Hi there!
I have a tiny girl named Willow, who at one year weighs somewhere around 2 1/2 pounds. I can tell you that she did grow very slow because she didn't have much weight to gain, unlike our 10 pounder who grew fairly quickly throughout his first year. As long as your baby is eating nicely then I wouldn't worry too much yet.
Do you free feed him? Dry or kibble? I know that when Willow was smaller, she wouldn't eat straight kibble. She had to get started on something wet and only then she would eat her kibble.
As for the health problems, it depends. If the tiny was bred to be small, it will generally have more problems. Willow is a runt, her parents were 4 and 6 pounds and so far she has had no problems except for luxating patellas. She had only one hypoglycemic episode and she was spayed when she weighed just over 2 pounds and did just fine. She was about 7 months at that time. I would wait until he is at least two pounds to get him neutered.
I have not heard of vets waiting for the rabies until they are 4 pounds....Willow sure wasn't 4 and never will be! In fact she is about to get her one year booster. I just make sure that Willow's shots are given one or two at a time and not the big combo shots all at once, especially the rabies shot....
Hope this helps! |