What is an African cat doing with a litter of puppies?  Making itself at home.

The five-month-old Serval cat, a species naturally found in African savannas, had lived in a Munich, Germany zoo.

At 14 days old, the cat named Shakira, was in danger of not surviving.  That is when Roland Adam, an animal caretaker, became involved.

“A friend of mine contacted me from a local zoo and told me how Shakira’s mother had not produced enough milk for her litter and her other brothers and sisters had died.  When I heard this I decided to take her in,” said Adam.

For six weeks Adam nurtured Shakira until she was ready to meet her next challenge.

Katjinga is a Rhodesian Ridgeback dog that gave birth to 11 puppies in July.  Was the mother dog ready to adopt?

“It turned out that Shakira was integrated immediately into this dog family.  She plays hide and seek, catch and even play fights with the dogs.  I wanted to provide Shakira with some animals that could be a substitute for her own brothers and sisters and for her mum,” said Mr Adam.

“When they tire from playing with each other, the cubs lie down together.”

It will be interesting to see how the relationship develops as adult Serval cats grow to 20 - 44 pounds.

For the meantime, they are a happy clan.

“You see a strong bond between Shakira and her foster mom,” added Mr Adam.  “When they play, Shakira did not even for a moment push out her claws - it is a loving family.”

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite