Kitten Found Cooped Up and Cuddling with Chickens

Winter gives some of us cabin fever, but not Carmel the kitten.

This itsy-bitsy cat is using the colder months to make a few new and unusual friends.

According to Echo Press, Carmel first appeared in Micah and Allyson Radach’s Alexandria, Virginia, backyard, cowering under their trampoline in November of last year.

“He was just tiny,” Allyson told Echo Press. “I don’t even know how much longer he would have survived (if we hadn’t found him).”

Thankfully, the Radach family, which includes children Lylah, 7, and Rhea, 4, immediately fell for the lonely little fluff-ball and welcomed him into the family with a meal of pancakes and milk. After that, he — understandably — stuck around.

The kitten soon started spending more time in the the Radach’s backyard, taking a special interest in the chickens.

“One day I came home in the afternoon and the chickens were out by the big shed and the cat was right by them,” Micah said. “Wherever they’d go, he’d go.”

Carmel most likely started hanging out with the birds because of their insulated coop, which helps keep him warm when he is outside. But what started as an animal Airbnb situation, quickly turned into a loving friendship.

Now the kitten spends nights in the coop, so he can cuddle with his feathered friends and help them keep their eggs warm.

“One time I went in there and he was actually laying on the eggs over the nesting boxes,” Allyson said. “I’ve also seen him snuggled up against one chicken in the corner.”

The Radachs, who are overjoyed by this surprise addition to their family, hope people see Carmel’s chicken canoodling as a touching representation of the lessons animals can teach us.

“These animals are a perfect example of how they are very different in most ways, but very similar in a way that they are accepting each other’s differences and now have become friends,” Micah said. “They have adapted to each other and have respect for each other. More importantly, they now seem to enjoy each other.”