Need advice on very special kitten

A friend's cat had a litter of 7 living and 1 stillborn.  Momma cat is very experienced mother. Mom is around 8 lbs, all adult siblings still in contact are between 8 & 10 pounds, 6 littermates are all above 1.5 lbs and the daddy possibilities look to be about 10-12 pounds.  

Kitty number 7 though is my new baby Sweetpea.  If you had never seen a normal cat before, you would assume she is one.  She plays, she eats whatever I feed her, she is litter trained, she climbs, she purrs...all the normal cat things just like the rest of her cat family does BUT....Even though she is 9 weeks old, she is the size of a 2 week old.  She is properly proprotioned (no short legs) but only weighs 7 oz (.44 lbs).

My vet told me some of the issues we could be looking at with her, but the biggest issue is that she is so small, there are things we can't do or are not sure when to do them.  For example, she can't have her vacines yet because she is still under a half pound and there is no recommended dosage for her size so the vet will have to consult with the drug company.  She has been given worm medication because luckily that is dosed by pet weight and for kittens the dosage is done by ounces.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with a kitten this small that made it to adulthood?  If so, could you please offer advice on how you controlled parasites, eye infections, respiratory problems, etc?  I hope these issues don't come up, however, if they do, I would like to be prepared so that if my vet is unsure(like kitty's first check-up) we have some idea where to start.  As people have pointed out she is so small that we may have very little time to deal with an issue should one occur. 

Backyard breeders, I have already gotten a "if she makes it I'd love to purchase her or discuss breeding" by asking a mini-cat forum for advice.  I do not agree with that type of selective breeding as it is very unhealthy for all animals involved and she is most definately not for sale.

Oh, thank you so much for refusing to give her over to those creeps!  People like that are part of why there are so many homeless cats.

OK, I've taken a deep breath, so that's all I will say about that!

It seems to me that if she's kept inside and safe, fed regularly and sees the vet at appropriate intervals, she should be OK.  I would definitely follow the vet's advice about flea/worming treatments and spaying.

She may surprise you and grow up to be a regular sized cat.  Like preemies, it only takes a little longer for them to catch up.

I hope she catches up.  Will keep you posted on her weight.  We already have another appointment with the vet in 2 weeks to see if she weighs enough for her vaccines.

Unfortunately we didn't adopt our second kitty untilshe was 7 months old (or so they estimated) but she weighed 3.2 lbs when we got her. By her first birthday, 5 months later, she literally tripled her weight!! No kidding she went from 3.2 to 9.5 lbs in 5 months!! We still joke that her head and little butt are too small for her body but she will be 2 in October and weight almost exactly 10 lbs and holding steady now!
They pumped her full of everything under the sun at the shelter but I insisted on waiting until she reached 7lbs until she got any more shots!
As long as everything checks out ok at the vet and there would be a rare chance she would contract something from another cat.. Absolutely wait on anything medical! Go by her size not age. :-)

Good for you for your response to the breeding inquiries! I'm in agreement with hbles, size, not age, is what matters here. There is no need to rush vaccinations or neutering if it's not necessary. I've got a rescue that's at least 2-1/2 years old now, and barely tips the scale at 5 pounds on a good day after a big meal. I thought she was about  4 months old when I came upon her, but now I question that because of her petite adult size. That judgement was based on her size and the fact that it was spring and she did not go into heat. She is a beauty, healthy, and perfectly formed, just tiny. 

  
        Lolo (Little One)

Just an update on my little furbaby.  Her age was pinned down to an exact date (momacat owner's teenager had the date written down) .  She is officially five whole months today.  She was weighed last night and she is a whole whopping 1.8 lbs LOL...She definately has pituitary dwarfism.  She is the size of an average 2 month old (the vet is amazed every time she sees her).  No known health problems and up to date on all but rabies which vet wants to hold off on.

She is currently 5" tall and her body (from butt to nose) is 9"  not counting her tail.  Her fur is an inch long and is so thick it sticks straight out. So she looks bigger until you pick her up and lose your hand in the fur.

She eats like a pig. Vet says eating more than 2 full grown adult cats it is ok because apparently her metabolism is extremely high and she needs it.  She does eat the high quality all natural meat food now because she will eat her weight in Friskies.  Not enough substance to Friskies for her metabolism.

She is spoiled rotten!  She bores quickly(I think she is ADHD LOL) and can out-jump my BFF's normal sized 9 month-old cat - she jumps straight to my shoulder from the floor(I am 5'8").  She is good with toddlers - even when they squeeze, very feisty and loves my cat-hating dad who we visit once a week. 

