Any cat breeders had a kitten THIS small?

[Madwife123]

We have 2 week old Ragdoll kittens. 6 in the litter and 1 of them is TINY. Less than half the size of the others.

At birth he was so small we thought he wouldn’t survive but 2 weeks on he’s going strong, feeding well and seems perfectly healthy, except his size.

We’ve had runts before but never such a vast difference. This kitten looks like it’s from a whole different litter!

Is he likely to always be this small? Could there be an underlying problem causing him to be so small? He seems well so I’m reluctant to take him the vets and risk infection etc. but equally don’t want to be missing doing something that we could do to help him.

These photos show the size difference at birth and also now at 2 weeks old. He is clearly growing but not catching up to the others.

Some time ago we had a miniature kitten - farm cat rather than any special breed

She was to all intents and purposes healthy and very energetic just very small until one evening she started fitting aged about 11 months

Vet said she had virtually no renal function likely due to 'streak kidneys' which had never developed

There is a breed called dwarf which has moved onto be munchkins - I think this has caused confusion.

Even vaguely responsible breeders would have contacts with experience to ask and wouldn’t hesitate to contact their vet. The fact you think asking on mumsnet is the way to go about a very underdeveloped and underweight kitten screams backyard breeder. You seem clueless as to the health conditions that this poor cat could have.

I agree with this. It’s very concerning.

The difference between a backyard breeder and a breeder being?

Very little ime, but as the pp said, a consultation with a vet at least and consulting other breeders with knowledge of the breed.

There is nothing a Vet could do.

The kitten probably has something wrong with it and is unlikely to survive longer term if it does. The reality of kittens is that you frequently lose the "runts" despite your best efforts and 2 hourly feeding for weeks to help them and it's upsetting.

Hopefully this one is just a particularly small runt and makes it.

There is nothing a Vet could do.

It depends what the issue is. We had one come in to our rescue who had a liver shunt which was why she was so small. An adjusted diet followed by a successful operation, means that shes 4 now and healthy with a normal life expectancy. She would have most likely died within months if nothing would have been done and people said ‘vets can’t do anything’. It’s irresponsible and cruel to just do nothing, but that’s what breeders only interested in money often do.

The thing to do if you're a responsible breeder and have a kitten you think is unwell is to get a vet to examine it. Not ask on the internet.

Yes I think you're right. A little dwarf rag doll. He's beautiful

Please post more pictures 😂😂 @Madwife123

At 2 weeks old there is very very little that can be done!!

The op has asked if anyone has had a kitten that much smaller than the rest survive. Reality is that it's unlikely. Insurance wouldn't cover it.

2 months is a different ballgame. The kitten stands a chance of surviving surgery etc.

@Austenland I am in contact with other breeders and am an experienced Ragdoll breeder also. Runts are common, a kitten THIS small isn’t. They generally wouldn’t survive this long. I am asking on mumsnet as it was early hours of the morning and I’m worrying about his fate and wondering if anyone has come across anything like this before. It’s not illegal to ask in more than one place you know? Perhaps you go round the whole of mumsnet telling people to go and ask someone else and not post on mumsnet? But that’s what it is for! And it has a cat section so maybe get off your high horse.

@sashh @coffeecupsandwaxmelts He’s not a dwarf. I know the 8 generations of cats behind this kitten and dwarfism (which is caused by a dominant gene) would have cropped up before. This is a repeat mating with an experienced stud. I own mum and grandmother who have both had litters and if any of them had the autosomal dominant gene for dwarfism there would have been more 10000%. Additionally dwarfism in cats results in short legs, but normal body size and birth weight. This kitten is globally small.

@LookUpTonight Did you miss that this kitten is 2 weeks old? Please tell me what a vet can do for a 2 week old kitten if there is in fact an underlying condition? You talk about the kitten with a liver shunt needing surgery to survive. Do you think vets do surgery on 2 week old kittens that weigh the same as an average newborn kitten (100g)!
I will tell you from experience they don’t! The options at this age are see how they go or put to sleep. That’s it. So a vet visit does nothing but risk the kitten catching infection, being separated from mum and risking her rejecting the kitten and achieves precisely nothing. What I have been doing, on the advice of other breeders and experience is waking up every 2 hours for the last 2 weeks to ensure this kitten latches on and feeds. Syringe feed the bigger kittens to fill them up and give less competition for the little one. Weigh daily to ensure weight gain and we have a tube feeding kit ready for if he doesn’t but it hasn’t been needed so far. The simple fact he is alive shows how much we have been doing for this kitten. A vet would have put to sleep by now!

