Surprise, Surprise! My Kitten is a Cat!

[Gypsy Rose]

Dropped off Trixie at the vet's this morning, did some grocery shopping, and came home to a voice mail message from the vet.

Trixie's at LEAST 1 1/2, possibly 2 years old! And on top of that, it looks like there might be a spay incision- hard to tell under all that hair. She'll be staying at the vet clinic overnight, anyway, since she was already sedated, lol.

She has the posible beginnings of an ear infection starting, so she'll be sent home with a wash for her ears- yipee! And I'll have deworming medication to give her, but I expected that one.

It really bums me out to see a full grown cat in the state she was in when she came. Her body is the size of a kitten, yet she's a full grown cat. She was undernourished big time, that's for sure. Who knows how long she was out on her own, and why.

Hard to believe I underestimated her age by that much!

Here's some pics from the last few days:

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=58&pictureid=4371

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=58&pictureid=4370

[Remali]

Awww....she must've been thru some rough times before she found you.....at least the vet caught the ear infection tho, so that is good. Odd tho that someone cared enough for her to get her spayed, maybe she somehow got lost or her previous owner moved and she ran off and got lost. She sure is beautiful, and she sure has a great home now!

[Cat]

She is a cutie. However, her size may have nothing to do with nutrition, but genetics. Heck I have one line of bengals that consistantly throws females that are only 6 or so pounds while the boys are 15 lbs. Its been like that for three generations.

[Gypsy Rose]

I understand that, Cat, but what about that bone structure? Holy cow, her paws are huge!

[vicklynn]

Ive seen some cats with paws bigger than themselves. Probley just genetics.
She sure is a cutie. So Trixie is it? She finally got a name...wohooo.

[Cat]

I understand that, Cat, but what about that bone structure? Holy cow, her paws are huge!

I've seen that plenty - there are some cats who just have huge paws. A friend of mine had a purebred Norwegian Forest Cat. That girl was all feet and coat. She was surprisingly light compared to what she looked like.

[Gypsy Rose]

I'm curious if she's part Maine Coon or not- she sure has a lot of the same characteristics that Junior has.

The vet weighed her in at 8 lbs., a little underweight, even for her size, lol.

[Cat]

Dang girl - 8 lbs is not kitten weight - unless its maybe a boy. My bengal girls range in weight from 6-10 lbs for the females. Boys are always bigger.

She may be part maine coon - hard to tell. I know for the bengal rescue several of us breeders are "IDers" for them. We look for certain traits in not only coat and pattern but the actualy head shape and body structure to ID potential bengals or bengal mixes and give the rescue a yes or no answer on which cats to pull from the shelter. Maybe there is a maine coon rescue out there with similar IDers? Since they would be the ones most familiar with the breed, they would be the ones to ask about the potential "maine coon-ness" of your girl.

[Gypsy Rose]

I'll have to see what Jessie at the vet clinic thinks, she's our resident cat breed expert.

As for her weight, keep in mind, she actually turned out to be older than I thought. And she was so under weight when she got here, she looked to me like somewhere between 4 and 6 months. Guess I'd never be able to have a job aging cats, lol!

Funny thing is, the vet clinic hasn't seen too many Maine Coons over the years, that's why Junior was such a novelty.

Oh, well, if she goes down as a DLH, I'll love her just the same- she's my computer buddy- in fact, I'm missing her right now- she's usually on my lap with her paws on my arm, or trying to lay on the keyboard shelf, which consequently shoves it in- real blast to type!

[rums_mom]

i've had full grown cats on the petite size as well. Very surprising she is not a kitten at all thought, isn't it. You can probably do a search and find a Maine Coon Cat site that gives identifying info. My son had researched them when we got Haze.

[Nudge_gurl58]

Wow what a surprise!
My kitty Sunflower also has those huge paws! :) She has long fur too.

Keep us updated! have you figured out a new name?

[oursarge]

I've seen that plenty - there are some cats who just have huge paws. A friend of mine had a purebred Norwegian Forest Cat. That girl was all feet and coat. She was surprisingly light compared to what she looked like.

My Norwegian was the same way, her feet were huge, you could hear her klomping around the house, she was all feet and hair. The most she ever weighed was 7 lbs. She looked like she'd weigh a ton but was like a feather. I miss her. I think Miss Molly has alot of Misty in her, she does exactly the same things Misty did including ripping paper.

Trixie is precious, I would have never guessed she wasn't a little kitten though. We had a cat dropped off here and since it was female we took her to the vet and found out she had been spayed. I could not imagine someone spaying a cat then dumping her but that's what happened. She was a nice cat, under 2 yrs old. Once she got food in her she grew to be 15 lbs! We lost her to heart disease, it was very sad but at least when she was here we loved her and missed her alot when she was gone. I still miss her and Misty and all the others.

I hope Trixie's ear infection will clear up fast. She is a beauty and she looks very happy in her new home. She might just be a small kitty but with you taking care of her she might do some growing. I know with norwegians they don't reach maturity until they are 3. Does she have ear or paw tufts? She might have Norwegian or Maine Coon in her, I'm not sure but MC cats might be slow to mature too? Hugs to Trixie!

[Nudge_gurl58]

-just noticed that you called her Trixie- :p Is that what you're going to keep it as? It's really cute!

[WashingtonBay]

maybe she somehow got lost or her previous owner moved and she ran off and got lostOr anything.... I know I've lost many cats, and had many find me in life, I think some just decide to move on... her being thin and on her own, but tame, might mean a lot of things, and it may not be anyone's fault at all that she ended up lost and missing regular meals.

[Gypsy Rose]

She has the ear tufts, and the paw tufts as well, she also has the laid back personality. Maine Coon's are slow maturing- they don't reach full growth until at least 2.

Good Maine Coon info and pics:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine_Coon

And here's Junior for comparison, who has been recorded in the vet clinic as a Maine Coon X:

About 7 months:
http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=58&pictureid=402

Full grown:
http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=58&pictureid=990

[PoniesRock101]

awweys junoirs such a cutie. big surpriseshes actually a cat, such a tiny little thing. i'd agree she looks part mane coon!