posted
it doesn't even look remotely feline like to me. O_o Just like a large rat of sorts that the mother wasn't minding for some reason.
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posted
Holy Pointy Kitties, Batman! Ralph Wiggum was right!
ETA: It would be interesting to know if anyone witnessed the mother kitty actually give birth to this creature, or if it just appeared with the kittens and was adopted by the mother kitty.
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posted
The mother cat does not seem to like all the attention.
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posted
It looks like a gerbil to me (looking at the tail - otherwise I would've said hamster). There's nothing even resembling the "cat-like" body in the article, either, that little fellow was 100% rodent from what I could see (feet, tail, etc.). Besides, it's not so strange for a mother to nurse a different species along with her own offspring. We hear about it all the time.
posted
That is either some type of gerbil or possibly a baby kangaroo rat. I can't see why they say it has the body of a cat. It has the body of a rodent.
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posted
Like Signora and NeeCD, I suspect this is an orphaned rodent that the mother cat is nursing. It's a common enough scenario, right down to the mother's biological young treating the adopted animal as one of their own.
One of James Herriott's stories featured an orphaned kitten adopted by a pig.
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posted
I don't care what it is, it's cute as hell. I want one too!
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posted
I forget, what rodent that size ( or age) would have the hair shown?
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posted
Ditto with Nee and Xia; it's some kind of desert rat that mama has picked up and added to the nest. Either that or the orphan crawled in with the kittens and was accepted.
posted
Whatever it was (and I'm thinking not a kitten), it sure was cute! ...But it pisses me off to no end to see people pick up rodents by their tails! Thats part of their spines!!
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posted
Well for starters, if this were an oddly-shaped kitten, wouldn't it be kitten-sized? But it's not. It's rodent-sized. With a rodentlike head and a rodentlike tail. Which to me does seem indicative of an actual rodent.
Nonny "The expert has spoken!" Mouse
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quote:Originally posted by Purple Cow: Whatever it was (and I'm thinking not a kitten), it sure was cute! ...But it pisses me off to no end to see people pick up rodents by their tails! Thats part of their spines!!
That ticked me off, too. Tails are not handles.
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Before I saw the pics I thought maybe it was a preemie as they often have little or no hair on the paws, legs and tails which makes them somewhat mouselike. At the shelter we fostered some mouselike preemies on a nursing mother following an emergency spay/late abortion on an injured cat who then wasn't able to nurse her own kittens. The one in the pic is definitely a rodent that has taken advantage of free food and temporary protection. Possibly mother cat hunted it, took it home to eat and her maternal instincts kicked in and overrode the predatory ones. So mousie gets a reprieve and the owner is either clueless or has an eye for making a bit of money from a news story.
Tunisia isn't the easiest place to find homes for kittens, maybe the real kittens will be lucky as a result of the news story. A cat rescuer working out in Tunisia found that a traditional form of population control was to slice off a female cat's nipples so that the kittens starved to death. I holidayed in the country and ended up fostering a mother and litter of 4 though I doubt the kittens survived for long. The hotel used them as a tourist attraction but had no interest in their care or survival. No vets nearby either so no chance of having the mother spayed at my expense or giving the kittens an easy way out (all were sickly).
quote:Originally posted by Lainie: That ticked me off, too. Tails are not handles.
Unless you're a terrier.
That's true... That's the whole point of a terrier having any tail. I'm always having to explain that to people.
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posted
I agree that it looks all rodent. It was nice to see the video though What cute kittens! It's adorable when they're little and walk all shaky like that. I miss having kitties.
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posted
It's a young Gerbil, most definitely! My brother used to keep them until they started to kill each other off as only the dominate male will breed! They are not cute but are nasty biting little rodents. If you want to keep a rodent, get a domestic rat, these are bred for the pet market. They are very clever and can be trained. They will happily form a real attachment to their owner. They have to be handled a lot and in the correct manner, never pick them up by the tail, although it is ok to hold it by the base of the tail while you get a good grip on the animal.
I've known some real rats….. But then my taste in men has got better as I got older! I know now that calling a man a 'rat' is insulting to this intelligent creature's reputation!
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posted
We had two male gerbils (brothers) and they never fought. They also never bit and were much cleaner than guinea pigs or hamsters. One can ever train them to eliminate in a specific spot. We just lifted out the little bowl and cleaned it and the entire cage needed cleaning less than half as much as other rodents.
I thought my two little gerbils were quite cute.
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quote:Originally posted by Auntie Witch: I've had rats and gerbils. I prefer my Spiny Mice.
If he's a gerbil, why didn't his tail break when they picked him up by it?
Did they pick it up by the end of the tail or nearer the middle? If you don't pick it up by the very end it doesn't always cause the tail to break off...
Personally I've had mice, rats, hamsters, and a gerbil (as far as rodents go) and the rats are by far the best pets. I still like my hammies though, even if they aren't very smart or clean.
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posted
Whatever that little gerbily thing is, it's no baby and it's not wild. My bet is that it was a family pet that already got along with the cat or was aquired at the time of the birth so she was happy to adopt it. The owner is having a heyday with the pathetically gullible media.
The fact that the owner picked it up by the tail is highly indicative to me that he doesn't see it as a cat at all.
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Kindly Wise
I'll Be Home for After Christmas Sales
posted
At first I thought it might be a juvenile cane rat Thryonomys swinderianus , as they are born furry, but as you can see they are more beaverish.
But I agree that the so-called kitten is a rodent, what with the giant incisors and all.
posted
I agree that it's a rodent of some type. All it had to do is take a stroll thru some placenta during the birth of the kitten and momma woulda recognised that smell. Could have even happened when momma brought it in for kitties to play with.
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posted
It's definitely a gerbil. You can see by the tail, the back legs and rodentia teeth. IMHO its a slightly stunned gerbil who has been adopted by the nursing queen. Just wait til the kittens get older and realise they have a friend who could be lunch!
Posts: 156 | From: UK | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
Whatever it is, it ain't a cat.
Posts: 229 | From: Lynchburg, VA | Registered: Jan 2005
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Debbie from Arizona
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posted
Looks like a Kangaroo Rat
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Thryonomys swinderianus , as they are born furry, but as you can see they are more beaverish.
