One summer day last year, a litter of kittens was born. It’s well-known that male cats tend to be slightly larger than females, and within the same litter, not all kittens are usually the same size. At first, all the kittens in that litter grew healthily. However, by around 10 days old, I began to notice that one kitten looked significantly smaller and thinner than the others. Despite her determined efforts to nurse, the gap in size and weight continued to grow. At that time, I couldn’t be certain whether it was a case of aspiration pneumonia in the newborn kitten or if something else was wrong. Therefore, I decided to start hand-feeding her with supplemental milk and closely monitor her excretory conditions. She managed to get through that tough period. Just when I thought everything was heading in a positive direction, she stopped eating during the weaning phase. For a kitten of her age, going two days without food could be life-threatening.

I began assisting with feeding again. I tried many types of canned food, but none interested her. Fortunately, I finally found canned food for an adult cat that she was willing to try.