8 week old kitten only weighs about 12oz?

astarael

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Hello!

I got a kitten yesterday, I was told he and the rest of his siblings were born on March 28th, I was also told that he was the runt of the litter. His dad is a classic persian and his mom I believe is a longhaired tabby. Before I got him I was told he and his siblings had a bit of an eye infection,they were being given drops for it and its mostly cleared up now, just a bit of darkish gunk but no new actual gunk. He wasn't quite as playful as his siblings and was more cuddly as well.

When I picked him up his siblings were much bigger than him, I wasn't too concerned because he was eating pretty well, but then I googled how much he's supposed to weigh at his age now and then actually weighed him and now my anxiety is having a bit of a freak out. Right now I'm mixing a small amount of his dry food in with his wet food, he only really wants to eat chicken and he really loves the royal canin mother and babycat wet food. I tried to see if he was interested in the kitten formula (I can't remember what it's called) but he was super not into it. I'm going to continue to feed him or at least offer him food fairly frequently.

My biggest concern is that he's just so tiny? He sleeps most of the day, which is probably normal for kittens and when he's awake awake he's bouncing around exploring and playing. I'm mostly just scared there's something horribly wrong with him that I don't know about, or if he's actually younger than they say he was.He has a vet appointment on Wednesday but good god am I anxious lol.
 

StefanZ

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Good you are aware... If he is apparently healthy he may even be a "miniature cat". Such happens now and then.
Best were if they by some reason are telling untruth and he is younger than his "littermates"

Everything is floating, it may go well, it may crash... Just to pray and give him best food and care...
Good you are consulting a vet.

Goats milk, preferably raw?
 

jefferd18

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Are you sure you are weighing him correctly? The weight you have given would match a one week old kitten.
 
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astarael

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Are you sure you are weighing him correctly? The weight you have given would match a one week old kitten.
I'm fairly sure, I've been using a food scale when he's sleepy. I just weighed him again (He ate a good bit just a little bit ago) and the scale says 12.4 ounces. He's also definitely bigger today than he was yesterday.
 
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astarael

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Good you are aware... If he is apparently healthy he may even be a "miniature cat". Such happens now and then.
Best were if they by some reason are telling untruth and he is younger than his "littermates"

Everything is floating, it may go well, it may crash... Just to pray and give him best food and care...
Good you are consulting a vet.

Goats milk, preferably raw?
Unfortunately I don't think I can get any of that where I live.
I think in part he might be tiny because his litter had 6 kittens in it, so he might have gotten pushed out. I'm going to make sure he has plenty of wet food available, he's been eating quite a bit and hopefully everything turns out well!
 

jefferd18

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He is acting healthy, eating, drinking, and playing, like a kitten should, so I would imagine he might be younger than what you were told. People are so desperate to part with a litter of kittens that they will sometimes fudge about their age. I am still having a hard time with that number you gave so I will be interested in what your vet says.
 

Sarthur2

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Can you post a photo? He should begin to catch up over the next few weeks now that he is eating well. He may simply not have had enough food. Twelve ounces is what a 3-week-old weighs. He should weigh about 2 pounds at 8 weeks. He sounds healthy though, and good that you have him now! :)
 

Willowy

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I once gained possession of a couple of malnourished kittens who weighed 8 ounces at 8 weeks :/. They had lost 2 littermates before that, but the last 2 grew up big and strong, normal cat size and weight. The female died quite suddenly at age 9, so she may have had an undiagnosed heart issue, but whether that was caused by the early malnutrition or just a fluke, who knows. The male is still going strong and is 11 now.

So, yeah, 12 ounces is very small but just keep feeding him and he should catch up eventually. It might not be fast. The 2 I raised barely made the 3-pound cutoff for being spayed/neutered at 6 months, they did most of their growing after that. But it should be a steady gain even if small.

But if he doesn't gain weight steadily now that he's being fed properly, definitely call the vet. There might be something wrong internally.
 

Petey's Dad

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A friend of mine took 3 kittens from their mother when she noticed the mother rejecting them. She bottle fed them until they were ready to eat on their own and turned them over to me to find homes for them. The 2 females were significantly larger than the male. I can't remember the weight exactly, but thinking it was around 10-11 oz. When I first put the wet food down he kneaded and suckled on it. Today he's a solid 13-14 lb. cat.
 

golondrina

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Hello astarael, welcome to TCS. How was the little runt's appointment with the vet yesterday? Would love to see a pic of him.
 

kmchood80

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I foster kittens for a shelter in Arizona and I currently have two 7 week old kittens that are only 12 ounces.. they are failure to thrive and were basically starved.. they are also on a high calorie diet and gaining a little bit each day and will catch up eventually.. Make sure you have a crash bag for kittens that small.. it should contain a very high calorie can of food and a little bottle of sugar water are the 2 most important things to have in there.
 

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IndyJones

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Where do you think?
I foster kittens for a shelter in Arizona and I currently have two 7 week old kittens that are only 12 ounces.. they are failure to thrive and were basically starved.. they are also on a high calorie diet and gaining a little bit each day and will catch up eventually.. Make sure you have a crash bag for kittens that small.. it should contain a very high calorie can of food and a little bottle of sugar water are the 2 most important things to have in there.
This message is from 2020 the cat would be full grown by now.
 
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