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When a Garland, Texas vet tech spotted a stray pit bull along the side of the road, she was amazed to find the dog nursing a 2-day old kitten.
The unlikely pair were alone, with no other dogs or kittens in sight, but had somehow found one another – this gentle mother dog, who’d recently given birth and was producing milk, and the lone kitten who’d been separated from her mother and needed to nurse.
The veterinary technician brought the unlikely duo back to Mercy Animal Clinic where she works.
The Pit Bull, who staff has named “Pittie” is unrelenting in her affection for the tiny kitten, named “Kitty,” showering her with kisses and cleaning her, as if she were one of her very own puppies.
“The dog is sweet and loves the kitten, but her milk is drying up,” Mercy Animal Clinic wrote on its Facebook page. “We are bottle feeding the kitten today and placing it in a home with a nursing mother cat tonight.”
Both animals were cared for by veterinarian Rick Hamlin, DVM. He took Kitty home with him each night to make sure she was fed. However, Pittie was not happy about her baby being taken away, giving a howl of disapproval each time.
Dr. Rick and Mercy Animal Clinic cared for the tiny kitten for about two weeks. During that time, she was cared for with constant love and affection. Sadly, Kitty did not survive.
On Easter Sunday, the tiny girl passed away. Dr. Rick explained,
“She started to fade a few days ago, feeding less and less, and finally passed today. I performed an autopsy on her at the clinic and found that she had congenital malformation of the urinary bladder and kidneys.
It is entirely possible this is the reason she was found adopted by Pittie by the rescuers, perhaps her mother recognized the defect and made the decision to concentrate her efforts on raising the healthy siblings.”
Although her life was short, it wasn’t without love. She was blessed to have been rescued by Pittie and shown compassion and companionship in her short time on Earth.
Pittie, although she misses her baby, is doing very well and the team at Mercy hope to find her a loving forever home soon.
Robert Chisholm
says:I have raised several new born kittens and despite not being a vet, I was horrified at how this vet was feeding the kitten from a bottle solely for the purpose of obtaining a video. They need to be wrapped in a tea towel and fed in a quiet and still environment. Allowing the pitty to lick and nudge her during feeding would have contributed to its demise. The autopsy report showing genito-urinary issues would have been the result of not allowing the mother pitty full access to the kitten so she could stimulate voiding by licking which is what a mother cat does. I’m seriously pissed at how this was handled and even an autopsy on the poor kitten was not needed.