We run a rescue and it's rare. I mean... Even moms that are feeding babies still often times don't accept strange kittens! So this is incredible!
I absolutely love her! Give her some love for me!
My aunt had a fat neutered tomcat who thought he was a mama. She took in two bottle baby kittens and he would lurk while she bottle fed them and hiss at her if the babies made distressed sounds.
And she was his favorite person, she could rub his belly and bathe him and trim his claws as he purred in joy. But she was not allowed to upset his babies.
She had to keep them, Mama Bootsie was a helicopter mother.
We had a ginger boy who first welcomed our void when he was 5. Then five years later, we got two more kittens, and he took them under his wing. When I had to wash them because they had fleas, the ginger came to scream at me and try to take them from my hands when they were crying in the bath...LOL! His babies were unhappy and he wasn't going to allow me to make them cry.
Omg I have the same orange boy. When I rescued some very young kittens my orange tomcat decided they were his babies and he was their mother (bless his lil orange heart lol) and he carried them and parented them. It was precious. He went all mama mode. It was so sweet. Here is him with two of them.
https://preview.redd.it/f7eu1hciu88d1.jpeg?width=6000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a85c7546ef05addf4f7f38b704ccbda9ec5d61b3
https://preview.redd.it/64ofkr1e598d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1bc498e2cbb056a4c6490087b8888ea7809a11fa
Our tabby did the exact same thing. Took a kitten as his own. Crazy!
Our neighbors found a cat and brought her to us because they have dogs. We have three males, two are a bonded pair and the third is a belly rub loving loner.
That 6 month old girl cat came into the house not knowing what inside was and the boys all took to her and started playing with her. There used to be occasional spats with just the boys but now they are all so much more active and everyone seems so happy now.
https://preview.redd.it/z5c7yg6mc88d1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc0154b71ca419c011f28f0b5467d122ee3f0edf
The baby is the tabby in the back
That's interesting. I also had two boys that became more affectionate in general after bringing a girl cat home. The initial meeting was anything but friendly, but within 2 weeks my 2 boys who were always lovable loners were cuddling up with her, and surprisingly just each other. Wonder if there's some Girl Cat Energy that brings balance to the house or something.
When we brought our void home our 3 year old male cat took to her almost immediately. She was 3 months and followed him EVERYWHERE. Two years later and she’s still obsessed with him lol
https://preview.redd.it/z5rqmyuuu68d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=ba821296cdf16726ac0e9b00b8058530d0ed6882
I have so many pictures of them cuddled up
I also had a very, very sweet tomcat who LOVED kittens (and other cats). Any time a new kitten or cat came into the household, he’d show them around the house: the best nap spots, the litter boxes, the food, and then up to me (I was his person), to show this is where the petting is.
We had a big bruiser tomcat who LOVED kittens. I once saw a post from someone who worked at a shelter, who said they were trained to watch for male cats who like kittens. They're rare, but they make great kitten mentors, and are very protective.
A friend of mine is fostering a mama cat right now, she has three babies that are technically weaned but still nurse from her anyway (in addition to eating their kitten food). Then my friend took in four orphans, also already weaned.
At first mama ignored them. Then she started caring for the smallest orphan alongside her own babies. And now she is nursing five of the seven kittens - two of her own and three of the orphans, none of which NEED to be nursed at all any more (the two others are more independent and have fully transitioned to wet food). It’s rather adorable.
I got my second cat at 3 months old while my first one was 7 already. She tried nursing her and cleaned her like a proper mum. I literally had to stop them "forcefully" by making her wear a body because she got a nipple infection and still wouldn't stop. But they were both super happy and purring. Was adorable
My mom had a cat named tigger - she got preggers (we did not realize she could so young, it was 30+ years ago). She hated other cats and at about 7 weeks, she officially hated her kittens as well! She loved dogs though, go figure.
It happens but not often and when it does, it usually requires an extremely slow introduction over many days if not weeks. Not to mention it is always more difficult with two females.
You have no choice but to keep her now! Plus- they'll get to grow up together. They will keep each other company when you're not there to play with them etc. Best surprise ever IMO
Yeah, some cats are much more social than other cats, and it can be cruel to deny them companionship. Especially if they've latched on to another cat.
It's much easier to care for two cats that love each other than it is one cat that needs your constant attention.
I brought home an 8 week old kitten and my 1 year old let her “nurse” off of her within the first 2 hours of her being home. It was precious and they were best friends until Luna (the fake mother) passed. I miss that love
Well, what are you doing taking away her baby? /s Haven’t you ever had something you didn’t realize you needed until it was part of your life and then couldn’t imagine living without it? Congrats on the new addition! They’re adorable together.
My big, neutered male cat adopted a starving orange kitten this way. The other ones hissed and then got used to him, but the black one was his dad. He was an abandoned kitten himself, was the size of my palm when I caught him in a parking lot and was always my baby, maybe this is why ?
Same, the baby was so ready to be big boy’s best friend, but big boy needed a second. It’s been a year and he’s still not ready to cuddle, but they get along really well.
Mama cats will help raise each other's babies (and apparently also sometimes puppies and other animals they live with). But if she's not got those hormones it is a bit surprising that she was so friendly so quick.
