Jill Rosen is a reporter at
The Baltimore Sun. During her nearly 20 years in journalism, she has covered news and features — including a surprising number of stories that involved animals. There were the dog Christmas carolers in State College, Pa. There were the hounds who toured with a production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The story of a preschool teacher at Baltimore’s Father Kolbe School who had to replace her class guinea pig, who died over the winter holiday. A harrowing tale of what it was like to make homemade pet food ...
Though her clean freak of a mother refused to allow her to get a dog, she has had a number of pets through the years, including goldfish named Bob and Fingle, a betta fish named Ichabod, a wild rat terrier named Wendel, who she shared with a roommate, and, currently, sweet, sweet kitties named
Leo Sesame and
Milo Pumpkin and a little rescued pup named
Teddy Bean. She, Leo, Pumpkin and Teddy Bean live in Baltimore.
Comments
Is there something wrong with that cat? Seems off balance...and the back legs are weak. Does this cute little thing have a neural disorder? Cute as all get out anyway...
Posted by: Carmen In Texas | May 20, 2009 5:26 PM
Poor baby. Bitsy looks very unhealthy with a poor coat, runny eyes and a definite lack of coordination. It's unfortunate this little kitty is being shown for the purpose of gaining a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Posted by: SherLP | May 20, 2009 8:33 PM
It looks like a Cerebellum Hyperplasia kitty. Cutie.
Posted by: KIC | May 20, 2009 11:32 PM
Take that cat to a vet! The little cat looks sick! It's disturbin to see humans who do anything to be in the media,at the expence of a sick little cat.
Posted by: Eva | May 21, 2009 2:49 AM
It looks like the kitty has Cerebellar Hypoplasia. We have a cat that also has it and is about that size.
I agree SherLP; it is too bad that some people are so desperate for their 15 minutes of fame that they resort to doing something like that.
Posted by: Michael | May 21, 2009 5:47 AM
Definitley looks like CH, hopefully they can check out www.chkittyclub.com and learn more about it.
CH kitties can live very happy lives and even though they look sad because they fall a lot, they are so sweet and again so happy. Their personalities just shine.
Posted by: Jennifer | May 21, 2009 8:58 AM
She's a rescue stray. The people are trying to HELP her. She was just recently found.
Posted by: Jamie | May 21, 2009 9:12 AM
I thought Guinness had stopped supporting records such as this because it encouraged irresponsible owners to withhold nutrition from their pets? The last thing these people should be thinking about is a world record--that cat is sickly and needs veterinary treatment and time to heal and put on weight, not time in the spotlight.
And by what definition is this the world's smallest cat? Kittens ARE that small, especially if they haven't been getting proper nutrition. It's very irresponsible of CNN to cover this as news.
Posted by: carli | May 21, 2009 9:39 AM
The negative comments surprise me. Some just don't like cats or people who love them. Thanks Jamie for the sanity. I would love such a special tiny cat. If it were mine I would proudly show it off and share it with everyone who might also love it, just as I do with the cats I have.
Posted by: geo | May 21, 2009 12:32 PM
I also read somewhere else that this was a stray that was just recently found. I think that explains why it's potentially malnourished and sickly.
Posted by: annie | May 21, 2009 1:11 PM
I am the owner's daughter. Bitsy has been seen regularly by our veterinarian since she was six weeks old. She is now nearly 14 months old. She eats all that she wants to, several times a day. Her eyes are NOT runny, though her coloring may suggest that to the camera. We know that Bitsy is not 100% healthy, but we do all that we can to give her good quality of life and to keep her as healthy as possible. She is a very special cat who is great loved by her human family.
Posted by: Auriette | May 22, 2009 8:46 PM