It's been quite some time since I've made a post on teacups. I think my main reasoning for this was because Melvin has been a wonder and has thrived so well, I just lost site of what this blog was originally about. I originally began Mouchois to not only follow Melvin's life, but to also educate others about the dangers of teacup breeding. Since the day Melvin came home with us, I have been taken on a journey I'd never thought I would have gone on with a pet.
Melvin was so tiny and cute. He could fit in the palm of my hand and barely weighed 9 ounces at two months old. I didn't know any better about teacups at the time and was ecstatic to have rescued such a tiny treasure. I was oblivious to teacup breeds and what they stood for. All I knew about Melvin was that he was an only kitten and he had spent his life inside a cage. I now know SO much that I wish I had knew then (not that it would have stopped me from bringing Melvin home, it would have just prepared me for what was to come).
I've decided that it was time to REALLY go into what is so special about Melvin, once and for all. Speaking with veterinarians, this is common knowledge for nearly all "teacup" bred animals, not just cats. So please, before you ask me where you can get a kitten like Melvin (I get at least two or three of these requests a day), PLEASE read the following.
HEALTH PROBLEMS WITH TEACUP CATS:
With Melvin, I have found that there are MANY complications with a cat like him. The following list is just the tip of the iceberg, or so the veterinarians say.
Severe Growth Retardation. This should be a given, but what people don't know about growth retardation is the other problems it will lead to. Bone mass will be softer (hence why Melvin has trouble jumping any higher than a foot or so) and the muscles can depreciate without proper supplementing.
Neurological Defects. This can mean anything from connections in the brain being fragmented, causing sporadic seizures, to nerve damage leading into the brain, causing blindness and "twitches" (Melvin will shake his head whenever he gets excited).
Heart Defects. Melvin's body has not been growing at the same rate as his heart, and it cause his heart to become enlarged and also gave him a pretty noticeable heart murmur. At this point it hasn't caused him any problems, but he is to be watched closely for any problems with fatigue and exertion after short bursts of play.
Bowed Legs. This one may not be very noticeable in pictures and in videos due to the massive amount of fluff that Melvin has, but his legs are pretty severely bowed outwards in the back. The only thing that you are able to notice is that his legs seem a bit more stumpy than any other cats, including those of Persian persuasion. This aids in the problems he has with agility as well as problems going to the bathroom without getting covered in urine or kitty pudding.
Malformed skull. Due to the different rates of growth in Melvin's body, his jaw and skull has become rather disfigured (he pulls it off nicely, though). His bite is terribly shifted to the left and his bottom jaw juts upwards, causing his right bottom tooth to cut into his upper lip. He also has some terrible problems with food getting stuck in the back of his mouth and causing him to choke. He also has a soft spot on the top of his head much like a newborn baby.
Accelerated nail growth. Melvin's claws tend to grow at a VERY fast rate, but are not nearly as hard as Zoey's. I have to keep up with them quite often or he is constantly getting stuck on the carpet.
Reproductive problems. It seems as though Melvin's little nuggets never grew in. He has a spot for them, and he for sure has the drive to use them, but there's nothing there. At this point we are awaiting a spot to open in with our vet to check on this further.
Late Adult teeth growth. Melvin is coming up to a year old and has STILL not gotten all of his adult teeth in. We're not actually sure as to when or if he ever will get them.
Melvin isn't as small as the doctor thought he was going to be, and I feel that this is a GOOD thing. I've done a lot of monitoring, researching and questioning to get him to the plump little cat he is today, yet he is still riddled with various defects.
Still wanting a Teacup kitten?
I would have to say that you were a little crazy and ask how much money you actually have, but if you're still persisting on, let me tell you a bit about where most teacup cats come from. Melvin was a mixture of most of the following.
Runts of runts of runts of runts. The most common way to get a teacup cat is to take the sickly runt of the litter, breed it with another sickly runt, then take the sickly runt from that litter, and keep on keeping on. Most of these cats are terribly inbred and plagued with so many genetic problems that they rarely last past their first year of life.
Keeping proper nutrients from the kittens. Many times, a teacup breeder will take a newborn kitten away from the mother and keep them in a small cage, only to give them just enough food to keep them alive. This is abuse. Clear and dry. If these kittens make it through their first months, they will grow in an awkward fashion and most likely have eating problems causing obesity in their later life. Not only that, they will have severe developmental problems and due to the lack of socialization, will most likely have behavior problems, as well.
Selling the kittens before they are ready. One of the most common scams used in teacup breeding is selling the kittens at a much earlier age than they should be. Many people will be told that the kitten is much older than it is and just think that it is very small. This will give the kitten some behavioral problems later in life and will most likely catch the buyer off guard when the cats grow to be much larger than their "projected weight".
Exploitation of the Primordial Dwarfism Gene. This is what the veterinarians are saying Melvin was born with. Although Melvin isn't as small as we thought he was going to be, it is still pretty clear when you take all of his physical defects into consideration.
Please PLEASE reconsider buying from ANY "teacup" breeder of ANY animal (this includes pigs, which I will be posting on soon enough). I am not against breeding cats as long as you are doing it in an ethical manner, and trying to sell teacup anythings is not ethical. Teacup cats are a SCAM and a money pit. If you happen to breed teacup cats, then I urge you to plea your case. My email is up at the top of the page and I will be more than happy to post your rebuttal.
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