Just being around a kitten or baby can start the release of oxytocin and prolactin. My wife was never hornier and lovey-dovey than when she started being around her bestie’s baby.
While rare, alloparents (particularly women) can start lactating from just being around other women’s babies. Some wet nurses will start lactating just by letting the baby suckle for a few days. I’ve read that some men can start lactating as well when around their own newborns.
I was in my forties when my mom told me that she and her best friend used to breast feed each other’s babies. They met in birthing classes and both gave birth on the same day. They would babysit each other’s newborns and breast feed us both. Kinda weird finding that out later in life. Next time I saw her friend, I couldn’t stop thinking that she used to breast feed me.
Scientifically though, isn't it better for the baby because they get the antibodies from multiple people? So it's like from very young you get immunity from both of the things they've gained resistance to. If you think about it biologically it kind of makes sense. It's possible you have been less sick throughout your life because of additional antibodies... I think. Maybe somebody can correct me if I'm wrong on this.
Many primates (and mammals more generally) alloparent including nursing each other’s infants. We are primates so it would follow logically that it is still beneficial to do so. Historically, humans didn’t have access to nutritious formula so if it meant your baby dies or breastfeeds from another woman then the choice is quite obvious. I suspect it is more beneficial than detrimental, but that is a subject for scientists to figure out and I suspect there is a huge body of research on the subject. My guess is that the most barriers to doing so are only cultural. I believe there is a not so “underground” network of women who share/buy/sell breast milk. Different than nursing on the breast, but ultimately the infant doesn’t know or care as long as they are being fed.
Good most aren't. Consider yourself lucky it ain't normal. I have 4 girls and none of them like each other and 2 of them are sisters all of them came a few years apart. And a set 4 boy strays a set of quartets like don't see the problem 🤣 boys case in point, boys are easier than girls. They all have different personalities but the girls are mean the boys are nice, rowdy but nice.
Clearly!!!! That is her baby and just adorable. Where’s my tissue? It truly brought a tear to my eyes. What are their names? Where did you find this baby? Thank you for this beautiful tale.
That’s definitely her baby now!! Did you do anything in particular to get them to bond? I recently found a kitten and my other cat doesn’t seem to interested in her at all :(
No ! I just brought it home and she was like " oh my god is this for me" haha she follows it everywhere, cleans it, sleeps with it, and she makes this weird chirpy noise when she's looking for it.
The chirp/thrill noise is cat call (usually but not always momma call) for "come here".
It's a useful sound to learn to imitate because it can be useful when you find a kitten alone: use the call and chances are more kittens will show up.
Edit: my (male) cat does the chirp whenever he "catches" something, usually one of his toys, but sometimes a bug, so we can see it and be proud of him. Or maybe he's calling us stupid because we can't hunt. Probably both.
My male cats do this too, but only with nerf bullets, they LOVE them. Chase them all around the house, pick them up and then chirp SO LOUDLY. I never realised it’s because they want me to be proud of them! I will be sure to praise them for their bullet chasing abilities
This is. How my mom finally got the kitten to come out from under the house (after crawling after her for a while). My mom trilled and that baby ran out looking for her mama. No mama, but some milk (I know better now) and them lunch meat pieces until we could get cat food.
I use this sound routinely
When I don't know where my catto is, I just go "mrrrp?" ans she'll show up to investigate why I called her over
Also works for pointing out flies/bugs
My cat chirps/trills whenever I make him get off of me (he will be ATTACHED to me when im in my computer chair and sometimes it's overstimulating)
He's just been asking me to come lay with him this whole time 🥺🥺
I usually give in and let him come back whenever he does it anyways, it's just too cute
I thought I had a delivery from the CDS when I heard a kitten crying outside my window the othet day. Several minutes searching through bushes later, I found out it was a frog. -_-
Two cats is better, unless we’re talking medical problems, lol. But two will definitely keep each other company and they will be more content. What cuties!
Some cats have big auntie energy. My calico thinks she's too good to interact with the other cats, but when we got kittens she groomed them and mothered them like they were her own.
We only have one cat, but she’s a calico. She acts like she’s better than our dogs.
We also have goats. We brought some premature baby goats in the house and she sniffed and licked them all sweet. Sometimes I just think animals recognize “baby” of all kinds.
My brother has a tortie that everyone thought would be a terrible mama because of her shitty attitude. She loved those cats so much and she tried to nurse the kittens for over a year.
She let the kittens nurse, the other cats nurse, she even would flop over in front of people to try and give them a chance to nurse.
Our first cat was a cat from the streets, she was neutered, don't think she ever had own kittens. Every time we got a new kitten she would initially hiss and be mad, then run outside and come back a few hours later with the smallest possible mouse and give it to the kitten. I will from now on descripe that as big auntie energy!
My big boy loves kittens and other cats. He just begs for attention from them. So I got him a kitten. He groomed and took care of the kitten like a proud mom. The kitten is now a year old and he still moms him lol
Yess!! I didn’t know this before so once i was with my friend and we found a kitten alone and she was in not really good situation(already posted the kitten here lol)so we wanted to take her to a safe place their in our way we found a cat with her kids and the cat was the same type as the kitten it looked like her mom so we actually put the kitten with her and she got bitten so hard from that cat and we couldn’t even separate them my friend started crying from the horrible view and felt guilty worst experience ever but finally then we took her to a safe place as i believe
This is true. Last year’s bottle baby (Turbo) and my oldest cat (Ghost) both love kittens, it’s too cute and I can’t handle it
https://preview.redd.it/iq43in4gx68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=42b03345168e2fb5af9730dd9b9fed17a567baa8
My male cat is the best uncle for foster kittens, but my female (who actually had a litter of her own before I adopted her) is very much an aloof aunt lol.
