One of my kittens seems smaller than her sibling

teholimau

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I’ve been taking care of two kittens for about 5 weeks now, both are now 8 weeks old, but one of them seem much smaller than her brother. They’ve both been to the vet once at 5 weeks old but the vet passed me some vitamins and that was it, is it normal for a kitten at 8 weeks old to have this size?
 

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moxiewild

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Waaaay too difficult to tell by photo, and they are not discernible in that particular picture, either 😆

If you can tell us how much they weigh, that would be far more helpful!

For the smaller one, how is her body condition? Does she feel boney? Are her ribs felt way easier than her brother, a little easier, or about the same?

Some kittens are runts, and some are just simply smaller than their siblings.

For example, I have two sibling sets right now -

One set is a litter of 3. Initially, one of the boys was twice the size of the other two for quite some time. Eventually the other male caught up, but the female didn’t. She’s still a dainty little thing at 4.5 months (I got them at 8 weeks).

The other set is just two siblings, acquired at about 8 weeks as well, they’re about 11 or so weeks now I think. Since they’ve been with me, the female has been a pretty full figured lady, while the male is an itty bitty button, cute as can be!

Some kitties are just smaller, and 8 week old kittens have a lot of growing to do still! If you’re worried, asking your vet doesn’t hurt!
 

golondrina

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It is not advisable to separate kittens from their mum before they are at least 12 weeks old but that wouldn't have anything to do with their difference in size. The importance thing is that they are all gaining weight. Are you weighing them daily at the same time?
 

moxiewild

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It is not advisable to separate kittens from their mum before they are at least 12 weeks old but that wouldn't have anything to do with their difference in size. The importance thing is that they are all gaining weight. Are you weighing them daily at the same time?
Most kittens that age are separated because the mother either can’t be found, something happened to her, or she is feral. Most of the time.

But it’s highly likely OP didn’t buy or adopt these kittens who otherwise could have stayed with Momma.
 

abyeb

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It’s normal for kittens in a litter to be different sizes. As long as both kittens are healthy and continuing to grow, and your vet isn’t concerned, then I don’t think you need to worry.
 
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