Kitten Francis is three weeks old but weighs only 4 ounces (113 grams), about the size of a newborn. The shelter brought him in, knowing something was off.
Francis is a 3-year-old kitten who was recently rescued from the streets. The problem with Francis is that he’s so small – he can fit a spoon! No one believed that Francis would make it through, but the kitten was determined to survive and eventually did.
They took the kitten to the NOVA Cat Clinic, where Ellen Carozza, a Licensed Cat Veterinary Technician, took over to foster it when it needed intensive care.
Francis has a large head compared to his small body. “His siblings weigh 10 ounces or more, but he only weighs 4 ounces,” Ellen said.
On initial examination, they discovered that the boy had a heart murmur and had lost some hair. They went ahead and did two more tests on the kitten to confirm its diagnosis.
From the very beginning, young Francis never let his size falter. He’s a great eater and will keep meowing until Ellen picks him up and cuddles him. He is equipped with a small but powerful snarling engine.
Francis must be bottle-fed around the clock. When he wasn’t eating, he snuggled up to Ellen, who took him to work to feed him and carried him in her pocket when he demanded her full attention.
Ellen’s resident cat, Benny, became the kitten’s foster father. He would bathe the boy after he finished eating and watch him learn to use the litter box and take his first bite of solid food.
When Francis tried wet kitten food for the first time, he beat it like a champ. An important milestone for the magical kitten. “After talking to several experts, he doesn’t have hypothyroidism as additional tests have confirmed but may have a growth hormone deficiency,” Ellen said. “He’s got a lot of problems that we’re working on, not just because he’s young.”
At six weeks old, Francis was the size of a 3-week-old kitten. He is very small for his age but the tuxedo boy is a warrior. “Weight is 0.755 pounds…mostly in the belly,” wrote Ellen.
Francis has a loud voice and tries his best to be a big boy. A week ago, Ellen found the perfect outfit for the little tuxedo.
He’ll go home to an Ellen family member when he’s ready. Francis was getting older so they upgraded his bed. At eight weeks old, the sweet kitten with the perfect mustache is already in full bloom.
He’s gone from a kitten, about the size of a spoon, to a dashing guy in the best tuxedo.
“Patience, perseverance and perseverance saved his life. Never give up on your most difficult cases, someone will be ready to help you,” Ellen wrote. Francis came to the vet clinic as a test case, but they never gave up on him!