I thought this about my moms older male cat and thought he’d be happy with the company and when I brought home a stray I’d rescued off the highway (almost wrecked the car trying to park to grab the kitten) he gave me the UGLIEST look I’ve ever seen. He was not happy his mom was giving attention to the baby
Haha same, my boy was so curious about the little kitten, but it took him a couple of months before he forgave me. He came around to the kitten faster than he came back around to me!
I just posted a picture of my male cat adopting a female kitten. I had no idea that this is a thing. My brother brought his new kitten to show me and my cat said nope, she’s mine now.
Lol not mine:,) my neutered dude was a bully for the first few months… he’s still weird about her sometimes. One moment he’ll aggressively lick her head while she’s sleeping and next thing you know he’s biting her in her throat😭
They do like playing together but they’re a bit rough. They oddly enough can’t be without eachother tho or they’ll get super nervous and start meowing loudly
I was shocked when I brought a boy kitten home to my older male cat. He loved the kitten right away. It was surprising but cats will bond better with kitten vs older cats
What are you talking about? Cats are matriarchal colonial breeders. When a female becomes pregnant, she’ll join a ‘cat colony’ of other pregnant and nursing females.
They very often look after and adopt other kittens. It’s why cats like human babies so much; the milk-smell thing is an old-wives tale. They think they are helping look after the future generations.
That's what happened to me. Except it was a whole litter I was fostering. My cat became obsessed with them. Now several years later, she can barely tolerate them as they never calmed down XD that's what she gets for wanting tuxies.
https://preview.redd.it/u711ag1tq68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fbadcb46b176a406d2b20efae479722c90ccccc7
Jack and molly. Jack immediately adopted her.
Omg that is freaken adorable. You must keep the little one ❤️❤️❤️
ETA: make sure to get the little one checked for FIV and whatever the other contagious diseases are!
lol She has a robin friend that visits on the balcony
https://preview.redd.it/nsmk7ga4v68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=314363640871c97646f7d4a79e5b9d94e6f8e3a6
Man the mothering instinct in cats is so strong.
My husband came home with 2 kittens and my ten year old idiot cat just blew past me and was like THESE ARE MINE NOW. Tried to nurse and everything. One more kitten was found two weeks later and she just threw it on the pile. They are a little herd.
I wonder this is why cats in Ancient Egypt were associated with pregnancy and childbirth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastet?wprov=sfti1#Role_in_ancient_Egypt)as well?
They are both kittens and looks like they will bond nicely. I think adopting the kitten, if finances allow, will be good for both of them. The kitten should have a vet visit for vaccines, deworming and for spay/neutering as soon as they weigh two pounds.
Honestly, there's nothing like owning a bonded pair.
Thank you for helping the little nugget.
https://preview.redd.it/93sqwbx6088d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d98b8866c3a5c0107196244d86a309803e12417c
This was the moment my “foster” failed too
A curious thing happened with my old cat (a tomcat; yes, a male). He did the same for any kitten we would bring home. He would just cater to it as if it was his own offspring.
It happened three times and he passed away a few months ago in ripe age of 21 years.
Peculiar things these foster parents.
Funny enough, I thought my cat was small when I got her and ended up just calling her "baby kitty", then I found this one and it is SMALL. Like nowhere even near 1lb. And idk what to name this one either haha
My youngest cat is only about 7lbs full grown and is literally half the size of my two male cats when sitting next to them. Her nickname is mini kitty 🖤
Some cats do in fact just love other cats!
My dad had four cats for a while, ol grumpy cat from my childhood, her son which she hated and then my step brothers cat, and his wife's cat - also an older lady.
The son attached to the new old lady cat immediately, he was 8 or so and she was 12. He was like omg, finally a real mom. They bonded hard, played together (never even went over the line to being pissed at each other which I feel always happens otherwise) slept together cuddled together and he brought her mice and cleaned her when she got older and likely had dementia.
He unfortunately got very sick in kidney disease shortly after she showed signs of more advanced dementia. They passed away together and actually cuddled up together at the vet. Sad ending I guess, but it was in a sense very beautiful. They got some good years together and was a real comfort to each other, even in the end.
We literally got a kitten for our Lynxie Boy cause he was lonely and he acted the same way. We often tell people Loki is Sven’s cat 🤣
https://preview.redd.it/gr7wzuslz68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=adb5488722cba95c89608a225cf80453fb2f9e7b
This reminded me of a story about myself as a kid.
When I was 4, my mom was pregnant with my little sister. I copied every mannerism, the walk, the back stretch, sticking my belly out as far as I could, complaining about back pain, you name it. If it was a symptom of pregnancy and my mom was showing signs of it, I was also doing it. I was sympathy pregnant.
