# What causes a kitten to be smaller than normal?



## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

My kitten is currently 8 weeks old (the vet has told us this, as the people we got her from actually lied about her age and said she was 10 weeks when she as 7wks) but she actually looks about 4/5 weeks old. She's tiny, and I was wondering why this is? She's very healthy, active, sociable, no problems there it's just her size that's quite odd.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

What colour is she and what colour are her eyes - that will help you age her? If she isn;t a pointed cat and her eyes are blue she is under 6 and 1/2 weeks old. How much does she weigh? Normally it's 100g per week + 100g - so if she is eight weeks old she should weight around 900g.

Smaller kittens can be because it is genetic. Lack of good nutrition in the womb. Lack of good nutrition from weaning. Parasitic overload (the worms get all the goodness not the cat). Heart problems. etc. Who really knows.


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## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

Thank you, she's a mostly black tortie and still has blue eyes. I'm not sure how much she weighs, the vet did weigh her though and then said she was 7 weeks old (last week) Very annoyed that I was lied to by the people we got her from...


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## spotty cats (Jul 24, 2012)

It's quite likely she's not small at all, and is the right size for her age. Sounds like she is around 6 weeks old now with the eye colour.

If you've got kitchen scales, they are ideal for weighing kittens.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

If she still has blue eyes (and black torties DON'T have blue eyes as adults) she is around 5-6 weeks old depending on how blue they are. If you can weigh her that will really help age her. I suspect she is small because she is very young. If you can post a pic up it will help even more.


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## catgeoffrey (Jun 28, 2012)

I think you should post a pic for us - will help the experts tell her age and the rest of us can comment on how cute she is! 
We got a cat at 8 weeks and his eyes were starting to turn from blue so she is still very young. Good food and lots of love and care will get her growing big and strong!


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## Lilylass (Sep 13, 2012)

Yup - pics def required! 

Poor mite does sound very young  why do people lie ...... so glad she's found a lovely home with you now 

Stick her on the kitchen scales and let us know how heavy she is 



Mia was really tiny when I got her - she only weighed 360g which if you think about it, is less than a tin of beans etc  she was the runt and literally 1/2 the size of the biggest kitten in the litter - as well as being far too young to be away from mum .....


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

What she can do will also help you gauge her age as she is that young. Is she able to eat and lap on her own? Is she ok with pooping? Does she wobble a little bit when she walks?

Another reason a kitten may be smaller is if she is the 'runt' of the litter but don't let that horrible word faze you, the last born may have less chance of survival in the wild but there is no reason they can't live a full healthy and happy life. 

But if your kitten is that young you may need to invest extra care in socialising her, which brings wonderful rewards in terms of the close bond you are likely to develop with her for the rest of her life.

In short - it's wrong to separate a kitten from its mother too early, but there are compensations if you can put the extra effort in at this very early stage.


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## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

Thanks for all the great advice everyone, yes she does wabble when she walks sometimes but not as much as when we first got her, she poops ok usually but has sat in it before from not crouching low enough. Here are some pics


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## Satori (Apr 7, 2013)

Oh my she is a scrummy wee thing. Those eyes :001_wub:

My British Shorthair was a tiny one too. 850g when we got her at 13 weeks. We assumed, as did the vet, that she would always be dainty. It doesn't always follow though (she is 16 months and 5 kilos now). They get sudden growth spurts. Just give her the chance to get lots of protein.


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

Those pics take me straight back 26 years to my Misha. Her eyes were exactly that blue-grey colour when we had her at 6 1/2 weeks, she was fully toilet trained with no issues whatsoever but had to be hand fed for a couple of days and took a while to learn to lap.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Hard to go off from piccys but her ears and eyes look big-ish from the piccys i would guess 8 weeks,looking at her by the food dish,like i say though its hard to judge by photos.

What do you feed her?


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

To me her eyes look as though they are already changing and have a green hint to them and she looks about 7 weeks old. Her weight will pin it down more now.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

If you want her to put on GOOD weight - don't feed her dry - feed her preferably raw but otherwise a good quality wet food.


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## EmmaMia (Jul 28, 2013)

Just wanted to wish you luck with the weight gain, hope she settles in well, she's absolutely gorgeous!!!! :001_wub::001_wub:


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## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

we love bsh's said:


> Hard to go off from piccys but her ears and eyes look big-ish from the piccys i would guess 8 weeks,looking at her by the food dish,like i say though its hard to judge by photos.
> 
> What do you feed her?


She's on science plan kitten food, and yeah 8 weeks is what the vet said she would be now. Thank you


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## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

spid said:


> To me her eyes look as though they are already changing and have a green hint to them and she looks about 7 weeks old. Her weight will pin it down more now.


Thanks we're getting her weighed by the vet tomorrow since we don't have any scales in our house, so I'll get back to you tomorrow. I agree I think she might be 7/8 weeks.


