kitten not gaining as much weight as sibling.

by Fatima

I have two 7 month old black, female cats both from the same litter. We picked them up from a rescue centre three months ago (when they were 4 months old) and were told that they had been rescued from a very stressful environment. Both had white flecks in their black fur which I believe is stress as one cat has gotten rid of most of these now and has a lovely full coat. The other cat is much thinner and has very thin fur with lots of white bits in it (although I think she should have a full black coat normally). We have fed her up a bit and she is very active and playful but after three months she still doesn't seem to put on much weight and still has thin fur. I took them to the vets this morning and they gave her a general check and said they were both fine but I wonder whether anyone might have any advice as to why she won't put on weight or has little fur.

Thanks

Answer by Kate
Hi
well I have never heard about the white flecks being associated with stress before. I would have said that it is more likely that one of their parents may have had some white fur. i say this because i have two brother kittens, one is tabby and white the other black and white. They both have little flecks of white mixed in with their black and tabby coats too.

Also you may not know that a cat can have a litter of kittens which have different fathers. This can cause differences in their over all stature.

Again using my two as an example. the tabby and white has a much fuller figure, more sturdy and has a very dense coat of fur. Where as the black and white is slighter in build and also has thinner fur. they both eat the same amounts of food and are both really happy and healthy. Now it could be that the black cat has genes from a cat that also had a thinner coat and i wonder if this is also the case with your cat.

you have done the right thing in checking with a vet and so you know that they are healthy.

I wish you many happy years with your two new furry friends. :)

best wishes Kate

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