Manitoba puppy begins lactating after bonding with hungry orphaned kitten

Patricia Tschanen has been around animals for a long time, but she's never seen anything like this.

An 11-month-old puppy she took in as a foster started nursing a weeks-old orphaned feral kitten found on Tschanen's rural property in Manitoba's Interlake region.

"All our cats are friends with the dogs, but a dog nursing a cat? I have never seen that," said Tschanen, who owns a dog training and boarding school in Fraserwood, about 75 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

The pup, named Phoenix, has never been pregnant, but began producing milk after bonding with the kitten, now known as Snickers. 

"[I'm] amazed. I think nature is so amazing," Tschanen said.

It's as if two lost souls found one another, after Phoenix came into Tschanen's care last December as part of a litter of six pups rescued from Cross Lake.

Tschanen regularly fosters for Manitoba Animal Alliance until the animals get adopted, but this situation was different from the start.

It turned out the whole litter was stricken with distemper, a deadly viral disease that ended up claiming the lives of all but Phoenix. Phoenix went through intensive care and multiple surgeries.

"It was quite the rocky journey with her and a very, very expensive journey. Her nickname is the $1,000,000 puppy," Tschanen said.

Even before she was the sole survivor, Phoenix had won Tschanen's heart.

"I knew from the very beginning that this is a puppy that [won't] leave. She was so adorable and she had, honestly, the saddest eyes I've ever seen in a puppy," she said.

Snickers showed up about 10 days ago after following one of Tschanen's other cats home.

"I'm definitely the animal person.  I have seven dogs myself and two cats. Somehow those animals always find the way to us," she said.

Snickers was frightened of people and bit Tschanen that first day, "but I could tell from the beginning he was very affectionate with the dogs," she said.

The feeling from Phoenix was mutual.

After setting Snickers into a crate, all the dogs went over to sniff and check out the new arrival. It didn't take long for most of the dogs to lose interest, but "Phoenix just stayed there," Tschanen said.

She set out a dish of food for Snickers, who Tschanen estimates is eight to 10 weeks old, and opened the crate. The kitten came out and immediately went underneath Phoenix and began rubbing against her.

"I thought, how amazing is that? He is not scared at all, but he's terrified of people," Tschanen said, calling it "an instant, instant attraction."

"Phoenix is such a poor soul. She has severe neurological problems, she has twitches and stuff going on, and she is helping a feral kitten."

Before long, Tschanen noticed the kitten suckling on Phoenix and just thought, how cute, they're comforting one another.

"And then a friend of mine, she's a vet tech, she said, 'Is there actual milk coming?'"

So Tschanen checked and sure enough there was.

"I didn't know that a dog can produce milk just because [another animal] is sucking there, but I Googled it and I read that this is possible," she said.

Phoenix will play with the other dogs, but as soon as she's back in the house, she's looking for Snickers.

"Whenever we are coming back from a walk, that is the first thing that Phoenix is going to do — check where her kitten is, and then she's laying in that corner and the kitten starts nursing right away."

Winnipeg veterinarian Dr. Jonas Watson said it's not unheard of to see dogs nursing kittens, and vice versa, "but it's certainly unusual" for a non-pregnant dog to do it.

He said Phoenix may be experiencing hormonal changes associated with pseudopregnancy and looking for a small creature to mother.

"So it's kind of kismet that the two of them met each other."

False pregnancies, though, typically only last two or three weeks, Jonas said. So while Snickers is getting the nutrients he needs at the moment, he'll soon need another source.

For the time being, though, Tschanen is enjoying a moment she describes with every imaginable adjective of wonder.

"Yeah, it is amazing. I mean, this is an unbelievable thing," she said. "It's still hard for myself to believe what I'm seeing here.

"It's so heartwarming because she is a dog that needs so much help and support — such a special kind and special care dog. And we have this feral kitten that we can't touch, but she can totally nurse it.

"I hope their friendship will grow and stay for all the years but I also hope that eventually Snickers will warm up to us."

Soon, Snickers will need to see a vet for some vaccinations.

"I'm already thinking maybe I should bring Phoenix along as her support dog," Tschanen said.