@Clymene See my response above. Vets are very very risky places for tiny newborn kittens. A simple vet visit at this age can mean an entire litter dead if they pick up an infection. And all a vet can do for such a young kitten, that I’m not already doing is put to sleep. So no we haven’t risked the entire litter by going to the vet, particularly when the kitten is gaining weight and feeding currently.

@RandomMess Thank for realising I’m simply asking if anyone has had a very small kitten survive. That’s it. I’m not asking for a diagnosis or advice.

I’m already doing everything that can be done for this little one. We didn’t expect him to survive as they usually don’t. But he did and now it’s been 2 weeks we’ve dared to hope he might stand a chance. Waking up and latching him on every 2 hours means you quickly bond with the little ones and want to try and hope that there could be a chance despite everyone around you pointing out the reality that his chances are very slim. I thought I might get a little bit of positivity and encouraging words from mumsnet that I needed at the early hours of the morning, exhausted and watching the little one feed. But clearly not. Posters who haven’t got a clue what they are talking about have instead jumped on to attack me. Some people are so unbelievably rude!

Oh and to add he is actually insured. Which have breeders insurance which covers mum cat for pregnancy complications, kittens and any issues in them etc. up until the point they are rehomed (not that this little one is going anywhere). So if it does mean this little one needs any care in the future it will be covered. Not taking him the vets is not a financial decision. It’s a protecting him and the rest of the litter when nothing more can be done issue.

I don't know why breeders (not backyard breeders) get such a hard time on here. If cat rescue places didn't have such ridiculous rules for rehoming maybe people wouldn't need to go to breeders. (We got turned down for an elderly cat that no one else wanted for having a cat flap!!! Even me insisting the cat flap would be locked at night wasn't enough).

Anyway I think little runty is a fighter and is going to survive.

More pics please OP 😻

Neither do I.

I understand if someone says I’ve let my moggy roam the street and now she’s pregnant.

When you are talking pedigree cats with full DNA and health testing and a carefully selected stud etc. It’s the not the same thing.

The day that rescue centres are filled with Ragdoll’s they can’t rehome is the day I stop breeding. But that really isn’t the case.

heavens, typical MN response

fingers crossed for your little one. more pics please OP

@BernardBlacksMolluscs
@WhichWitchWillBeWhich

Here you go. Some more pics.
His name is Malin, it means little strong warrior.

He such a little sweetheart, walking well today and eyes open and focussed. His eyes look a bit bulging as he is so skinny bless him. But gained another 7 grams today and has a nice round belly.

And here is mummy who is doing an amazing job and not protested once at me following her round with a kitten every 2 hours to let the little one get some extra feeding time while the other kittens are asleep.

Bless him very skinny.

I hope he makes it, it's so sad when the odds are stacked against them.

MIL used to breed Ragdolls. She has a few that were such characters and a matriarch that was a completed cow and would have nothing to do with her kittens the hour they turned 6 weeks. Fortunately her Persian girls adored any babies and used to take over mummy duties.

Malin is so cute hopefully he is perfectly healthy just small.

He is.

He weighs 107g today. That’s the average weight of a newborn kitten so he is very small.

Despite being small and skinny he has a nice round tummy however and has just had a good feed so hoping he can beat the odds.

Our runt was not only tiny with front legs too small but inherited cat ‘flu from her feral mother and had two courses of antibiotics after they were rescued, befire she was 4 weeks old. She was also riddled with fleas, worms and infections in both eyes. Two and a half years on, she’s still 2/3 the size of her sister but an absolute stunner and feisty as you like. I’m sure she’d win beautiful cat prizes if we entered her.

As a pp mentioned a possible liver shunt, I also work in a rescue and have some experience with that. We did have a tests and a scan done on a 3/4 week old kitten which did indeed have a liver shunt. It meant we could wean onto suitable food and then have the operation performed early. You don’t sound very knowledgable OP.

My little runt will be 10 years old next month, and she's appropriately called 'Baby'.

@Madwife123 best of luck with baby boy!!

mum is absolutely gorgeous.😍

Do your best to ignore the insulting posters!!

Such a sweet little mite
a round tummy isn’t always a good thing in kittens. It can indicate worms especially in untreated kittens or kidney issues I believe. If you don’t want to risk a visit in person to the vet how about a
house visit or a teams call?

hope he makes it