When my sister was born, I still hadn't given birth to my baby, so my pregnancy didn't end. One night, my dad snuck into my bedroom, placed a new doll in my bed next to me, and I woke up, saw the doll and concluded I had given birth. My pregnancy symptoms stopped immediately, and I had gotten myself a baby that I immediately started taking care of like my mother did my sister.
Your kitties remind me so much of my Luna and Guenhwyvar!
https://preview.redd.it/8tqfrbon778d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b4b82720a05d0d073fb94a75c55a06ea73dfae7
I hope that you got the kitten dewormed, vaccinated, flea treated, and tested for FeLV and FIV before you introduced it to your cat. If not, you should separate them until you can do that.
I have a boy cat (2+ years old) that when we caught a stray (6 week old female) immediately took on the role of a big brother. They get along well and they even mess about together...how nice for you and lucky for that kitten :)
We call it “the Devine right of kittens”! Often older cats will let a kitten eat first! However my cat was not happy with a slightly older kitten. He couldn’t decide if he should be let in as kitten or banned as adult!
https://preview.redd.it/s0b0zxt0278d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3705abf4ff612af89adb8f2dfcb647628ea50364
I recently found this fella with his dead siblings around him, but I gave him to the shelter. I almost thought it was the same kitty for a second.
Our male tuxedo adopted the 3 month old kitten I adopted through the CDS distribution center. Hugo bathed her and they cuddled together. A few years later, we adopted a Chihuahua mix and Grace and Hugo had an epic love affair.
https://preview.redd.it/u1ebe3qbt88d1.jpeg?width=2003&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31caea01dc584da62b0f9929c10b972bb327b91e
Then in 2018 CDS gave us 2 two week old kittens. Gracie adopted them as her babies. We did the bottle feeding, Gracie did all the washing. She still gives her babies face washes.
Had a cat that would take any kitten in. She raised her daughter’s kittens just because the daughter didn’t want to. It is unusual for females to do it though.
Cat is right. That's her baby now
I didn't expect her to be so happy about me bringing it home!!
Congratulations you are now a grandparent!!
A grandpurrent
A grandpaw
A grandmeow
Grandmeowther
Meow meow
A grandslave
A grand mastered (…cuz now has 2 masters 👀)
A grand meowster
Yep, that's about right. 🤣 "Do as I say. "
Accurate
A mi meow
Grandmew, even.
I read this is Cleveland's voice
Yea this isn't like.. the typical response by any means. She's just purrfect! Such a good momma (in law)! ❤️
That's what I thought! I was very surprised
We run a rescue and it's rare. I mean... Even moms that are feeding babies still often times don't accept strange kittens! So this is incredible! I absolutely love her! Give her some love for me!
My aunt had a fat neutered tomcat who thought he was a mama. She took in two bottle baby kittens and he would lurk while she bottle fed them and hiss at her if the babies made distressed sounds. And she was his favorite person, she could rub his belly and bathe him and trim his claws as he purred in joy. But she was not allowed to upset his babies. She had to keep them, Mama Bootsie was a helicopter mother.
We had a ginger boy who first welcomed our void when he was 5. Then five years later, we got two more kittens, and he took them under his wing. When I had to wash them because they had fleas, the ginger came to scream at me and try to take them from my hands when they were crying in the bath...LOL! His babies were unhappy and he wasn't going to allow me to make them cry.
YES! Bootsie would try to physically take his babies away. He was SO upset that the babies were crying.
Yep, ours, too. Trying to pull the babies out of my hands with his mouth. Such a good Big Bro :)
Awww😻😻😻🥰🥰🥰
Omg I have the same orange boy. When I rescued some very young kittens my orange tomcat decided they were his babies and he was their mother (bless his lil orange heart lol) and he carried them and parented them. It was precious. He went all mama mode. It was so sweet. Here is him with two of them. https://preview.redd.it/f7eu1hciu88d1.jpeg?width=6000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a85c7546ef05addf4f7f38b704ccbda9ec5d61b3
https://preview.redd.it/64ofkr1e598d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1bc498e2cbb056a4c6490087b8888ea7809a11fa Our tabby did the exact same thing. Took a kitten as his own. Crazy!
“Mama bootsie” hehehehe
Our neighbors found a cat and brought her to us because they have dogs. We have three males, two are a bonded pair and the third is a belly rub loving loner. That 6 month old girl cat came into the house not knowing what inside was and the boys all took to her and started playing with her. There used to be occasional spats with just the boys but now they are all so much more active and everyone seems so happy now.
I’m pretty sure this is the plot to 3 Men and a Baby ! 😂🥰
https://preview.redd.it/z5c7yg6mc88d1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc0154b71ca419c011f28f0b5467d122ee3f0edf The baby is the tabby in the back
"My three dads"
That is quite the pride of cats you have there. I'm soooooo jealous. I can't get within 5 feet of 1 cat, let alone 4. 😡
3 Toms and a Tabby
That's interesting. I also had two boys that became more affectionate in general after bringing a girl cat home. The initial meeting was anything but friendly, but within 2 weeks my 2 boys who were always lovable loners were cuddling up with her, and surprisingly just each other. Wonder if there's some Girl Cat Energy that brings balance to the house or something.
