Could my Cat be a 'minature' or just stunted?

Hi all!

I adopted Sephera (typical short-hair domestic cat) in June/July of 2005. She was between 6-8 weeks old. Her story was very sad, her mother was hit by a car when *very* pregnant in the parking lot of a small town grocer. The by-standers called emergency vet, and the vet contacted the local animal league. The momma cat was dying, and she went into labor and her kittens were saved. They were then fostered by the a volunteer in the animal league. Nursed by hand on kitten 'formula' and so on....

So when I adopted Sephera she was skin and bones. She ate a great deal but did not gain weight very quickly, the foster mum thought it was that she was just too active. (Which she was!) There were patches of no fur, and her fur was thin... I brought her home and started supplementing kitten chow with formula, and I fed her often. Sometimes, just to keep her from buring all the calories I fed her I would wear her in a pouch on my hip (like a baby), and she was content to watch me do whatever. (See pic (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v688/TheMightyJenJen/Furry%20Creatures/Sferahinpouchtosidehandunder-oval.jpg))

I figured she would start growing faster. But she is only a few inches longer and taller than when I adopted her, and of course her fur has filled out and no bones show. She is very healthy and active, but she is only the size of a 12 week old cat.

A few friends told me she would grow a lot after her first year, but that hasn't happened as we are nearly to her second birthday. Some think she is a minature- but I have never heard of that in cats....


What do you think? Has anyone heard of or seen a minature cat?

Pic Links:
Sephera by the cat brush at 8 weeks (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v688/TheMightyJenJen/Furry%20Creatures/Sferahwithbrushlookingaway.jpg)


Sephera by the cat brush(slightly smaller brush) at 1.5 years (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v688/TheMightyJenJen/Furry%20Creatures/DSCN3892.jpg)

what a gorgeous kitty, just a thought and I don't want to scare you but I also had a cat that never grew, he stayed kitten size but at 1 yr old he passed away from heart disease. I would have your vet check her heart, mine did detect a murmer but said he would be fine, that was not the case. We were devastated and no longer go to that vet.

She looks to me, to just be a small kitty. Like people, they come in all different sizes.

That said, A good friend of mine had a cat that had stunted growth. I forget the exact name of the condition, but it stayed very small. Well, it got fatter, but had short legs, tail, head, the whole 9 yards. Just looked like a fat kitten. She was cute.

Nickie was taken from her mom at a very young age and she too is smaller than average, so there may be something in the mom's milk that promotes growth. I guess if the cat is taken away at a very young age the growth may be jeoperdized...just a thought:rolleyes:

She may just be the runt of the litter. I have adopted a couple of kittens in the past who just never grew to be very big. The latest one is Petunia who I found on the side of the road where her mother probably left her. She was really tiny and is still a small cat at 2.5 years old, although I find that in the last 3 months she has started to fill out a bit. So, your cat may get bigger with time, or she may just be a very small cat. She's very cute.

awww how cute. Sad story though :sad:
was the mom big or small? Because I think that feral cats tend to be smaller to keep up with less food. If they're small their body doesn't need as much.

My kitty was a feral kitten and her mom had 3 and she's really small. Not as small as yours but about half of the normal cat size.

Ooh, she's really lovely. Maybe to be safe you could have her thoroughly checked out by the vet. She may have had some kind of pre-natal injury when her mom was hit by the car. But some cats are just small. This could be it, too.

Its good to know other people have had small cats too! :D

I have taken her to a few vets and they always tell me to 'give her time'... and then charge me $90 for the tip. :frustrated: They think I have her age wrong.... *doh! I adopted her in the summer of 2005... *
Maybe I will try a holistic vet, who will listen to me. And I will bring up some of your ideas. Heart issues, lack of mum's milk, or possibly a prenatal incident. I don't think its very serious, because she's such a crazy cat. She acts like a 12-week-old most of the time. Lots of energy, always willing to play! :D

Thanks again! :D

Those big ears on her make me think of a Cornish Rex or a Devon Rex. Both those breeds are highly active cats too. Maybe she has a bit of them in her? when looking at pics of Devon Rex cats they look to be on the small side to me. she is adorable!!

this is funny... i have a cat that size and almost the same story. i found a litter of kittens in the woods before their eyes were open.... i think they were about 3 days old. i waited to see if their mom came home but i found out that she wasnt takeing care of them because she died. well i took them in and feed them. i kept one and she is now 12 years old. great cat! i love her. she is about 4lbs now. her is a pic of her and her son.

oops... sorry. didnt know that would happen. i ment to give you a web page to go to.

She may well be just small or if her mom was a stray, may not have recieved enough nourishment in the womb and thus was small. Certainly, I doubt it is because she was a bottle baby - I have raised enough bottle babies myself to know their gorwth tends to be as normal as other cats, depending on other extraneous variables of course.

And yes, those ears do indeed make her look like a Devon or Cornish Rex. Perhaps her mom nad some Rex in her? She is adorable. I have seen many small kittens and cats but it can't hurt to ask your vet at your kitty's next check up.

We once had a cat that small also. Same type of story, mother died and then the litter had to be hand fed formula with eye droppers. Thank goodness there were only 2 kittens. The female never got very big but the male grew to be a normal size.