usually its in cold or rainy weather tho. She's lucky she didn't fall out along the way which often happens!

Hi! I also have an EXTREMELY tiny yet proportional kitten. She came to the through the SPCA foster program, so she's been checked by a few vets and has a clean bill of health! She is adorable and only about half the size of her siblings. I've now had this group for about a month and a half. The other kittens are well over 2lbs each and ready for adoption and spay and neuter , however cini-mini ( she is a beautiful medium haired calico ) Weighs under a pound! She chooses to lay on my lap or the back of my neck and craves constant interaction with humans. She doesn't like to be put down unless she is eating or going to the litter box. I do make her socialize at night with the other kittens, as they have their own bedroom in my house where I can shut the door and not worry about them getting trampled by my dogs. She does only eat wet food, and I noticed that rather than "eat" the food, she sucks at it. She will eat the dry food that is offered to her on occasion. We have considered the possibility that she is just a "teacup kitty" they can come in any breed or color. Most kittens that fall into the "teacup" category generally weigh 3 -4lbs upon reaching adulthood. A "normal" cat is between 5 - 12+ lbs. And a dwarf cat as you know has stubby legs and a normal body. I am planning on keeping my "teacup" kitty while the others will go to adoption and a fur-ever home. To actually go out and purchase or intentionally adopt a "teacup" cat would cost you anywhere between $1500 and $10,000 (usd) depending on the breed.  I say enjoy the tiny baby!!! 

Khaleesi was only 7 oz when I got her at 6 weeks, so I am experienced with micro kittens! However Khaleesi is now a healthy 2 1/2 lb 14 week old, with a shiny coat to boot! I credit it to the fact that she was fed KMR mixed with Evo 96% meat wet food and Orijen since I have had her, only stopped the KMR a few days back. The high protein diet is the way to go, it worked miracles on my little girl