This adorable cat still looks like a kitten and will never grow any bigger due to an ᴇxᴛʀᴇᴍᴇʟʏ ʀᴀʀᴇ condition which has currently only been documented in one other feline.
Munchie is a 7-month-old cat the size of a tiny kitten. He weighs just about 1.7 kg and he won’t get any bigger due to his ʀᴀʀᴇ condition called ʜʏᴘᴏᴘᴀʀᴀᴛʜʏʀᴏɪᴅɪsᴍ, which has been ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ in only one other kitten in the whole world. However, that doesn’t stop him from making people smile at how adorable he is!
His human, Emily Tomlinson, first came across Munchie at the ᴠᴇᴛᴇʀɪɴᴀʀʏ clinic where she works. Emily explains: “So, I work in a ᴠᴇᴛᴇʀɪɴᴀʀʏ practice. He got handed in at practice after being found by a lady near to a park. I fostered him for a week, then adopted him when no one came forward to claim him. He already had ʙɪʟᴀᴛᴇʀᴀʟ ᴄᴏʀɴᴇᴀʟ ᴇᴅᴇᴍᴀ, which is his ᴄʟᴏᴜᴅʏ ᴇʏᴇs, but this does not affect his everyday life and he knows no different. This was the beginning of September 2019 and he was suspected by the vets to be 3-4 weeks of age.”
Emily said: “So, I work in a ᴠᴇᴛᴇʀɪɴᴀʀʏ practice. He got handed in at practice after being found by a lady near to a park. I fostered him for a week, then adopted him when no one came forward to claim him. The cute kitten already had ʙɪʟᴀᴛᴇʀᴀʟ ᴄᴏʀɴᴇᴀʟ ᴇᴅᴇᴍᴀ, which is his ᴄʟᴏᴜᴅʏ ᴇʏᴇs, but this does not affect his everyday life and he knows no different. This was the beginning of September 2019 and he was suspected by the vets to be 3-4 weeks of age.”
“Everything was going well until Boxing Day when he unexpectedly ᴄᴏʟʟᴀᴘsᴇᴅ. I rushed him straight to the out-of-hours ᴇᴍᴇʀɢᴇɴᴄʏ vets, where they admitted him for ᴜʟᴛʀᴀsᴏᴜɴᴅs, x-ʀᴀʏs, ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴛᴇsᴛs, and ɪɴᴛʀᴀᴠᴇɴᴏᴜs ꜰʟᴜɪᴅ ᴛʜᴇʀᴀᴘʏ. Upon running types of blood, his calcium level was 0.52. They actually ran his ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ again because they thought it could be wrong, but it came back the same. He was given calcium via I.V and spent the next 4 nights in the vets being kept stable. ʜʏᴘᴏᴘᴀʀᴀᴛʜʏʀᴏɪᴅɪsᴍ wasn’t originally tested for as it was so unlikely to be ᴅɪᴀɢɴᴏsᴇᴅ in a kitten. We did, however, do this ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ test recently and with his other ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴛᴇsᴛs, it was confirmed he does have ʜʏᴘᴏᴘᴀʀᴀᴛʜʏʀᴏɪᴅɪsᴍ, which he will need lifelong calcium and vitamin D for,” Emily recalls the day they found out that Munchie has ʜʏᴘᴏᴘᴀʀᴀᴛʜʏʀᴏɪᴅɪsᴍ.
Emily tries to be positive about this miniature cat’s condition even though it will certainly affect his later life. They give him extra supplements for vitamin D and calcium, which have to be fed to him in small portions of food multiple times a day in order for him to lead a normal feline life. Said: “He’s relatively normal, except for being a dwarf kitten. He does have days where he’s quieter and not as playful, but due to having ʜʏᴘᴏᴘᴀʀᴀᴛʜʏʀᴏɪᴅɪsᴍ, sʏᴍᴘᴛᴏᴍs of this are ʟᴇᴛʜᴀʀɢʏ and ᴛɪɴɢʟɪɴɢ sensations, among others. At home, he’s quite happy to potter about and do his own thing. If he wants attention he will come and seek me out for it – he loves cuddles, sleeping on me, and face-rubbing mine constantly. This adorable cat is a real sweetheart.”
From the first time Emily saw Munchie she fell head over heels in love with him, and her first reaction was to give him a big cuddle. He has a cheeky personality and when she first took him home she wondered how all the other members of her family would react. But she had nothing to worry about. She said: “So, Munchie gets on with the other animals amazingly. He hit it off with Bella from the start (she’s my dog.) Junior wasn’t a fan of Munchie to begin with – it took a few weeks for him to stop grumbling at Munchie. Aslan and Munchie hit it off straight away.” It’s good to know that Munchie is in good hands and is surrounded by a family that love him.
