My Miniature Cat

Miniature cats normally come about because of genetic mishaps. The queen (mother cat) could have been extremely ill during pregnancy or the father could have transferred a genetic problem to the embryo. Miniature cats in general are born VERY small and don't seem to grow much at all. They tend to be much smaller than their siblings and may be a bit slower. Not all miniatures are slow at the getup, though. There have been miniature breeds that functioned and learned at the same rate as a normal cat.

My little one is unfortunately severely deformed, as can happen and is quite common in miniatures. She has cleft feet, not much of a neck, an odd-looking palate with very small teeth (except for her fangs, they stick out over her bottom lip a bit), and she has an odd voice. When she meows it almost sounds like she's a child screaming "Ma! Mom!" She doesn't sound at all like a normal cat (this tends to get very loud at night when my boyfriend and I are trying to sleep). Baby, that's her name, also has an odd posture. She has the look of a hump on her back, although this isn't the case. She marches or waddles when she walks and can't climb. I don't like putting her on the bed because if she were to jump off or fall she would break both of her front legs. She never learned to use the litter box despite all of my tries, so I have pee pads I use to keep her from making messes. I also have to bathe her regularly as she doesn't have the capability to bend her head at that sort of angle. She eats regular hard cat food (I feed her Purina One Sensitive Systems, the same I feed my other cat).

So, Baby kitty is quite a lot of work I do admit, but she means the world to me. I don't know what I'd do without her. I raised her from a newborn and bottle fed her, after all!

In general, Munchkins aren't easy to come by and if you happen to, be prepared to possibly take care of a special needs kitty. Not all are high maintenance or as deformed as my little girl, but it can happen most of the time. Some mother cats (as I've noticed with the mother of my Baby) have a knack for birthing miniatures. Her momma was also a smaller cat, but not dwarfed. Unfortunately her mother was attacked by an animal and was killed. RIP Yukina.

I hope my info and personal experience was a bit informative and interesting to read. Not many people are aware of these little creatures and some even abuse them. Not physically, but by attempting to breed them and killing them by doing so, or using them as a money-maker. I hate it when I see this. All these kitties want is love.

Last night, my boyfriend had my little kitty sitting on his belly, and he was rubbing her back. She rolled over and started to attempt to clean her paws, and it was very cute. She has been improving little by little, and can walk a little faster than she used to. She notices food if it is cooking in the kitchen, and we 'sometimes' give her a little piece of what we're eating. It's an occasional thing so as to not compromise her health, and I am extremely picky on what she is given. I love my little girl, after all, and don't wish for her to become unhealthy!

As you can see, she is developing very slowly at four years old, but she is slowly developing nonetheless! She will now make attempts to play with a string or ribbon, but because of her short front legs, can only attempt and then finally bite at it. I've had her wobble after her own shadow before, and she looks up (raises her head all the way up) a little more often. I have an artist friend who is drawing her into his children's novel, and he promised to make her very smart, and very cute.

She is definitely a little treasure, and is becoming more vocal about her needs. She cries to let me know when she's hungry, right after she 'potties' (which is good, ha!), and she looks to me for attention. She loves being on the bed with me, and I let her nap beside me at times. Her favorite place is to be curled up under a blanket, and I have given her a soft and fluffy blanket to lay on when she is on the floor. She doesn't do much moving around still, but I hope she will get to that soon!

I have often caught my older cat, Lizzie, cleaning her ears and head. Lizzie must know she is special and wishes to care for her, because Baby cannot care for herself. I have to give her baths whenever she gets a bit stinky, and I bathe her with regular Dawn dish soap. Using this type of soap is wonderful for their skin, (and wonderful for the donations it gives to help save wildlife!) Dawn dish soap will help revitalize and renew the animal's skin, but Baby still seems to have very bad dandruff on her back. She is still sprouting kitten fur, and as often as I may brush her, I can never seem to get it all out. It seems that once I get the money, I will have to get a kitty shaving brush and shave her down to make her feel better. She may move around a bit more then.

Be sure when you obtain a little dwarf kitty that you are prepared to put in a lot of caring time. These little ones may not always be able to bathe themselves if they are as deformed as my Baby, and be sure not to leave them on a couch or bed unattended. If a little one were to jump off of an area that high onto the ground, it is possible for them to splinter their little leg bones. Baby cannot absorb the shock with her deformed front legs, and letting her jump could be fatal or cause her serious injury. These little cats need to be monitored for most of their activity if they are jumping around playing. This is coming from a very protective mother, so I may be exaggerating a bit, but this information is based off of my little girl and her deformities. I care for her so very much that I wouldn't want any injuries while I wasn't watching!

She mainly stays alone in our room still when I am not around, but she seems happy. I have plans to get her that kitty trimmer and groom her into more comfort! I will update when I get the chance to groom her properly.