A kitten named Wicket is half the size of his big brother. He may be the runt of his litter but has an incredible will to live.
Wicket and his four siblings were rescued by the Humane Society of Missouri and in need of foster care. The shelter reached out to Tenth Life, a rescue group in St. Louis, and asked if they could help.
Tenth Life welcomed the litter of five into their care. "All of the little Ewok crew are pretty feisty but Wicket is the runt and was much smaller than the others," Megan Fogliano, Interim Executive Director of Tenth Life, told Love Meow.
He weighed just 8.9 oz (253 grams), but the little guy was loud, equipped with a serious set of pipes.
Soon after they were transferred to Hannah Miller, their foster mom, she noticed that Wicket started showing signs of illness, and immediately took him to the emergency room.
"Wicket was diagnosed with pneumonia, which could have been very dangerous for a little one like him," Fawn Duve, Director of Veterinary Care at Tenth Life, told Love Meow.
"Thankfully, Hannah is a very experienced foster parent and realized he needed critical care."
The brave little kitten perked up when he was being cared for at the vet.
He ended up staying in the hospital for two days. Whenever someone tended to his care, his little face lit up and he meowed for their attention.
"He won the hearts of the whole staff. As he was getting better, he just wanted to sit in a vet tech's lap and watch the whole hospital," Hannah told Love Meow.
Wicket bounced back and rejoined his siblings (Chirpa, Logray, Teebo, Paploo) last night.
"He is best pals with his only sister, Chirpa, and they are the feistiest and loudest tiny kitten duo," Hannah added. "Wicket has no problem pushing his four big siblings out of the way so he can get his fill of food!
"When his belly is full and he starts feeling playful, he starts dashing in every direction while making a little trill. He may not be dashing toward anything in particular just yet, but when he's a little more coordinated, those stuff toys are going to be scared!"
"Once he winds down, he loves to snuggle into my neck or burrow down into the great grey cuddle puddle, where all five babies make lots of biscuits and suckle their blanket," Hannah told Love Meow.
Today, Wicket is 9 oz at five weeks old, still tiny but mighty in many ways!
What he lacks in size, he makes up for in his larger-than-life personality. He is eating like a champ, working hard to grow bigger and stronger every day.
Wicket is a talkative little guy who loves to tell his foster mom stories. He may be tiny but shows incredible determination to live a full life.
Share this story with your friends. If you would like to support their rescue efforts, click here to see how you can help. Follow updates on Wicket and his siblings on Facebook and Instagram.
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