August 11, 2006
Grady County -- A Grady County cat has taken in some unusual strays. The two year old Calico just had her third litter of kittens, but has added two more strange bedfellows.
Squirrels and cats might be the farthest thing from friends. Normally mortal enemies, a mother's love has brought them together as one family.
"It's odd it's very odd," said Stephanie Barlow.
The baby squirrels were abandoned by their mother, in some roof insulation. Stephanie's husband rescued them.
"I figured they'd be like most babies, be up all night, wanting to eat and I knew we couldn't do it. So I said, I wonder if your momma's cat would feed them, I mean she just had kittens," Barlow.
Cammie had just given birth to her third litter of kittens and was surprisingly up to the task.
"Cause I thought she would naturally try to eat it, you know, I guess her motherly instincts really kicked in so," said Barlow.
Just like her kittens, Cammie's washing and feeding the babies.
"She's very protective of them, you take them out or even just mess with them and she's right there," said Karen Carroll, Cammie's owner.
While it may be strange to see kittens and squirrels living together, the family feels there's a lesson to be learned in all of this.
"A domesticated animal taking in something from the wild you know, that is normally supper for them, so to speak. Just take them in and raise them you know as their own is, there's something there," said Carroll.
Maybe it's that we should be more tolerant of others or that love is unconditional? Whatever the lesson, Cammie's become blind to their difference and will continue to nurture and protect her new additions.
Once the squirrels are big enough to survive on their own, the family plans to release them back into the wild in the hopes that, just like an outside cat, they might stay close to home.
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