Cats & Kittens

the kittens. They were both born in the same litter (I am 99.9% they were as they are almost the same height and look very, very much alike.

Dusty, she came to us a few weeks after Princess (as we didn't know she was outside at the time). I weighed them yesterday, well as best as I could b/c you know how wiggly kitties get. :)

I weighed Princess and she's almost 7 pounds. Dusty was next--she ran off the first time (out of my arms)--and she weighs barely 4 pounds...almost 4. That's a big difference for 2 kitties from the same litter, isn't it?

Princess does eat a lot and she does run off her energy. I don't really think Dusty is sick (gosh I hope not, and yes I am taking her to the vet, as both are getting spayed later this month) b/c she runs like crazy at night with Princess and she doesn't act weak or anything. Uses the litter box just fine.

Dh picked her up after I got her from under the bed and noted how little she was. I can't really see her ribs or feel them, but her skin is sorta sunken in. It's kind of hard to tell where she goes during the day--she's usually hiding under the day bed when dh is here, or under the bedroom bed, or behind the fridge. She does eat, but it looks like she's not eating as much as Princess or even Snowball. Tomorrow I am going to watch as see how much she eats the dry food. She does like the wet food though.

It is possible - I have had kittens from the same litter that are all over the board.  I would certainly have the vet check her out...if she appears that thin maybe something is up.  On the other hand, maybe try feeding her by herself at least once per day to try to monitor what she is actually eating.  And if she likes canned food, let her have it.

I am going to try and pay more attention to what she eats today. I did put some FancyFeast little appetizer things down for her to try and to see if Snowball would eat it. She ate it--she kept trying to scoot it over to her so she could eat it, then she would take her paw and dip it into it. She looked cute doing it.

I just set her up to get spayed later this month and I told the vet that she was significantly lighter than Princess. They said sometimes they are like that. They will call me if she's too underweight to have the surgery.

Kittens from the same litter can have so many variations in color, size and personality.  I would try to slip Dusty a little extra food during the day and see it that helps.  Maybe Princess is being a piggy and won't let Dusty eat as much as she would like to.  Some cats and kittens are just light eaters too.

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