You can’t always predict how a dog and a cat will react to being in a room together and sharing a home.
The saying ‘like cats and dogs’ refers to being in a constant state of disagreement so it’s a popular belief that these two animals don’t and can’t get along. This stereotype has featured in many cartoons and movies but it’s known that this isn’t the case in real life as some cats and dogs certainly do get on well with each other and even become close friends.
A pet parent was surprised when she saw what her dog and kitten were doing at home together. She took to Reddit to share a clip showing the pair sitting on a bed together while the canine nurses the young feline.
The dog is fixated on the TV screen while the kitten appears to suck its mammary area with a paw placed on this part of the pooch’s body. Confused by this, the pet parent can be heard asking what is happening here.
In the Reddit post, she said: “My dog is nursing my kitten. Is this normal???” Giving more information, she revealed that her dog has never had puppies, has never been pregnant but is now producing a “cloudy like substance.”
She added that the canine often watches TV while nursing the kitten for hours. Unsure of what to do next, the user asked others on the forum if she should let her dog continue to do this and she asked if anyone else has experienced this with their kittens.
The post has garnered more than 1,000 comments with other Redditors weighing in on the situation. One said: “[The] kitten might have been taken from its mother too soon.
“Continuing to nurse, even on a dog, is probably good for its future mental health. Kittens need that mothering. It’s nice that your dog doesn’t mind it.”
Another added: “I’d start with asking your vet about the substance your dog is producing. It’s probably a hormonal reaction to the kitten trying to nurse – but you should get a trained opinion. There’s a vet channel on Reddit but I’d contact your regular vet asap.
“On the non-medical issue: lovely that your kitten feels protected by your dog and your dog is so happy to be in a maternal role. Rescues and shelters often share stories of nursing dogs or cats caring for a baby or litter of the other species.
“It can help all the animals if one was weaned too soon, lost a baby, etc. Great that you have a happy home.”
A third user shared that after their old dog had just gone through her first heat, when they got a new kitten the dog started producing milk to feed it. They said that the kitten was nine-weeks-old and “well-passed the weaning stage” but both pets “seemed to enjoy it.”
They continued: “The vet said it was harmless and it would eventually stop, which it did when the kitten was about 5 months old.” Wag!, an American pet care company, explains that female dogs can produce milk, or what looks like milk, when they are not pregnant and have not recently given birth.
One cause of this is false pregnancy, a condition in which a female dog shows various symptoms of pregnancy, like producing milk, without being pregnant. It notes that female dogs can also produce milk when another animal, such as a puppy or kitten, sucks and kneads her mammary area, even though she may not be pregnant or have recently given birth.
Wag! states that most of the time milk production is a natural and harmless bodily process but it can sometimes be a sign of a more serious underlying issue. It recommends taking any dog that is producing milk without a recent or current pregnancy for a check-up with a vet.