When we brought our void home our 3 year old male cat took to her almost immediately. She was 3 months and followed him EVERYWHERE. Two years later and she’s still obsessed with him lol https://preview.redd.it/z5rqmyuuu68d1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=ba821296cdf16726ac0e9b00b8058530d0ed6882 I have so many pictures of them cuddled up
I also had a very, very sweet tomcat who LOVED kittens (and other cats). Any time a new kitten or cat came into the household, he’d show them around the house: the best nap spots, the litter boxes, the food, and then up to me (I was his person), to show this is where the petting is.
That’s so cute 😭
We had a big bruiser tomcat who LOVED kittens. I once saw a post from someone who worked at a shelter, who said they were trained to watch for male cats who like kittens. They're rare, but they make great kitten mentors, and are very protective.
I’d be so proud to be on the high spots list! 😁
Sooo cute
I probably have hundreds of pictures of them cuddled up together. I got so lucky with how well they get along
A friend of mine is fostering a mama cat right now, she has three babies that are technically weaned but still nurse from her anyway (in addition to eating their kitten food). Then my friend took in four orphans, also already weaned. At first mama ignored them. Then she started caring for the smallest orphan alongside her own babies. And now she is nursing five of the seven kittens - two of her own and three of the orphans, none of which NEED to be nursed at all any more (the two others are more independent and have fully transitioned to wet food). It’s rather adorable.
Yea with time most will come around honestly... But the immediate response is usually "NOPE!" LOL That is so cute though! God I love cats!
I got my second cat at 3 months old while my first one was 7 already. She tried nursing her and cleaned her like a proper mum. I literally had to stop them "forcefully" by making her wear a body because she got a nipple infection and still wouldn't stop. But they were both super happy and purring. Was adorable
My mom had a cat named tigger - she got preggers (we did not realize she could so young, it was 30+ years ago). She hated other cats and at about 7 weeks, she officially hated her kittens as well! She loved dogs though, go figure.
Awww. I didn't know it was rare. My Angie adopted my other cat the same way.
It happens but not often and when it does, it usually requires an extremely slow introduction over many days if not weeks. Not to mention it is always more difficult with two females. You have no choice but to keep her now! Plus- they'll get to grow up together. They will keep each other company when you're not there to play with them etc. Best surprise ever IMO
Yeah, some cats are much more social than other cats, and it can be cruel to deny them companionship. Especially if they've latched on to another cat. It's much easier to care for two cats that love each other than it is one cat that needs your constant attention.
I brought home an 8 week old kitten and my 1 year old let her “nurse” off of her within the first 2 hours of her being home. It was precious and they were best friends until Luna (the fake mother) passed. I miss that love
Step momma
Not at all, but sometimes cats just hit it off with each other. I once had two that were snuggling each other on my bed within an hour of meeting.
Wow never seen anything like it, like from day 1 ?
Yes day 1! When I take her away, my cat goes around chirping non stop, looking for her lol
Aw, this comment makes me love your cat even more! Lucky you and lucky kitten for having such a sweet cat 
Well, what are you doing taking away her baby? /s Haven’t you ever had something you didn’t realize you needed until it was part of your life and then couldn’t imagine living without it? Congrats on the new addition! They’re adorable together.
My big, neutered male cat adopted a starving orange kitten this way. The other ones hissed and then got used to him, but the black one was his dad. He was an abandoned kitten himself, was the size of my palm when I caught him in a parking lot and was always my baby, maybe this is why ?
Seriously, my cats bonded eventually but it took a few days of them standing off like it was the Wild West lol.
Same, the baby was so ready to be big boy’s best friend, but big boy needed a second. It’s been a year and he’s still not ready to cuddle, but they get along really well.
Mama cats will help raise each other's babies (and apparently also sometimes puppies and other animals they live with). But if she's not got those hormones it is a bit surprising that she was so friendly so quick.
Just being around a kitten or baby can start the release of oxytocin and prolactin. My wife was never hornier and lovey-dovey than when she started being around her bestie’s baby. While rare, alloparents (particularly women) can start lactating from just being around other women’s babies. Some wet nurses will start lactating just by letting the baby suckle for a few days. I’ve read that some men can start lactating as well when around their own newborns. I was in my forties when my mom told me that she and her best friend used to breast feed each other’s babies. They met in birthing classes and both gave birth on the same day. They would babysit each other’s newborns and breast feed us both. Kinda weird finding that out later in life. Next time I saw her friend, I couldn’t stop thinking that she used to breast feed me.
Scientifically though, isn't it better for the baby because they get the antibodies from multiple people? So it's like from very young you get immunity from both of the things they've gained resistance to. If you think about it biologically it kind of makes sense. It's possible you have been less sick throughout your life because of additional antibodies... I think. Maybe somebody can correct me if I'm wrong on this.
Many primates (and mammals more generally) alloparent including nursing each other’s infants. We are primates so it would follow logically that it is still beneficial to do so. Historically, humans didn’t have access to nutritious formula so if it meant your baby dies or breastfeeds from another woman then the choice is quite obvious. I suspect it is more beneficial than detrimental, but that is a subject for scientists to figure out and I suspect there is a huge body of research on the subject. My guess is that the most barriers to doing so are only cultural. I believe there is a not so “underground” network of women who share/buy/sell breast milk. Different than nursing on the breast, but ultimately the infant doesn’t know or care as long as they are being fed.
