Cat Adopts Baby Squirrel, Teaches It To Purr (VIDEO)

Rocky may turn out to be the only squirrel who grows up thinking he's a cat, as he's picking up their habits quite fast.

When Emmy the cat got pregnant and had kittens, her former owner could no longer taker care of her, so Jim and Karen Watkins stepped in. But they were in for a surprise, because with the 18 cats they brought to their home came a baby squirrel.

Rocky the squirrel fell out of a tree in the yard of the former owner's home, WLBT reports. When unable to get back up the tree, the owner took a bold move, and put Rocky right in with the litter of kittens.

Emmy immediately took to Rocky, and cared for him as if he were just another of her litter.

Now Rocky acts right at home, and as can be seen in this clip from MSNBC, he even purrs when pet, just like the other kittens.

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Comments

[ThatWasTooEasy]

12:02 AM on 11/08/2010

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[life-of-riley]

12:11 PM on 09/23/2010

This is wrong. Rocky's going to have identity issues when he gets older. Besides, who is going to teach him what to do with his nuts?

[Spazoid-droid]

09:48 PM on 09/18/2010

its cool that when you put young animals together like that they can learn to accept each other. mabe even be friends. if were so more advanced why cant we learn the same thing?

[Thomas Alan]

11:59 PM on 09/16/2010

:)

[imperator prime]

11:09 PM on 09/12/2010

It's the stories like this- or the one about the cat and the crow, or the one about the polar bears playing with the sled dogs- that reassure my 'faith' in a naturalistic 'morality.' While the animal kingdom can be merciless it's rarely gratuitous or *malicious,* and it can actually be benevolent, and friendly, and kind. We can learn a lot by following the example of 'lesser' creatures.

[TwoGayGuys]

10:55 PM on 09/12/2010

If a cat can adopt a shuirrel, then us gay folk MUST be getting close to equal rights, I can feel it!

[obama20082012]

11:25 PM on 09/12/2010

I cheer the day for you!

[henrypapillon]

10:51 AM on 09/13/2010

But can you purr?

[TwoGayGuys]

08:57 AM on 09/17/2010

lol Yes, and in French too!

[henrypapillon]

09:42 PM on 09/12/2010

My sister had a squirrel fall down the vent pipe for the toilet and it had nowhere to go but up through the trap at the bottom of the toilet. She always keeps the lid closed and when she opened it, this wet squirrel comes jumping out racing around the bathroom. She screamed and peed her pants, and ran out and closed the door . She called the handyman that works for her fairly often and he came over.Meanwhile, as he is on his way over she slides two of those Sticky Traps under the door. The guy goes in and promptly steps on them an d has them on the bottom of his shoes trying to capture this squirrel in the bathroom without wrecking it. Finally he fashions a net out of a coathanger and a pillow case and takes Rocky to a new home halfway between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.. In the process, he took the sticky traps off his shoes and tracked adhesive all over my sister's carpet. Now, everytime she goes to the bathroom she goes up and flips the lid open and jumps back.

[henrypapillon]

09:24 PM on 09/12/2010

I have a picture in my archives that someone sent to me. A person had a Papillon female that had 8 pups and also took in an orphaned squirrel baby to nurse. You should know that Papillons rarely have over 4 pups and the average is under 3.

[doctordoubt]

10:20 AM on 09/14/2010

The shocker is that baby squirrels can sound just like a human baby when they cry.

[ThomasPaine1776]

08:41 PM on 09/12/2010

And yet we humans attack, mock, pollute, deride, waste, destroy and humiliate nature every day, every chance we get, and learn nothing from it.

[henrypapillon]

09:25 PM on 09/12/2010

So you're saying we should nurse from a cat and learn to purr?

[Allen Bouchard]

08:21 AM on 09/13/2010

We should nurse squirrels and teach them to laugh.

[dennerline]

09:32 PM on 09/12/2010

We humans also support, praise, clean, build, protect and LOVE nature every day, every chance we get, and LEARN from it......Gee whiz - there IS positive out there TP...get a GRIP! You are DEPRESSING and focusing on the NEGATIVE!

Your attitude is FRIGHTENING Rocky the squirrel and his litter mates!

[getsit]

01:41 PM on 09/13/2010

Not enough of us who care to save the earth.

[worldsam]

07:02 PM on 09/12/2010

Inhibitions are acquired. Love an instincts sometime overcome these inhibitions.

[mamamab]

05:38 PM on 09/12/2010

James Herriot, who wrote All Creatures Great and Small, has a similar true story about an orphan kitten adopted by a sow who had just had a litter of piglets. The kitten nursed, etc. and even after the cat grew up it would come back to visit the sow.

[18wheeler]

05:08 PM on 09/12/2010

Adorable!!! My cat used to take my four pitbulls for night walks down in Galveston... We would have the pits on leashes and HarleyD.Kat would lead the way... Sometimes weaving in between the puppies' legs, just for fun!

[katmeyster]

04:21 PM on 09/12/2010

Does the squirrel use the litter box?

[Joe3245]

05:31 PM on 09/12/2010

No, they poop everywhere though, even when they are eating.

[Stalling]

04:10 PM on 09/12/2010

Guess the squirrel isn't lactose intolerant.

[Joe3245]

05:26 PM on 09/12/2010

All baby mammals can digest lactose because all mammal mothers produce it in their milk.

[cocl]

06:15 PM on 09/12/2010

Yes, but different mammals produce it in different amounts, and their babies are genetically adapted to their own species' milk. Baby lambs can e g get severe diarrhoea from cows' milk, because it is far too high in lactose (and far too low in fat and dry matter).

I have no idea how cats' and suirrels' milk compare, though...

[Stalling]

06:30 PM on 09/12/2010

I didn't know, I was told that feeding my 19 year old kitty cats milk was bad for them. I don't really know about which animal can drink which milk etc.

[cobaltbluedog]

03:22 PM on 09/12/2010

If you live in the country, as I do, and you've had them take up residence in your home, like the one living in the ceiling directly above my head, they lose their charm. Take away that cute, fluffy tail and what do you have? Just another rodent.

I will say, flying squirrels are unbelievably cute.

[msbadger]

08:33 PM on 09/12/2010

Hi, cbd- it is a hard balance to strike, isn't it? I know they can do quite a bit of damage to a home, just like any other rodent. I am a sucker for critters, though!

[cobaltbluedog]

08:49 PM on 09/12/2010

Hey MsB, I'm a soft touch when it comes to the critters, but there's a line. My main worry is them chewing on wires and causing an electrical fire. This one needs to move out.
Hope that Black Dog has given you a break, mine has.
Your friend, cbd/jjb

[kmackenz]

09:27 PM on 09/12/2010

Why do you choose a badger?

[henrypapillon]

09:28 PM on 09/12/2010

My neighbor had them in her attic and they were not in the least cute.