Li'l Bub's mission statement, as stated on her Facebook page, begins with a thesis statement that I think we can all empathize with:I AM A GIRL. I am a real animal. More specifically, a very special, one of a kind cat." Specifically, Li'l Bub, now a Buzzfeed celebrity and touted on her YouTube channel as "the best living creature on Earth," was born (not bred) a dwarf, a polydactyl, and will remain a "perma-kitten" for the duration of her life. Her owner claims she doesn't meow, but she does "squonks, squeaks, gurgles, snorts, hiccups, purrs and sometimes even growls." She has extra toes and, as a result, 22 claws. She can't really walk or run, mostly just waddles. She, uh, doesn't really know how to eat correctly.Or, as her owner lovingly describes her: She has very short, stubby legs and a weird, long, serpent-like body. Her lower jaw is very short compared to her upper jaw, and her teeth never grew in (yes, that's right, she's toothless!), which is why her tongue is usually hanging out.

Miraculously, this all adds up to one of the weirdly cutest, Mogwai-looking motherfucking cats you will ever see. Frankly, this is proof that America/the Internet loves us today. If you disagree, we can never be friends.'Meet Lil Bub, Nature's "Happy Accident" Who Is About To Win Your Heart' [Buzzfeed] > "munchkin kitten" in cats, kittens for rehoming in Ontario Get an alert with the newest ads for "munchkin kitten" in Ontario. Elfie the rescued dwarf cat. « Jump to Album » A dwarf cat tries to pounce on another cat HTML code to hotlink image Embed image in a webpage (eg Myspace): BBCode to hotlink image Code to show image in forums:Elfie and Gimli are brother and sister. The tiny kitties live in British Columbia. Their diminutive size comes from the fact they were born with a form of dwarfism — although it hasn’t stopped them scaling the heights of Instagram stardom. Here’s how they did it. “Elfie and Gimli were surrendered to a shelter at three months old along with their normally proportioned mother,” says the cats’ human.

“The previous owner was concerned about their health and thought they may had been oxygen deprived at birth. I handled their surrender, and as soon as I saw them I just knew that they were special and unique.” At that point, their human whisked the cats away on an initial foster basis — although barely a month later the situation turned into their forever home. Asked to sum up Gimli’s personality, his human says, “He is super fearless and he has no idea he’s a bit different from normal kitties.Blinds For Rv Windows “He’s also super goofy and affectionate and is always looking for human attention.”Light Bulb Vase For Sale Compared with Gimli, Elfie is said to be “more cautious of the world around her.” Replace Light Bulb Bathroom Vent

She’s still a “frisky and playful girl,” though, and she absolutely adores her brother. As their human testifies, “Elfie and Gimli are very bonded to one another, and if you find one of them, you usually find the other.” Both cats are afflicted with dwarfism, so Elfie and Gimli have each developed concomitant medical issues. They’re on a course of medication to battle hypothyroidism, and Elfie also takes extra medication to ward off a seizure disorder. But when it comes to day-to-day cat business, Elfie and Gimli’s dwarfism doesn’t seem to cause them too much hassle. As their human says, “We have a lot of pet stairs around our house, as Elfie can’t jump or climb, but other than that they live pretty normal kitty lives.” At first, you might assume that Elfie and Gimli are munchkin cats specifically bred to be squat and small. That’s definitely not the case, though. As their human explains, “Elfie and Gimli were born to a stray mom and an unknown dad;

their dwarfism is caused by a genetic mutation, just like in people.” “We do not promote the breeding of munchkin cats who have numerous health issues and shortened lifespans,” she rightly adds. “Instead, we urge people to look in their local shelters for their new best friend.” If you check out Elfie and Gimli’s Instagram account, you’ll notice that these two kitties love to play fight with each other. When it comes to their individual battle tactics, Elfie is said to be “big on tackling,” while Gimli plumps for the honorable “let’s paw at each other from opposite sides of a door” tactic. The cats’ human adds, “They both love to chase as well, and you can hear them flying around chasing one another at all hours of the night.” Recently, Gimli discovered his reflection in the top of the coffee table. Hilarity ensued and was captured by Instagram video for posterity. (Seriously, you’re doing the cat world a disservice if you don’t watch it.)

Since then, our little champion has also discovered the alternate universe of mirrors. “He’s convinced there’s a potential friend in there,” says his human, “and if he stares at it long enough, something exciting will happen …” Follow along with Elfie and Gimli’s adventures over at Instagram.Specialty Cats: Dwarf, Miniature and Teacup CatsThese rare and unusual cats are becoming very popular. But not all are genuine "minis"...be careful! What are the different types of miniature cats? The three types of small breeds cats are dwarf, miniature and teacup cats. There are subtle differences between them, but basically these have the common trait of being very small when fully grown. Those seeking miniature cats should be warned that not all petite cats are true miniatures. The normal size range for cats is 5 - 12 lbs. and cats at the lower end of this spectrum are not necessarily miniatures, but may simply be runts that are being sold as miniatures.

The modern trend for miniature cats means that less scrupulous breeders charge high prices for runty or under-sized cats and some "breeding programs" are little more than kitten mills. Genuine miniature cats come from breeding lines where the size trait has literally been, or is being, controlled or manipulated by selective breeding, and where the cats are a consistently small size due to genetic mutation or to progressive downsizing. Genuine breeders pay strict attention to health, hygiene and to the homes their cats are adopted into. Reputable breeders limit the number of litters produced each year to ensure the health of the female cats and will take great care to avoid excessive inbreeding (damaging to the and to continually widen their gene pools. Dwarf cats are domestic cat breeds which have the condition of dwarfism due to a genetic mutation. The Munchkin is the founding breed of the chondrodysplastic (short-legged) dwarf cat. Through outcrossing the Munchkin with a variety of normally proportioned cats a substantial number of dwarf breeds have been developed.

The major dwarf breeds as set by the Dwarf Cat Association are as follows: Bambino - A cross between a Munchkin and a Sphynx cat Dwelf - A cross between a Munchkin and an American Curl Napoleon - A cross between a Munchkin and Persian cat Skookum - A cross between the Munchkin and LaPerm cat Kinkalow - A cross between the Munchkin and the American Curl Lambkin - A cross between a Munchkin and Selkirk Rex Genetta - A cross between Munchkin, Bengal cat, Savannah cat, Domestic Short Hair cat and Oriental SH - exotic, spottemarbled cat like a wild African Genet Minskin - A cross between Munchkin and Shynx cat, Devon Rex cat and Burmese cat The development of dwarf cats is at a fairly early stage (since the mid 1980s) and dwarf cat breeders are currently striving for recognition with the major cat registries. Dwarf cats are not widely accepted outside of the USA. Dwarf cats are potentially banned under the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals (European legislation) and have been condemned in the British Magazine Cat World.

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 withSome 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 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. Be careful when choosing a miniature, because not all teacup cats are in fact miniature cats or dwarf cats. In some cases, a cat's normal size is around 7-12 pounds; therefore some normal cats at the bottom end of this scale may have the appearance of a miniature cat, but will not be an actual "miniature or teacup" because the cat's genetic make up is that of a normal sized cat. Some unscrupulous breeders (and remember for many breeders their primary concern is ultimately commercial gain) will pass off normal/small cats as miniature cats, since miniature cats can fetch higher prices. A good breeder will limit the number of litters to ensure that the queen stays healthy and to help make sure the gene pool is wide to avoid inbreeding (damaging the immune system) which could result in health problems and defects in offspring. Things to Remember When Purchasing a Miniature: