Teacup Kittens!!!!!

TEACUP KITTENS!!!!!!

Okay- so this is not something to eat or drink, but they are called "teacup" kittens....and I love kittens/cats.  After reading about them, I do no think I could ever own one.  They sound too fragile, and with the shorter life I would hate to loose one after only a few years.  But, boy are they adorable!

Teacup Cats

In addition to chondrodysplastic dwarf cats, there are a number of normally proportioned dwarfed breeds. These are usually termed "mini" or "teacup" to differentiate them from the short-legged dwarf cats. Some may be due to a condition similar to primordial dwarfism found in humans. There are several lines of Teacup and Toy Persians currently being bred, with some due to a spontaneous mutation and others due to consistently selecting and breeding the smallest individuals from each generation to progressively downsize the breed.

Teacup cats are simply small "miniature" cats (meaning a size smaller than the category of cat called "miniature cats"). Smaller than usual cats occur for several reasons - some genetic, some hormonal and some environmental. Miniature cats are usually about one third to one half the size of normal size cats of the same breed. A genuine Teacup Cat however, is born with a genetic dwarfism that, instead of making just the legs short, causes the cat to be proportionally small all over. The discovery of this genetic mutation has caused popularity of the teacup cat to spread like wildfire.

Many breeders will agree that most "teacup" cats are, in fact, scams. Usually these cats were runts, born too early, or severely emaciated when they were a kitten. When buying "teacups" of any animal, take caution, as most primordial dwarf cats are born with severe health problems. Some common health problems of "teacup" cats include:

• Severe growth retardation causing bones to become misshapen and soft
• Slowing rate of muscle mass growth. Causing weakness of the cat and a possibility of decreased use of limbs
• Heart murmurs and enlarged heart
• Seizures and other neurological problems, possibly causing blindness
• Soft spot in top of skull, leaving cat susceptible to major head trauma
• Misshapen jaw and bowed legs
• Shortened lifespans
• Reproductive organs never growing or growing in a malformed way

Due to their very, very small size it is impractical to take them home before they are at least five months old. Cat experts encourage you to take care when acquiring these very small cats, as miniature kittens are much more vulnerable than normal sized kittens.

 Persian teacup kittens/cats have 3 layers of long, thick hair that has to be maintained and it's important that families seeking these graceful creatures understand what they're getting into with grooming. If your lifestyle is such that you can't devote at least 2 'grooming sessions' a week to your feline family member, then you must incorporate a professional groomer into your schedule.