Toybob Care Calendar: Tiny Body, Big Risks

A Toybob adult weighs 1.8-3.2 kg, and many stay under 3 kg for life. That single number drives the whole calendar: small livers store little glycogen, small jaws crowd a full set of teeth, and small bodies make drug doses unforgiving. Weigh weekly in the first year and monthly after, and treat every 100 g as a real change.

The year at a glance

Period	Coat and mouth	Weight, joints, room
0-6 months	Soft brush weekly; check for retained baby teeth at 5-6 months	Weigh weekly; 4 meals a day; warm bed, no draughts
6-12 months	Brush 3 times a week; start tooth brushing	Weigh every 2 weeks; 3 meals; watch the gait after jumping
January-February	Weekly brush; longhair twice weekly; ears weekly	Monthly weigh-in; room at 22-25 C; covered bed in use
March-May	Longhair coat change: comb every other day	Annual check and dental look; nails every 3 weeks
June-August	Weekly; check the tail base for grease	Room under 27 C; water in 2 bowls; no high shelves
September-December	Weekly, more in the autumn moult	Autumn and year-end weights; vaccine and parasite dates

Kitten months: the hypoglycaemia window

Very small kittens have tiny glycogen reserves, so a missed meal or a chill can drop blood sugar within hours. Feed four meals a day to 6 months, three to 12 months, and never leave more than 8 hours between meals in a kitten under 4 months. Signs are wobbling, drooling, a glazed look, and cool ears.

If that happens, rub a pea-sized amount of glucose gel or honey on the gums and call the vet; do not wait for the next meal, and do not pour liquid into the mouth of a wobbly kitten. A kitten that has had one episode should be fed five smaller meals for a week and weighed daily.

Weight: weekly in year one, monthly after

Adults sit at 1.8-3.2 kg (4-7 lb), and the breed is meant to stay small, not thin. Use a kitchen scale with a box, weigh before the first meal, and record it: in a 2.5 kg cat, 100 g is 4 percent of body weight. From 12 months, once a month is enough; in a cat that has been ill, daily until the weight is stable for 5 days.

An average adult needs 30-45 g of dry food a day, split into three meals. That is a small volume, so a measuring scoop is not accurate enough; use the scale. Treats come out of the daily ration, not on top of it.

Teeth in a crowded jaw

A full set of 30 adult teeth in a small jaw means crowding, early tartar, and retained baby teeth. Check at 5-6 months whether the adult canine has pushed through beside the deciduous one; a double tooth needs removal, usually at the same time as neutering. Brush three times a week from 6 months with a finger brush.

Red gums at the molar line, metallic breath, or dropping food means a dental appointment within a week. Drooling, pawing the mouth, or 24 hours without food is same-day, and the reasons are in dental disease.

Knees, jumps, and the furniture

Patellar luxation is reported in small breeds, and the early sign is subtle: a hind leg that hitches for a step, then returns to normal. Check once a week by watching the cat walk away from you on a flat floor. A hitch more than twice a week, a cat that stops jumping onto the sofa, or a leg held up for minutes needs an orthopaedic exam; grade 3-4 luxation is usually surgical.

Build the room for the body. A low, wide tree of 0.8-1 m, steps up to the sofa and the bed, and no shelf above 1.2 m: a 2.5 kg cat landing from 1.5 m takes the same impact per kilo as a big cat from twice that height. Check reclining chairs, sofa beds and gaps behind furniture before sitting down, as in cat-proofing your home.

Anaesthesia and the vet visit

Low body mass makes dosing unforgiving, so ask for a clinic that weighs the cat on the day and calculates drugs from that number. A pre-anaesthetic blood panel, an IV catheter, and dedicated monitoring are reasonable requests for a neuter at 6-8 months. Ask what the practice does for a 2 kg cat that stops breathing, and accept only an answer that involves a machine, not a guess.

Bring the weight history to every visit. A trend line tells the vet more than a single number, especially in a breed where 200 g is a tenth of the body.

Warmth, play, and the small-cat routine

Keep the main room at 22-25 C with a covered bed and no draughts; small bodies lose heat faster and this breed seeks warmth constantly. Twenty minutes of play a day, split into two sessions, is enough, and most of it should happen at floor level. A wand toy dragged along the ground, a small tunnel, and a puzzle feeder suit the body better than a tall tower. Nails every 3 weeks, since short legs mean claws catch on fabric.

Mistakes that cost the most

• Judging weight by eye in a cat where 200 g is a tenth of the body.
• Leaving a kitten under 4 months alone for a working day without food.
• Ignoring a retained baby tooth until the adult canine is displaced.
• Buying a tall cat tree because it looks proportionate in the room.
• Booking any clinic for a neuter without asking how it doses a 2 kg cat.
• Free-feeding dry food to a cat that cannot reach the bowl rim comfortably.

When to call the vet the same day

Wobbling, drooling or cool ears in a kitten, a seizure, a leg held up for more than an hour, refusal to eat for 24 hours, straining in the litter box, or breathing that stays above 40 a minute at rest. A 100 g drop with a dull coat in an adult is a 48-hour call, not a wait.

This month: a kitchen scale and a weight log, glucose gel in the kitten box, steps to the sofa, a dental check at the 6-month mark, and one question ready for the clinic about how it doses small cats.

Frequently asked