Michigan Kitten Adopted by Rescue Dog Mom Dies from Genetic Condition, Animal Shelter Says
The kitten arrived at Michigan's Jackson County Animal Shelter in early April and quickly won the hearts of Kela the dog and her ten puppies
The Jackson County Animal Shelter in Michigan is mourning the loss of a special kitten.
"You celebrate our successes, share in our happy times, and also share our pain on hard days," the shelter wrote in an April 17 Facebook post.
"It's with a heavy heart today that we let you know Kela's adopted kitty has passed away," the Jackson County Animal Shelter (JCAS) continued on social media.
The male kitten arrived at the shelter at the beginning of April after a Good Samaritan found the little cat abandoned and brought it in for help. Unknown to the kitten, a new dog mom named Kela — who arrived at the rescue "very pregnant" in March and later gave birth to ten healthy puppies — was waiting for the feline at JCAS.
Kela was in the shelter's offices with her pups for privacy when the kitten arrived at Jackson County Animal Shelter. So the dog mom was close by when shelter workers brought the tiny cat back to the offices for a bottle and a vet exam.
"While he was waiting for his bottle to be warmed up, the kitten was crying in his box. Kela heard the kitten and was scratching at the door to get in that room," the shelter's animal services director, Lydia Sattler, told PEOPLE.
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"I opened the door to ask her what was wrong, and she immediately ran past me to the kitten. She stuck her head right in the box. I went and picked up the kitten, not knowing what Kela was doing. She tried to take him out of my hand and would not take her eyes off him. She also would not leave the kitten to go back to her puppies," she added.
In response, JCAS placed the kitten with Kela and her puppies. Kela immediately took to mothering the feline alongside the rest of her brood. The dog mom nursed, cleaned, and cuddled the kitten until his death.
The Jackson County Animal Shelter believes a genetic condition is responsible for the kitten's premature death.
Related:Pregnant Dog Rescued from Filthy Cage Gives Birth to 12 Puppies — Now the Family Needs a Home
"It's common for mothers to know there's something genetically wrong with a kitten, and will often abandon them. That appears to be the case with this little one," the shelter wrote on Facebook.
The shelter concluded the heartbreaking death announcement on a positive note, reflecting on the kindness Kela showed the kitten.
"We are comforted to know that he was always warm, always had a full belly, and was completely content for the short time we were lucky enough to have him. Kela loved and cared for him as if he were her own and we couldn't have asked for a better caregiver," JCAS shared online.
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Sattler told mlive.com that Kela is handling the sudden loss well and that her ten puppies continue to thrive.
"She's going on and doing what good moms are going to do, and taking care of the rest of her babies," she said.
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