Meet Sonya and her extra-prickly kittens.
Mama cat Sonya adopted four orphaned hedgehog babies when they were rescued after losing their Mama, and cared for them alongside her own kitten. The video was originallyrecorded in August.
The sound you just heard was your heart breaking into millions of tiny pieces. See video of the "hedgekittens" nursing above and some additional photos below. Prepare to dawww...
Altruism in animals
Altruism is a well-documented animal behaviour, which appears most obviously in kin relationships but may also be evident amongst wider social groups, in which an animal sacrifices its own well-being for the benefit of another animal.
Examples of animal altruism
*Dogs often adopt orphaned cats, squirrels, ducks and even tigers.
*Dolphins support sick or injured animals, swimming under them for hours at a time and pushing them to the surface so they can breathe.
*Mongooses support elderly, sick, or injured animals
*Wolves and wild dogs bring meat back to members of the pack not present at the kill. Male baboons threaten predators and cover the rear as the troop retreats.
*Gibbons and chimpanzees with food will, in response to a gesture, share their food with others of the group. Chimpanzees will help humans and conspecifics without any reward in return.
*Vampire bats commonly regurgitate blood to share with unlucky or sick roost mates that have been unable to find a meal, often forming a buddy system.
*Raccoons inform conspecifics about feeding grounds by droppings left on commonly shared latrines. A similar information system has been observed to be used by common ravens.
*In numerous bird species, a breeding pair receives support in raising its young from other "helper" birds, including help with the feeding of its fledglings. Some will even go as far as protecting an unrelated bird's young from predators
*Most mammal carnivores like wolves or dogs have a habit of not harming pack members below certain age, of opposite sex or in surrendering position (in case of some animals, the behavior exists within entire species rather than one pack). (Wikipedia)
VIDEO Baby Hedgehogs Have a Cat Mom
After their mother died, these baby hedgehogs were left alone... but luckily for them, Sonya the cat was willing to save them! Watch as Sonya nurses the wee hedgehogs, while also cuddling with her own young kitten. What a great mom!
Aww this is so terrific!!
Vilken underbar film och katt mamma som tog hand om dom små igelkottarna,samt sin egen unge :)♥♥
that is just tooo cute
Yes, terrific is the word Anonymous #1.
They teach us every day so many lessons...
She is adorable, adorable, adorable...
I would keep watching at these pictures and video all day long ... it is addictive ... :)
Love it!
Thanks
omgosh what a wonderful mummy ..........
aww. sharp baby kitties.
There are so many things that we can learn from animals..all we have to do is look
aww, what a great mum
What a beautiful momma cat. Absoulutely precious.
unbelievable and adorable
ooooooooh! awesome! :)
Very special...it would be more difficult for us people to be so kind.good pictures,thanks
what can b cuter than a kitten? cuter than a baby hedgehog? a cat nursing kitten and hedgehogs! she deserves a nobel prize.
thats so wounderful to see how amazing animals can be all they want is love and to give love such a wounderful mommy
perhaps the baby hedgys are giving mum a free groom too !
What a great video. Deep respect to Sonya. Me and my 5 cats wish good luck to "the family" ~ and the familys parents (o:
From Gert Ørnbøll, Denmark
C'est magique, adorable, extarordinaire!! Merveilleux!!
Merci d'avoir partagé ces magnifiques photos et vidéo! Cordialement, Gabrielle
Sooooo cute and sweet. I love cats. :-)
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This is so beautiful-it is absolutely marvellous to see the love between them - makes me so happy to see.<3<3<3
I LOVE this!!! This is too cute and wonderful to see. What awesome animals!!
First, thumbs up if you understood Gabrielle. I do! Those hedgehogs are a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e! Have you seen the story of Misa and Fukumaru? That one is too cute as well! Look at it here:http://cuteoverload.com/2012/11/15/bffs-to-the-max-misa-and-fukumaru/ That is so cute! I like the one with the mochi and the last one is my absolute fave!
Love is eternal
So lovely
beautiful. in this sad world of cruelty inflicted by humans even to thier own babies. a lot of people could learn so much from that loving cat.
I THINK ITS AWESOME. 3 MONTHS AGO 1 OF MY DOGS GAVE BIRTH TO 13 PUPPIES, WE LOST 2 OF THEM SOON AFTER BIRTH, AND THE MOM DIDN'T SEEM TO WANT TO TAKE CARE OF THE 11 SHE HAD, MY OTHER DOG STARTED TAKIND CARE OF THEM AND PRODUCED MILK TO RAISE THEM, SHES DONE A GREAT JOB DOING SO, EVEN THOUGH SHE HAS NEVER HAD A LITTER OF HER ON.
so lovely to see....thank you mum cat for saving little babies in need. thank you so much for sharing with us.
Would love to know the outcome of this unusual family of fur babies. Where are the hedgehogs now?
Great pics! Her own baby doesn't seem to mind sharing!
Animals - truly amazing
These are all great! I love
What a wonderful World it could be...