Kitten that was born tiny never grows bigger, worrying her owners, but turns out she just has dwarfism and will be tiny forever: 'We weren't sure that she would even make it'

Author image for Mariel Ruvinsky
Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor
Jan 27, 2025 9:00 AM EST

Something that we learned very quickly after we adopted our first kitten is that… kittens grow up fast. One moments, your kitten can fit in the palm of your hand because it's so small. The next second, that same kitten is so big it barely fits in your lap when you sit down. Kittenhood passes quickly, so we have to cherish it. Take those pictures, hang them up, kiss that kitten's itty bitty forehead as many times as it will allow, because soon enough, it won't be a kitten anymore. Usually. Sometimes, a kitten is born with a condition that makes it stay small forever. 

Meet Mini, a kitty cat with dwarfism. This teeny weeny cat is never going to get any bigger than it already is. It is forever a kitten. Sort of. Obviously, she's going to keep growing up and getting smarter and more cunning, but her size will remain forever the same. Which makes everything so much harder. Everyone knows it's way more difficult to ignore the demands of a kitten. The smaller they are, the bigger their powers of meownipulation. 

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    "Remember Mini (MEGA)? Turns out she is perfectly healthy she just has dwarfism... She is 5 and a half months old now and just over two pounds."

    STYL
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  • We always tell people to cherish the days that their cat will be small, because those days are few. Not here. And yes, a part of us is indeed jealous. We miss the days when our chonky cats could fit on our shoulder and walk around with us around the house like that. 

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    Pause Mone SAM THE
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    BOOBYVA AND BET D ERSUS
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  • But more than anything, we wish this kitty health. We know of a bunch of health risks that come along with a cat having dwarfism, and we hope - we pray - that this kitty will be healthy and happy with its family for many, many years to come. 

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    Darthsmom What a cutie! We believe my Luna is a dwarf (she's 5 lbs at 10 months- seems like she was stuck at 2.5 lbs forever!) I'm glad your baby is healthy! Luna has had a lot of health problems. If they haven't checked her liver enzymes, I would suggest having them checked just to be sure.
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    IllustratorBig8972 OP So there can be a lot of problems associated with dwarfism in cats, however, we haven't had any problems so far. She has been seen by a vet and Doc says just keep up what we've been doing and she should be just fine. So sorry to hear that you've had problems with your little one. I hope that she gets better and you don't have any problems in the future. She is adorable.
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    chaoticidealism Awww! She looks healthy too! Small, but healthy. We'll take it! What a happy ending for such a tiny kitten!
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    IllustratorBig8972 OP She has been coddled since the day she was born. We had to put in a lot of extra work with her, and we could not be more thrilled to see her so happy and healthy.
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    Ashlei-Chef-Leilani How old was she is the first pic? She looks so tiny
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    IllustratorBig8972 OP If you can believe it, she was 11 weeks old in the first photo. She was so tiny that we weren't sure that she would even make it despite all the effort.
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    Appropriate_Sky_6571 how do you handle the cuteness?!
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    IllustratorBig8972 OP We don't. We just let her overload us lol
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    thesleepymermaid Those EYES!
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    IllustratorBig8972 OP She's all eyes lmao. They're pretty much the only feature that will show up in pictures
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    Ksh_667 Pic 5 is the happiest cat pic I've ever seen! Her whole expression says - "I've found my hoomin!" U
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    IllustratorBig8972 OP All the babes love cuddling with my husband. He generates more heat than me lol
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    sharppointy1 Mini is so adorable and as long as she doesn't have serious life problems then I think it will be adorable to have a smol illegal mini void in your life
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    IllustratorBig8972 OP At the moment, there's nothing to suggest that she's gonna have any further problems. We are however, prepared for that day if it comes. Just keeping our fingers crossed for her.
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    durhamruby She at least looks healthier.
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    IllustratorBig8972 OP She was impossible to get weight on initially. She was bottle fed every three hours every day for the first three months of her life. She eats just fine on her own now and eats multiple times a day.
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aww pics wholesome cat dwarf adorable tiny cute cute cats small Cats
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