'Nature is just amazing': Manitoba dog seen nursing kitten

A long-time animal foster said the recent behaviour of her dog and cat is something she had never witnessed.

Patricia Tschanen of Fraserwood, Man., recently observed her nearly one-year-old puppy Phoenix nursing a young kitten she had taken in.

“I’ve never seen this before,” she said. “Nature is just amazing.”

Phoenix came into Tschanen’s care last December with the rest of her siblings. However, the distemper virus got into the litter, resulting in the deaths of every dog but Phoenix.

With lots of therapy, Phoenix is now a healthy dog, who enjoys playing with the other dogs Tschanen has adopted.

And she became close to another cat, named Snickers, that came into Tschanen’s care. Snickers was caught on camera following Tschanen’s other cat on her property, and Tschanen decided to rescue the cat.

“The kitten is maybe eight to 10 weeks old, extremely people shy, so I put her in a dog kennel in my office,” she said. “Whenever a dog walked by, she started rubbing on the kennel and purring, and was very attached to the dogs from the back.”

Phoenix and Snickers snuggle together in an undated photo. Phoenix was recently observed nursing Snickers. (Patricia Tschanen)

Tschanen let Snickers out to see the dogs, and she ended up getting close to Phoenix.

At first, I didn't think much; I just thought she's comforting herself with purring and suckling a bit on her,” she said.

Tschanen talked about the behaviour with her friend, who is a veterinarian tech, and asked if milk was coming out from Phoenix, as dogs that haven’t been spayed may sometimes lactate and show other signs of pregnancy.

Sure enough, milk was coming out.

Phoenix and Snickers have since become close friends and are almost inseparable around the house.

“Whenever I come inside the house with Phoenix after a walk, that is the first thing she is doing, she's going to look for her kitten,” said Tschanen. “Right now, they are laying underneath my desk in the corner. That is their favorite spot. Whenever we are looking for either of them, usually both of them are down there.”