Do you think that this could be because she was the runt of the litter?

Question

At christmas we bought an adorable little kitten as a playmate for our other cat.

When we bought her she was around the size or slightly larger than a tennis ball. Her previous owners said that she was 8 weeks old. However as the previous owners werent breeders and the poor mite stunk of sick I took her off to the vets the day after I got her just to be sure she was healthy.

The vet said that she wasn't 8 weeks old but in fact she was four weeks old. As I hadn't had any experience with young kittens I fed her on warm dry kitten food mixed with water.

She's now 10 months old and shes about the size of a four month old kitten. Shes very healthy and happy. But whenever she is on my bed she paws the bed and licks it as she would when feeding off mother. our 14 month old cat towers over her and doesnt act like hes looking for milk.

Is she small because she may have been the runt of a litter or do you think its because the irresponsible owners gave her away far too young?

I fed her on wet dry food because I didnt have any access to cat friendly milk and her owners assured us she had been properly weened

And can you shed light on why she paws my bed as though she is trying to get milk from it.

And currently I feed her four times a day on felix kitten food and she has a constant supply of whiskas dry food to snack on

I feel so guilty for taking her so young but If I hadnt taken her I believe she'd have gone to someone who wouldnt look after her as well as I do now. Shes such a sweetie too

Answer 1

It was very kind of you to take such good care of your kitten, hon....

Some pet owners are irresponsible! The people you got your kitten from is a good example.. they are liars too! They certainly knew how old the kitten was...

Your kitten might be small because she didn't receive proper nutrition when she was a baby (before you got her). Otherwise, she just may be a small cat?

The pawing and sometimes sucking on blankets is also common for a cat who was taken from the mother at a very young age. I had a siamese cat who did this all of his life (he lived to be 18). He "nursed" on soft blankets and liked to find the clean clothes basket and took socks to nurse on! (tee hee).....

I think that your vet could answer any other concerns you may have. You are taking wonderful care of your baby from what i see ! hugs

Answer 2

As long as you fed her and took good care of her, I don't think being given away early would cause her to be small. She may have been the runt of the litter, but we have a cat that was the runt and he is one of the biggest cat I've ever seen.
She may just be a genetically small cat, just like some people are bigger than other people.
I've got cats that were born at my house, the same size when they were babies, treated the same, got the same amount of food and were given the same amount of love and affection, and one is much bigger than the other.
I wouldn't worry about her size.

As far as the pawing, I think most cats do that. I've seen all of our house cats paw at a couch, a bed, each other, and they are all very happy and healthy kitties. Our biggest cat likes to sit hanging off the dryer all the time, and he will start to paw at the air, so no worries.

I hope this helps and I hope you will check out some of my questions because I need help litter box training our newest kitten.

Answer 3

she paws the bed for exactly the reason you suspect - because she was taken away from her mum at far too early an age, most kittens only start weaning at about 5/6 weeks old and even up till they are about 8 weeks sometimes like to have some milk, that's why getting a kitten 8 weeks and older is better, the pawing of the bed is because its what a kitten would do to stimulate milk from its mother's breast.

Answer 4

I have had lots of cats and kittens. They have all been weened at over 8 weeks of age and they all still did the kneeding and nursing thing even after they are grown.
I dont know why they do it but I do not think it is from being taken from their mom too soon.

Answer 5

I have 2 cats that are 2 months apart, and one of them was the runt of the litter. He is much smaller that the other cat, but is only 2 months younger. I took him to the vet for his normal check-up, and they said that this is normal. He will always be smaller that the other cat, because he has smaller bones.

He acts no different than the other cat and is healthy. I wouldnt worry about his size. This is just the way his bones structure is.

My other cat does the same thing with the bed, just with my blanket. He will jump on the bed and lay on my chest and suck and lick the blanket. He will only do it to my blanket though not my husbands. We think he may feel comfortable on the blanket and see me as his mom. this is normal as well. I asked the vet about it and he said that he probably connects with me and likes the smell of the blanket because it is mine.

Its sounds to me that you have pretty normal kitty and are taking great care of them.

Answer 6

she could just be small, i had a cat that was full grow but still looked like she was really young, and as for the looking for milk she was probably weaned too early they say the best time to wean kittens are 6-8 weeks but they shouldn't leave there litter until 10 weeks

Answer 7

Firstly, I should say that you are doing everything right. The last time we had kittens, we went through the same thing. The runt came out to be just fine and though smaller at adult age, he was perfectly healthy. Just continue to give the care you are giving and everything will be fine. :)

Answer 8

it misses the nipple sent away to young