A mom is a mom is a mom!!!
In Stephen’s City, Virginia, Kathy and Jimmy Martin are true animal lovers, and so it appears is their Golden retriever named Honey. Honey had produced some beautiful puppies, but hadn’t had a litter in over 18 months when Jimmy brought home a stray kitten that he had found. Jimmy noticed Precious (what they named the kitten) when the kitten ran in front of his concrete truck. He also noticed that no Mom cat came running and that’s when he decided to bring the orphan kitten home.
Of course the kitten was a little confused and cried for a period of time upon arrival at the Martin’s residence. In an effort to comfort the kitten, Kathy said that Honey began licking and loving the kitten. Well, within a few short days, Honey began to naturally lactate. Precious had no problem taking the milk from Honey and so she nursed the small kitten as if it was her own.
This was a welcomed relief for the Martin family. Precious wouldn’t take milk from a bottle and the family was concerned that Precious would die without proper nutrition. At first when Jimmy brought Precious home, they attempted to keep Honey and Precious separated. With the delicate condition of a kitten, they thought that perhaps Honey would play a bit to hard and injure the kitten. Honey would try whenever she could to get a sneak peek of the kitten. Eventually, the Martins allowed the two to meet and Honey was thrilled with the new Martin family member.
According to a vet that the Martins spoke with, interspecies nursing does occur, but it is a rare occurence. Recently however I came across a picture of a piglet being nursed by a dachshund. The piglet’s mom couldn’t take care of him, but the dachshund did and keeps this pink little “pup” especially clean. Mother nature is a wonderful thing, isn’t she!!!!
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