I’ve fostered newborn kittens before and watching these tiny fuzzballs discover the world around them is something truly wonderful.

Something similar happened to Jamie, better known as Kitten Foster Mom. She is a wonderful foster hero, working closely with Baby Kitten Rescue located in Los Angeles, CA.

They were contacted by another foster mom who did her best to care for a litter of three kittens. However, one of the kittens from the litter named Lucy needed special care.

The woman contacted Jamie, knowing she was more than capable of such a task. Without hesitation, Jamie took the litter under her caring hand and was ready to face any challenge.

Lucy had pneumonia, but what worried Jamie was her size. Lucy and her brothers were 5-week-old kittens, however, compared to her brothers Lucy looked like a newborn kitten, as Jamie shared in a post:

“This tiny little baby is 5 weeks old and weighs only 128 grams. For scale, some newborns to one week olds weigh this much, so needless to say, she is very underdeveloped.”

Luckily, Lucy’s appetite was strong and Jamie soon realized the tiny fluffball had a strong will to survive!

Her foster mom made an appointment with a neurologist wanting to rule out any serious health issues that might be causing her delayed growth. In the meantime, Jamie did her best to care for little Lucy.

In just 48 hours Lucy went from a lethargic little kitten to a bundle of energy. She started using the litter box all by herself and even made a bunch of biscuits with her tiny paws! As Jamie shared in an update:

“Lucy still sleeps a lot, but she is having longer and more energized periods of awake time than she had previously, so I’m feeling more confident about her recovery. The goal is to get her well enough so she can be reunited with her brothers. I’m taking it day by day, but today was a huge milestone.”

Unfortunately, the tiny soul was still battling pneumonia and breathing was an extremely exhausting task for her. However, Jamie was there by her side to comfort her and carefully monitor her medication.

Finally, the appointment with the neurologist arrived and luckily Jamie had some amazing news for Lucy’s followers, as she shared:

“Dr. O’Neil said Lucy looks like a perfectly normal kitten, she’s just smol. He did say that she should be checked for hypothyroidism once she’s big enough to have blood drawn. Dr. O’Neil said Lucy needs to be twice the size she is now before taking blood, so we’ll have to wait on that testing.”

Lucy was now officially in the clear, however, something else troubled her foster mom. 

Lucy had no signs of pneumonia left in her lungs, however, her breathing was still shallow. Her foster mom immediately rushed her to the vet.

This is when the vet discovered that Lucy suffered from Flat Chested Kitten Syndrome also known as pectus excavatum. According to PetMD, this meant her rib cage was not formed correctly.

Fortunately, this could be easily managed at home. She had to wear a tiny splint around her rib cage to help it form properly. However, this didn’t stop Lucy from purring and making the tiniest biscuits ever!

After almost a month in her new foster home, Lucy finally gained some weight. She weighed just one pound, however, this was a huge milestone for her!

On the other hand, the splint she was wearing was working out perfectly. Her chest started to become round and she could finally breathe normally! As Jamie shared in an update:

“Exciting news! Lucy no longer has to wear her bra! Now that Lucy’s chest is no longer flat, she is breathing so well! She’s even more energetic than she’s ever been; probably because she’s getting more oxygen and isn’t getting winded from playing.”

Meanwhile, her brothers Brian and Patrick were officially adopted! However, little did Lucy know she was about to join them…

When the family learned that Brian and Patrick had a tiny sister, they instantly decided to adopt her as well. However, she still had to stay with Jamie until she fully recovered.

Now that Lucy was all alone, Jamie showered her with cuddles and attention, as she mentioned in an update:

“The adopters still have every intention of also adopting Lucy once she’s ready, but that will be months from now. I’ll make sure to give Lucy extra love and attention now that she’s a singleton.”

This feisty little fuzzball warmed my heart on so many levels. Hopefully, she will join her brothers soon and enjoy the rest of her life in her forever home!