New Foster Kitty- Age?

Hello!

My boyfriend and I decided to foster a wonderful kitty (named Missy for the time being) with the possibility of adopting her. We adopted our first cat Louie about about 2 months ago...We just brought Missy to our home last night, and she is living in the 2nd bedroom for the intro period.

The shelter thought she was 1-2 yrs old (just based on a basic vet visit, since she has no other history, being found on the street). She is such a contrast to Louie- who is an average sized but a very muscular and energetic 3-4 yr old neutered male. I'm actually a little concerned about her actual age-I guess I'm nervous from past experience...we once adopted a cat that was said to be 3-4 yrs old and later was estimated to be closer to 14 by our vet! She developed diabetes- and then severe complications from the diabetes- and had to be put to sleep. We were extremely shaken by this experience- and miss her dearly still. This is part of why I'm so nervous about Missy's possible age...

Missy was recently spayed, and has the cute shaved tummy and the slightly hollow sides, which I've seen before in recently spayed kitties. She's only about 5lbs! She has a very small frame though- and her head is small like her body- she's very bony right now- and seems so fragile. I know part of this is because she was living on the streets- and the recent spaying is probably also a factor in her overall look. Personality wise she's a love! She's constantly purring- and has been circling the room, rubbing up against everything- and mostly us. She loves giving head butts, and "holding" our hands with her paws. Another thing she does all the time is knead the air-She kneads everything else too- but I've never seen a cat have paws that are constantly in that motion...It's almost like there's an imaginary mama cat in front of her! I started to wonder if this could be a sign that she is a younger cat?

She walks a little stiffly- doesn't seem to have the best balance. Could this be the spaying? We're still waiting to get her medical papers from the vet who saw her...I'll take some pictures and try to post them on this site within the next few days- maybe to get some guesses as to how old she looks. I know it's impossible to tell though, but I'd still love to show pics

She has an exotic look to her- she has almost medium hair- and a much longer and fuller tail than Louie. She's got gorgeous dark tabby markings, and a slight reddish tint to the fur around her face. I'm at work right now and can hardly wait to go be with my furry pals!

What do you guys think about how bony and delicate she seems though? Could it just be from living on the streets? I guess we'll just have to see if some love and good food fattens her up a little

Our Izzy was a stray. She was rescued with 3 very tiny kittens, only a few days old.

She spent some time in a rescue centre when i took her home with me (and kits) to try and give her a chance. I was helping with the rescue at the time, she was very frightened of people and would pee herself in fright.

Well, too cut a long story short once the kits were old enough to go to their new homes I had spent so much time with Iz that i couldn't bear to give her up. So off to the vet we go!

Vet guessed her age at about 8 years, he did this by checking out her teeth. She has always been a very small cat and now she is 14'ish with only 1 tooth left. So i guess the vet was about right.

Izzy likes a good paddle, on just about anything that moves , but usually its me.

The teeth are generally how vets estimate the age of an adult cat. Normally for a cat who's been in a home with a good diet the whiter the teeth the younger the cat, but since this kitty was outside her diet may not have been the best & so her teeth may not give an accurate age. The kneading is usually a sign of contentment, but if she suckles on things while she kneads that is usally a sign of being taken away from mom too early, but is of no help in obtaining an age on a cat.