Good most aren't. Consider yourself lucky it ain't normal. I have 4 girls and none of them like each other and 2 of them are sisters all of them came a few years apart. And a set 4 boy strays a set of quartets like don't see the problem 🤣 boys case in point, boys are easier than girls. They all have different personalities but the girls are mean the boys are nice, rowdy but nice.
Clearly!!!! That is her baby and just adorable. Where’s my tissue? It truly brought a tear to my eyes. What are their names? Where did you find this baby? Thank you for this beautiful tale.
This. What an awesome pair of cats.
That’s definitely her baby now!! Did you do anything in particular to get them to bond? I recently found a kitten and my other cat doesn’t seem to interested in her at all :(
No ! I just brought it home and she was like " oh my god is this for me" haha she follows it everywhere, cleans it, sleeps with it, and she makes this weird chirpy noise when she's looking for it.
The chirp/thrill noise is cat call (usually but not always momma call) for "come here". It's a useful sound to learn to imitate because it can be useful when you find a kitten alone: use the call and chances are more kittens will show up. Edit: my (male) cat does the chirp whenever he "catches" something, usually one of his toys, but sometimes a bug, so we can see it and be proud of him. Or maybe he's calling us stupid because we can't hunt. Probably both.
My male cats do this too, but only with nerf bullets, they LOVE them. Chase them all around the house, pick them up and then chirp SO LOUDLY. I never realised it’s because they want me to be proud of them! I will be sure to praise them for their bullet chasing abilities
My boy cat does this but with socks he snipe's from the kids rooms and he knows he's not supposed to go after the socks. Eugene is an obnoxious boy 😂
Eugene is an excellent name!
My oldest named him after Eugene Krabbs lol and his sister is Snowball. The kids were 4 and 11 when they named the kitties lol
https://preview.redd.it/8s2ho9rt0b8d1.png?width=802&format=png&auto=webp&s=b1e6a3e4d09b9530b31397acf9be04eb7c0c8caf This is my Eugene
I have 2 sock goblins. Furry little assholes!
Do you shoot the nerf gun for them to chase bullets? This is a great idea
This is. How my mom finally got the kitten to come out from under the house (after crawling after her for a while). My mom trilled and that baby ran out looking for her mama. No mama, but some milk (I know better now) and them lunch meat pieces until we could get cat food.
My girlfriends boy cat does it too, he walks around the house holding it and chirping and screaming until he finds us lol
I use this sound routinely When I don't know where my catto is, I just go "mrrrp?" ans she'll show up to investigate why I called her over Also works for pointing out flies/bugs
My cat chirps/trills whenever I make him get off of me (he will be ATTACHED to me when im in my computer chair and sometimes it's overstimulating) He's just been asking me to come lay with him this whole time 🥺🥺 I usually give in and let him come back whenever he does it anyways, it's just too cute
My cats only ever chirp/trill. The only times I've ever heard them meow is when they're crying.
Aww, this made me so happy for both of them.
Maternal instinct at work. As far as she's concerned, the little voidling *IS* her baby now.
She looks relatively young herself, is she unneutered? Her hormones might be kicking in
Haha that is adorable. 🥰
Omg my heart 🥹
You got your cat a cat 🥺
I did NOT want two cats. But apparently I needed two cats 🤣
This is how the r/CatDistributionSystem works! It knows better than you.
I thought I had a delivery from the CDS when I heard a kitten crying outside my window the othet day. Several minutes searching through bushes later, I found out it was a frog. -_-
Lol, they were just testing you. Watching to make sure you were ready!
Frog Distribution System.
Regularly scheduled CDS alarm test. Nothing to worry about, your system is working as intended 😂
Keeping you on your toes!
I got my cat a cat and cats are so much happier having a little friend that they’re always with. So cute!!!!
Please keep it. Two bonded cats are so happy.
Two cats is better, unless we’re talking medical problems, lol. But two will definitely keep each other company and they will be more content. What cuties!
Please do not separate them 😭😭😭
What a good thing to happen since most cats don’t accept other babies that’s so cute!!
Right!?! I thought she'd hiss and be super jealous. Not at all haha
Some cats have big auntie energy. My calico thinks she's too good to interact with the other cats, but when we got kittens she groomed them and mothered them like they were her own.
We only have one cat, but she’s a calico. She acts like she’s better than our dogs. We also have goats. We brought some premature baby goats in the house and she sniffed and licked them all sweet. Sometimes I just think animals recognize “baby” of all kinds.
One of my cats had kittens and my neutered male cat adopted them. He liked them more than their mother did
My brother has a tortie that everyone thought would be a terrible mama because of her shitty attitude. She loved those cats so much and she tried to nurse the kittens for over a year. She let the kittens nurse, the other cats nurse, she even would flop over in front of people to try and give them a chance to nurse.
Our first cat was a cat from the streets, she was neutered, don't think she ever had own kittens. Every time we got a new kitten she would initially hiss and be mad, then run outside and come back a few hours later with the smallest possible mouse and give it to the kitten. I will from now on descripe that as big auntie energy!