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## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

EmmaMia said:


> Just wanted to wish you luck with the weight gain, hope she settles in well, she's absolutely gorgeous!!!! :001_wub::001_wub:


Aw thank you


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## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

spid said:


> If you want her to put on GOOD weight - don't feed her dry - feed her preferably raw but otherwise a good quality wet food.


Do you have any recommendations on what wet food would be best?


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

I feed natural instincts and i get big chunky kittens i weighed one of my 10 week olds last week and she was 1500g,this is what i feed..Cat Food (Chicken & Lamb) 2 x 500g - Natural Instinct


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## wicket (Aug 22, 2012)

Boobub said:


> Do you have any recommendations on what wet food would be best?


Have a look on line at Zooplus, or in your local pet store - tbh ANY wet food is better than what you are feeding now, it may also account for her small size as kittens really dont wean well onto dry biscuits. If you are going to look at zooplus I wean my kittens on animoda carny and bozita tins or try smilla kitten food that comes in nice little tins if you only have the one. Try to avoid whiskas and felix kitten food as they have lots of sugar that can cause the trots, but even feeding these is preferable to the nasty science plan which is pretty much all cereal. 
She is gorgeous by the way.


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## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

I'll get her some wet food today, I'll have a lookt online and in shops. Thank you for your help as I had no idea dry food was bad for them


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## wicket (Aug 22, 2012)

Boobub said:


> I'll get her some wet food today, I'll have a lookt online and in shops. Thank you for your help as I had no idea dry food was bad for them


Good for you - I fed Hills science plan for years on my vets advice, only in the last few years have a become a wet/raw food convert. Vets are actually paid to promote certain foods. I had one cat who was very overweight with a nasty scurfy coat, a change (even to felix) resulted in her gradually loosing over 3kgs, becoming more active and her coat lost is scurf and became soft and shiny. A change to wet food is great, then start doing your own research and try and avoid foods with added sugars and cereals - its really trial and error and to find out what will work best for your lovely little girl. Does she have a name?


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## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

Yes her name's Betty  And I'll be sure to get her off that awful food straight away. Thanks again.


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

Boobub said:


> Yes her name's Betty


Hello Betty - such a sweet name for such a sweet little girl.


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## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

Thank you


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

aww best wishes for her , welcome to the forum Betty baby you are adorrrrrrrrrable


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## Frogg (Jan 1, 2014)

i dont think you can entirely blame dry food as the cause for small size... id imagine if dry foods caused short stature this would be well known about and there wouldnt be a market for it. 

im currently weening my 10 week old kitten from royal canin gastrointestinal (prescribed by vet as she got thw runs on felix) to natures menu kitten pouches (70% chicken, 10% protein). i dont know what the consensus is on here about natures me u but it does appear everyone had different opinions so go with what you personally feel is best.

when he is older im also going to put small amounts of applaws kitten kibbles (80% chicken) out for him for snacking.


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## Boobub (Dec 20, 2012)

Frogg said:


> i dont think you can entirely blame dry food as the cause for small size... id imagine if dry foods caused short stature this would be well known about and there wouldnt be a market for it.
> 
> im currently weening my 10 week old kitten from royal canin gastrointestinal (prescribed by vet as she got thw runs on felix) to natures menu kitten pouches (70% chicken, 10% protein). i dont know what the consensus is on here about natures me u but it does appear everyone had different opinions so go with what you personally feel is best.
> 
> when he is older im also going to put small amounts of applaws kitten kibbles (80% chicken) out for him for snacking.


I'm going to keep my kitten on a small amount of science plan but her main diet will consist of carny kitten since I've seen great reviews on it on here. Good luck with your kitten's tummy, I hope the new diet will sort it out.


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## wicket (Aug 22, 2012)

Frogg said:


> i dont think you can entirely blame dry food as the cause for small size... id imagine if dry foods caused short stature this would be well known about and there wouldnt be a market for it. .


With the best will in the world just because there is a market for something doesnt mean it is any good - look at energy drinks for a start, huge amounts of sugar and caffeine, one brand in particular banned in some European countries but sold in huge amounts here, yet all studies show they have no nutritional value and are bad for health - they can even cause tremors in children unused to the caffeine but are still sold to them.

Felix is well known to cause the trots on kittens, you would probably have been fine feeding a better quality wet - my kittens wean onto bozita and animoda carny kitten, never had a problem with dire-rear. Just out of interest did the vet sell you the RC food?
Its all about trial and error and what works for your cat - I have tried natures menu pouches and they got straight through my lot


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## Frogg (Jan 1, 2014)

Like I said, everyone has different opinions. So long as you're sensible about what is decent that you can afford, and keep an eye on your kitten's general health, I don't think it matters that much. I'm medically trained and I'm not foolish when it comes to marketing

I know felix isnt great, it was what he was on before we got him, hence weening him off.

He appears to be fine on nature's menu pouches so far, stools like chipolatas now, I'll make sure he gets a sensible variety and ensure he is healthy throughout his life  - if there is ever a problem I'll change his food, possibly something like animonda carny because that looks good too.


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