Our barn cat had kittens 4 weeks ago (they will be 4 weeks old on Sunday). There are 5 of them, and they are SO cute! They are growing perfectly and developing on schedule. Well, all but one of them.
The one I'm talking about is the "runt". She has always been smaller, and averages about 2-4oz smaller than the rest of her litter mates. She seems to be developing slower also. She was the last one to open her eyes by 2 days, and she was the slowest to learn to crawl, and is still very unsteady while the others can move around with ease.
I have been wondering if she has vision problems for about a week now, but today I became very concerned. I keep them in our shop, but today I brought them out to our front porch to let them explore. What concerned me was that she would get about 2-3 feet away from her mother and she would freeze and start screaming. She wouldn't even try to look for her. She did this multiple times. It seems like she can see shapes enough to not run into anything, and can follow us around, but often when she gets within 3-4" from something she will stick her paw out to try to touch it before she will approach. She responds to me when I come up to the crate I am keeping them in, but only after I speak, whereas the others start meowing at me as soon as they see me.
It is also like her rear legs don't work as well as her front legs. They are very wobbly, and occasionally she will drag one of her legs behind her for a couple steps. The other kittens will climb into my lap without a problem if I'm sitting on the floor, but she will pull her upper body onto my leg, but then stops. I have to pull her the rest of the way up.
She is doing really well in regards to food, though. She eats dry food with her mother already, and she loves the groul (formula mixed with a tiny bit of wet food) that I give her.
Should I be concerned?
The one I'm talking about is the "runt". She has always been smaller, and averages about 2-4oz smaller than the rest of her litter mates. She seems to be developing slower also. She was the last one to open her eyes by 2 days, and she was the slowest to learn to crawl, and is still very unsteady while the others can move around with ease.
I have been wondering if she has vision problems for about a week now, but today I became very concerned. I keep them in our shop, but today I brought them out to our front porch to let them explore. What concerned me was that she would get about 2-3 feet away from her mother and she would freeze and start screaming. She wouldn't even try to look for her. She did this multiple times. It seems like she can see shapes enough to not run into anything, and can follow us around, but often when she gets within 3-4" from something she will stick her paw out to try to touch it before she will approach. She responds to me when I come up to the crate I am keeping them in, but only after I speak, whereas the others start meowing at me as soon as they see me.
It is also like her rear legs don't work as well as her front legs. They are very wobbly, and occasionally she will drag one of her legs behind her for a couple steps. The other kittens will climb into my lap without a problem if I'm sitting on the floor, but she will pull her upper body onto my leg, but then stops. I have to pull her the rest of the way up.
She is doing really well in regards to food, though. She eats dry food with her mother already, and she loves the groul (formula mixed with a tiny bit of wet food) that I give her.
Should I be concerned?
