Drita (pronounced like “Rita” with a “D” added on in front) came to us when she was about three weeks old, a tiny little bundle of fur who weighed just over eight ounces. We were confident that, with the good care we gave her, she would begin to grow and put on weight rapidly. But we were wrong. Drita just didn’t seem to want to get much bigger, and she did put on some weight, but very slowly.

Often, when kittens don’t grow quickly, it means that something is wrong, so we were very concerned. Over the course of three months, we tested Drita for everything we could think of, but all of the tests came up negative. The staff worried about her endlessly and gave her a lot of extra attention. For all that cats can be good at hiding illnesses, Drita certainly didn’t seem ill; she was very playful and clearly relished human attention.

At roughly four months of age (we estimate she was born at the very end of August, 2012), Drita is still only the size of an eight week old kitten, and she weighs just about two pounds. We haven’t spayed her yet; she’s too small, but we’ll take care of that once she grows a bit more. We remain unable to find any reason for her slow growth; possibly, she’s a late bloomer, or she might just be very small. In any case, we don’t expect her to be particularly large as an adult. She’s healthy as far as we can determine, with one exception: her bottom canine teeth are poking into her hard palate. These are still baby teeth, but, once they are replaced by adult teeth, it is very likely that these bottom canines will have to be removed. Important note: for multiple reasons, Drita MUST LIVE INDOORS ONLY!!!

Drita has a beautiful grey coat that’s almost woolly in feel, with one patch of white on her tummy. She has pretty pale green eyes, as well. She continues to be extremely playful and has been just fine with the other young’uns in our Kitten Room. Because Drita has been cuddled and doted upon by our staff for so long, she’s quite demanding when it comes to getting affection. She regards it as a matter of course that she’ll get into your lap when you sit down; once there; she doesn’t see a reason to leave. If you gently pick her up and put her to one side, she’ll climb right back into your lap. If you don’t pay attention to her, she might decide to climb you or jump onto your back until you do.

We’re looking for an adopter (or adopters) willing and able to devote a lot of time to our special little girl. Come in to meet her soon, but when she settles down in your lap, be prepared to stay a while!