Dog Adopts Newborn Kittens And Nurses Them Back To Health

Kittens need to be nursed by their mothers for at least four weeks after birth, because without their mother’s milk, they are in danger of dying.

So when a local animal shelter in Mexico found an abandoned litter of kittens, they knew the babies were under four weeks old and would die without milk from their mother. Thankfully, soon after they were brought into the shelter, a stray dog named Esperanza was brought in as well.

Rescuers could tell Esperanza had recently given birth, and since she had been separated from her own babies, the staff wondered if maybe Esperanza would ‘adopt’ the orphaned kittens. As the team hoped, Esperanza’s mothering instincts took over the second she was placed with the kittens, and she happily started nursing them.

Since the kittens needed more time with their new ‘mom,’ the family was transferred to Coco’s Animal Welfare, an animal rescue center where Esperanza would soon meet the people who wanted to adopt her and make sure she was nurtured. “We were on vacation in Playa Del Carmen in 2010,” said Evi Pover, Esperanza’s human mom. “Three days in, we decided to pet kittens at Coco’s Animal Welfare. As we were leaving, they asked if we’d like to see a dog who was nursing a litter of kittens. There was an instant bond between Esperanza and my son, so we decided to adopt her.”

The Pover family arranged for Esperanza to fly back to the U.S. to join her new family, but only after she was done raising her kitten family. After a few more weeks, the kittens were old enough to be weaned and had found loving homes of their own, so it was finally Esperanza’s time to be reunited with her new Family.

“When she first came to us, she did not know what dog food or toys were,” Pover said. “We had to teach her. Now she hoards her toys and loves to play… She’s been a blessing. She’s a really special girl.”