If you’ve ever wished that your cat stayed a kitten forever, it’s about time you met the viral sensation Francis. Despite being over a decade old, Francis never grew into an adult cat and stayed tiny and adorable forever because he was actually born with dwarfism.
Francis’ cat mom Melina, who goes by @melinaavane on TikTok and Instagram was still pretty young when her parents adopted him. It’s been 13 years since Francis was found and rescued by construction workers, and nothing about his tiny size seemed suspicious at the time.
Everyone expected Francis to grow into a big and healthy cat, but the growth spurt they were looking forward to never happened. It eventually turned out there was a perfectly reasonable explanation behind his diminutive size—he was actually born with dwarfism, a rare genetic disorder that hindered his growth.
Francis now lives with Melina and her rescue cat Maggie, and she says that his tiny size isn’t stopping him from having a big personality.
“My parents have many rescued animals at home, but Francis is the boss. And he knows that. He doesn’t show any fear of the big dogs and loves to cuddle with them. He is the most chill cat I know. He just wants to eat, sleep and cuddle,” Melina told The Dodo.
