It’s always heartwarming to see sweet friendships form between animals. Sometimes animals of different species are just kindred spirits and form a truly special bond.
That was the case recently, when a kitten and a puppy were both rejected by their mothers, but have formed an inseparable friendship.
Emilie Rackovan is an animal rescuer from Milwaukee who is always willing to take in animals in need. Recently, she responded to a case about two heavily pregnant cats whose caretaker could no longer look after them.
Emilie successfully trapped both cats and their newborn kittens. She took in one of the families, while a foster took in the other. But there was one problem — one of the kittens, named Kangaroo, was exceptionally small and her mother had no interest in taking care of her.
It’s not uncommon for mother cats to reject the runt of the litter, instinctually prioritizing caring for the other offspring more likely to survive.
According to LoveMeow, Emilie bottle-fed Kangaroo to keep her alive, but the tiny kitten would cry and cry after being rejected from her mother.
However, as fate would have it, Kangaroo would soon find a friend in a similar situation. Last week, Emilie took in a mother dog and her eight newborn puppies to get them out of the shelter. While most of the family went out to foster, Emilie continued caring for one of the puppies — a tiny pup named Possum.
Possum — named because she looks a lot like a possum — was also the runt of her litter, and didn’t get the proper care she needed from her mom. She was only 1/3 of the normal weight and had “absolutely no will to survive,” Emilie wrote on Instagram.
She continued to care for Possum, feeding her from the bottle to help her grow and “chonk her up a bit more.” Like Kangaroo, Possum cried often.
Sensing their loneliness, Emilie decided to pair up Kangaroo and Possum — and then, something incredible happened. The two animals formed the most precious bond.
“They immediately became inseparable and now only cry when they know it’s time for a bottle!” Emilie wrote on Instagram.
“Something I love about animals is that they don’t care what each other looks like,” she added. “Sometimes we just need a friend.”
“It’s pretty normal for any baby animal to seek comfort in another animal, regardless of species, but it’s adorable to see them form this friendship,” she told Love Meow. “They love to snuggle and sleep all cozied up to each other.”
Emilie hopes that their mothers accept them back once they are weaned.
