H/T Sundance, CTH...
Mother cat nurses puppy to health, wins $25,000 for Cleveland APL: Animals in the News
By Donna J. Miller, The Plain Dealer
December 19, 2013 at 11:20 AM, updated December 19, 2013 at 6:01 PM
[...]
The APL's winning story began June 12, when a humane officer investigating a call about animal neglect found a fly-covered day-old puppy alone in a garage. The officer couldn't find the puppy's mother, so she rushed the tiny pit bull mix to the shelter on Willey Avenue, where the animal care team named him Noland and discussed how to save his life.
"The team decided the best option would be to try placing Noland with a stray mom cat named Lurlene who had, two days before Noland's arrival, delivered a litter of four kittens," APL director Sharon Harvey said. "Remarkably, Lurlene welcomed Noland into her family, nurturing and nursing him as if he was one of her own. And the kittens were fine with him, too."
Noland's mother, Molly, was found later that day, chained behind the home, but she was too emaciated and frightened to care for her puppy, Harvey said, so Noland stayed with Lurlene and her kittens during the day and was bottle-fed at night.
When Molly's owner was convicted of animal neglect, Noland and the kittens were thriving together. They were placed in a foster home until they were old enough to be neutered for adoption.
"We were a little concerned that Noland would get to be too big and rough for his less robust feline family, but Lurlene had things under control and it didn't take the kittens long to learn how to put him in his place," Harvey and APL director of development, Judy Hunter, wrote to Petco. "Actually, Noland blended in with the family so well, he was even found using the litter box a few times."
Noland then was placed in a foster home with a litter of puppies his age, and learned how to be a dog, while Lurlene and the kittens returned to the shelter and all were adopted.
...more at link
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ss ... o_hea.html