Mittens the Pekingese is a very special dog. When Eric Novotny rescued a tiny, near-death feral kitten from a barn, 4-year-old Mittens the Pekingese did what came natural to her. She took the kitten under her paw. She curled up next to the kitten. She seemed to know that the kitten was in trouble, said Novotny’s grandmother, Pat Weber, according to the Huffington Post.
“I put the baby down on the floor, and my dog Mittens came over and started sniffing,” Weber told CBS News. “The kitten was meowing. Mittens starting licking it. And licking it and nudging it and then she laid down right by it.”
Then the kitten began to suckle Mittens, and Mittens allowed it. Three days later, Mittens began producing milk. She was last pregnant more than two years ago. Mittens the Pekingese is a very special dog.
“I couldn’t believe it at first,” Weber told The Star Tribune. “Later I took some pictures and took them to church and told people I had a miracle to share. The miracle was that after three days my dog had milk to feed the kitten with, and I didn’t have to get up every two hours to feed her formula out of bottle.”
Under Mittens’ care, and with her milk, the kitten began to thrive.
“It’s growing like crazy,” she told CBS News. “She takes care of it, and cleans it and loves it. I have never seen anything like this before.”
“The vets checked her milk and everything,” Weber said. “And both of them are healthy. He said just let them do it.'”
John King, executive director of the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association, told The Tribune, “There’s a strong maternal instinct in many animals, and they will foster other species. It depends on the temperament of the individual animals, both the baby and particularly the mother.”
“I don’t know if she thinks it’s a cat or if it’s a different type of dog,” said Novotny, the teen who found the kitten. “I don’t think she really cares. I think she’s just happy to be a mom again.”