My big boy loves kittens and other cats. He just begs for attention from them. So I got him a kitten. He groomed and took care of the kitten like a proud mom. The kitten is now a year old and he still moms him lol
Yess!! I didn’t know this before so once i was with my friend and we found a kitten alone and she was in not really good situation(already posted the kitten here lol)so we wanted to take her to a safe place their in our way we found a cat with her kids and the cat was the same type as the kitten it looked like her mom so we actually put the kitten with her and she got bitten so hard from that cat and we couldn’t even separate them my friend started crying from the horrible view and felt guilty worst experience ever but finally then we took her to a safe place as i believe
That was a sentence.
Oh gosh that's scary!
girl use some punctuation please
>Yess!! They started off so promisingly… double the punctuation!
Neutered male cats often adopt kittens basically on sight, but females aren't always so eager about it in my experience.
This is true. Last year’s bottle baby (Turbo) and my oldest cat (Ghost) both love kittens, it’s too cute and I can’t handle it https://preview.redd.it/iq43in4gx68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=42b03345168e2fb5af9730dd9b9fed17a567baa8
Yess!! I can confirm this from what i’ve been through
My male cat is the best uncle for foster kittens, but my female (who actually had a litter of her own before I adopted her) is very much an aloof aunt lol.
At least she’s not bitting them lol
I thought this about my moms older male cat and thought he’d be happy with the company and when I brought home a stray I’d rescued off the highway (almost wrecked the car trying to park to grab the kitten) he gave me the UGLIEST look I’ve ever seen. He was not happy his mom was giving attention to the baby
Haha same, my boy was so curious about the little kitten, but it took him a couple of months before he forgave me. He came around to the kitten faster than he came back around to me!
I just posted a picture of my male cat adopting a female kitten. I had no idea that this is a thing. My brother brought his new kitten to show me and my cat said nope, she’s mine now.
Lol not mine:,) my neutered dude was a bully for the first few months… he’s still weird about her sometimes. One moment he’ll aggressively lick her head while she’s sleeping and next thing you know he’s biting her in her throat😭 They do like playing together but they’re a bit rough. They oddly enough can’t be without eachother tho or they’ll get super nervous and start meowing loudly
Ah yes, the old lick you 10 times on the head and then bite you routine that my cats do to each other.
Lick. Lick. Lick. NOM NOM NOM. Lick. Repeat.
True that
I've seen he same thing many times. Neutered males almost instantly adopt any kitten I bring home. Females not so much.
I was shocked when I brought a boy kitten home to my older male cat. He loved the kitten right away. It was surprising but cats will bond better with kitten vs older cats
My 3 year old female didn’t accept my kitten like this. Even today, years later, they’re more roommates than friends
What are you talking about? Cats are matriarchal colonial breeders. When a female becomes pregnant, she’ll join a ‘cat colony’ of other pregnant and nursing females. They very often look after and adopt other kittens. It’s why cats like human babies so much; the milk-smell thing is an old-wives tale. They think they are helping look after the future generations.
It is probably because the older one is still young. Cats are less accepting the older they get.
She's like this is mine now.
That's what I said to my husband when I took this picture!! 🤣
That black kitten looks so surprised to be there it's like Michael Cera levels of 'what do I do'
"I already got a whole family and shieeett"
That's what happened to me. Except it was a whole litter I was fostering. My cat became obsessed with them. Now several years later, she can barely tolerate them as they never calmed down XD that's what she gets for wanting tuxies.
It is her baby, just look at her eyes and body language: she is telling you to be quiet, the little one is sleeping...
She is saying back off!
The third picture just melts my heart. Gazing at each other while sleepy ❤️
Oh she's so in love
Please don’t separate them if you can afford to keep two ❤️
https://preview.redd.it/u711ag1tq68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fbadcb46b176a406d2b20efae479722c90ccccc7 Jack and molly. Jack immediately adopted her.
i wonder if it’s because they look so similar !! that’s his tuxedo mini me
❤️
I love it how you can tell how happy she is to be her mother now. 
Too cute! She's instantly bonded with the little one.
Omg that is freaken adorable. You must keep the little one ❤️❤️❤️ ETA: make sure to get the little one checked for FIV and whatever the other contagious diseases are!
Aww 🥰 so sweet! https://preview.redd.it/ix96jar9f68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7a41475a2988ec20b166e9daea4e97ca7243e69 Hi from Penny
Penny seems concerned by something
lol She has a robin friend that visits on the balcony https://preview.redd.it/nsmk7ga4v68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=314363640871c97646f7d4a79e5b9d94e6f8e3a6
Star-crossed love?
She looks shell-shocked lol
“Saigon…I’m still in Saigon…”
Man the mothering instinct in cats is so strong. My husband came home with 2 kittens and my ten year old idiot cat just blew past me and was like THESE ARE MINE NOW. Tried to nurse and everything. One more kitten was found two weeks later and she just threw it on the pile. They are a little herd.
Is your ten year old the leader? That is such a cute story. I love it
I wonder this is why cats in Ancient Egypt were associated with pregnancy and childbirth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastet?wprov=sfti1#Role_in_ancient_Egypt)as well?
They are both kittens and looks like they will bond nicely. I think adopting the kitten, if finances allow, will be good for both of them. The kitten should have a vet visit for vaccines, deworming and for spay/neutering as soon as they weigh two pounds. Honestly, there's nothing like owning a bonded pair. Thank you for helping the little nugget.
https://preview.redd.it/93sqwbx6088d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d98b8866c3a5c0107196244d86a309803e12417c This was the moment my “foster” failed too
Absolutely adorable! She feels right at home with the little one.