She loves car rides. She likes to play with coke bottles(she will drag them like a puppy would or roll them back and forth) and likes to find small boxes to flick the corner of to watch them pop up (like the size of a cigarette pack). I promise she does have toys, she just prefers the other stuff. She watches TV and knows which button on the remote turns it on.  Do not touch the remote when she is watching TV you will be attacked(she is worse than a man watching the Super Bowl).

I have had many furbabies over the years, but this one is an oddball.  I don't think she knows she's a cat or even a pet for that matter.

I am looking for her a playmate to help with the extra energy, but it is hard to find one her size.  When you tell people how small she is they look at you like you are crazy, don't believe you and try to give you 8 wk old kittens and say they are the same.  (I am on waiting lists at the local shelters just in case they find one the right size)

Will post pictures of her soon!

Oh Hi! I was just reading your post and i am so glad i did! I also have a teeny tiny cat named Pipsqueak...she also was born to a very experienced momma of about 5 lbs and the poppa being about 18-20 lbs LoL...this momma has had 3 other litters and they are all GIANTS except the one from her last who was on the small side but not this small her name is Muffins..and the litter that Pipsqueak came from the other 2 are normal sized but she is about 15 weeks old and is the size of a 4-5 week old..she is just fine but we feed her separate because we dont want her to get trampled ( i do have 9 cats in house total) or lose out on getting food...the other small cat (Muffins) i have is 1 now and we were told to not let her breed because her mom had large litters (6) and it wasnt worth risking a dangerous birth so we got her fixed asap as we will do to Pipsqueak...i am here if you have any questions or just want to share stories!

Thanks fo rthe reply. It is nice to know someone else having the same situation!  I have talked to a lot of people including a vet who owned a record holding small cat, but no one seems what to do or what to expect with these tiny babies LOL. Even the vet I spoke with didn't know about the kitten timetable and vaccines because she got her cat when he was full grown.

they are so cute arent they? the only thing about mine that concerns me a bit tis that her nostrils seem...longer than the other cats and it is making me think something with her may be a bit ..off...but she is a super kitten and just teeny tiny cute

My cat looked like an alien with buldging eyes, a huge head and the large nostrils until about 16 weeks. Sweetpea looks like a normal kitten now and is starting to get more adult looking features.  Your kitty may grow out of it too.  My vet had told me it was ok...don't worry unless you have to.  It's about the only advice anyone seems to have LOL.  The only thing they all agree on is that she will most likely have a shorter lifespan(8-10 yrs as apposed to the average 15-18)...but I  enjoy her so much because she does the craziest things and she is so darn cute doing it all!  Plus my nephews are fascinated with my "Peter Pan Cat" as they call her.  All the boys 1,2, 5, 9, 12 and a sassy perma-kitty that loves to play rough = cutest combination ever!

So is she more like a dwarf, or just really petite?  I think of dwarfism is more like the Munchkin breed, yet you said she had pituitary dwarfism.   Anyway, she sounds absolutely adorable, personality wise, and I can't wait to see pictures of her. 

She was previously diagnosed with pituitary dwarfism which is rare and can be caused by illness or injury at a young age, but I had a friend that decided she would pay for the testing so I could be sure and stop worrying there was something wrong(I could never have paid for the actual testing on my own).  Test came back that she does have an active dwarfism gene but she is extremely healthy.

Here is what I have leaned from the vets:

There are many types of dwarfism in cats. Dwarfism is a recessive trait that is seen in persians, siamese, abyssinians and a couple of other breeds.  Many breeders take advantage of that and create "mini-cats" with selective breeding of the gene, but it can cause shorter lives and  there are health issues with dwarf cats that are sometimes so severe that euthanasia is the only humane thing. 

Munchkins were the product of selective breeding so they have Achondroplasia(some say it is hypochondroplasia) which has become a dominant gene because of the selective breeding.

Sweetpea is a naturally occuring dwarf.  Her mother is abyssinian/siamese for sure and her father is a persian mix(triple whammie), so she just happened to inherit the trait even though the combination of those breeds would still rarely produce a dwarf.  She is the only dwarf out of many kittens from the same mother(half of which had the same father).  She is also the only naturally occuring dwarf my regular vet's office has ever seen and they have been in business for over 25 years and are the preferred vet locally.

She actually has not grown in the last few weeks. She still weighs 1.8.  The only thing we have to watch for is enlarged joints and bowleggedness(both very common in dwarfs including the Munchkins). But she is adorable and it is my project for this weekend to try to post a pic if she will hold still long enough to get it done.