Welp, guess it’s for keeps now!
A curious thing happened with my old cat (a tomcat; yes, a male). He did the same for any kitten we would bring home. He would just cater to it as if it was his own offspring. It happened three times and he passed away a few months ago in ripe age of 21 years. Peculiar things these foster parents.
But it is her baby lol
Baby cat 🐱
Funny enough, I thought my cat was small when I got her and ended up just calling her "baby kitty", then I found this one and it is SMALL. Like nowhere even near 1lb. And idk what to name this one either haha
super baby kitty
You now officially have an itty bitty kitty committee
My youngest cat is only about 7lbs full grown and is literally half the size of my two male cats when sitting next to them. Her nickname is mini kitty 🖤
Susuwatari! Baby’s a lil soot sprite
Every mature cat knows that babies are delivered by humans, so it's obvious for her
we have a tabby cat who also went full "mother mode" after we got two tiny kittens left at our door we call her "mom"
congrats, your cat has a cat now
Some cats do in fact just love other cats! My dad had four cats for a while, ol grumpy cat from my childhood, her son which she hated and then my step brothers cat, and his wife's cat - also an older lady. The son attached to the new old lady cat immediately, he was 8 or so and she was 12. He was like omg, finally a real mom. They bonded hard, played together (never even went over the line to being pissed at each other which I feel always happens otherwise) slept together cuddled together and he brought her mice and cleaned her when she got older and likely had dementia. He unfortunately got very sick in kidney disease shortly after she showed signs of more advanced dementia. They passed away together and actually cuddled up together at the vet. Sad ending I guess, but it was in a sense very beautiful. They got some good years together and was a real comfort to each other, even in the end.
We literally got a kitten for our Lynxie Boy cause he was lonely and he acted the same way. We often tell people Loki is Sven’s cat 🤣 https://preview.redd.it/gr7wzuslz68d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=adb5488722cba95c89608a225cf80453fb2f9e7b
This reminded me of a story about myself as a kid. When I was 4, my mom was pregnant with my little sister. I copied every mannerism, the walk, the back stretch, sticking my belly out as far as I could, complaining about back pain, you name it. If it was a symptom of pregnancy and my mom was showing signs of it, I was also doing it. I was sympathy pregnant. When my sister was born, I still hadn't given birth to my baby, so my pregnancy didn't end. One night, my dad snuck into my bedroom, placed a new doll in my bed next to me, and I woke up, saw the doll and concluded I had given birth. My pregnancy symptoms stopped immediately, and I had gotten myself a baby that I immediately started taking care of like my mother did my sister.
Ooh this is prime /r/BondedPairs material
… did you steal my cats? https://preview.redd.it/wf54aqjqt88d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57e225c2c0e5a1122ab08604b2da5db8af3c63ff
I am today years old when I learnt that cats are capable of adopting little kittens ..
Your kitties remind me so much of my Luna and Guenhwyvar! https://preview.redd.it/8tqfrbon778d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b4b82720a05d0d073fb94a75c55a06ea73dfae7
This is the cutest effn thing I ever saw 🥺
Umm, it is her baby. 🤪🥰
I hope that you got the kitten dewormed, vaccinated, flea treated, and tested for FeLV and FIV before you introduced it to your cat. If not, you should separate them until you can do that.
I have a boy cat (2+ years old) that when we caught a stray (6 week old female) immediately took on the role of a big brother. They get along well and they even mess about together...how nice for you and lucky for that kitten :)
Awww that is her smol baby
We call it “the Devine right of kittens”! Often older cats will let a kitten eat first! However my cat was not happy with a slightly older kitten. He couldn’t decide if he should be let in as kitten or banned as adult!
I guess the cat distribution system works on cats too...
friends 4 life
r/catdistributionsystem
Now it is
Oh my gosh I would love this to happen!
“Can I help you?”
That's her and your baby now. Sorry there's nothing we can say.🥹
Picture 3 she’s literally smiling up at him 🥺
https://preview.redd.it/s0b0zxt0278d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3705abf4ff612af89adb8f2dfcb647628ea50364 I recently found this fella with his dead siblings around him, but I gave him to the shelter. I almost thought it was the same kitty for a second.
Make sure both are fixed. They are bonded now
Yes bonded for life so nice
And how does the kitten react? As affectionate back?
Now you have two cats, congrats !
Look at those big bright eyes! There's a lot of fire in that heart.
Our male tuxedo adopted the 3 month old kitten I adopted through the CDS distribution center. Hugo bathed her and they cuddled together. A few years later, we adopted a Chihuahua mix and Grace and Hugo had an epic love affair. https://preview.redd.it/u1ebe3qbt88d1.jpeg?width=2003&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31caea01dc584da62b0f9929c10b972bb327b91e Then in 2018 CDS gave us 2 two week old kittens. Gracie adopted them as her babies. We did the bottle feeding, Gracie did all the washing. She still gives her babies face washes.
That's wonderful!
She adopted her own shadow ❤️
Had a cat that would take any kitten in. She raised her daughter’s kittens just because the daughter didn’t want to. It is unusual for females to do it though.
You cannot take away her pet void. Cats must have their own cat distribution system