FIVE ISLANDS, CANADA – Kyna Porteous was worried when her dog began acting a bit out of character.
Lyla the dog has taken a special liking to Peanut the kitten after the small cat was recently discovered abandoned and with health problems.
The young pitbull was walking into the bathroom, tilting her head and lying down beside the toilet and whining. Because the dog continued to act this way Porteous put her ear to the floor and heard a the sound of faint meows.
Realizing that there was an animal under the cottage they’re living in she removed some material and crawled under the building. A tiny black and white kitten who was cold with eyes crusted shut because of a respiratory infection, was crying frantically. The kitten, who was only between three and four weeks of age, was also having quite a bit of difficulty breathing because of the crust that had formed on his nostrils.
This weeks old kitten, now named Peanut, was discovered under a cottage in Five Islands thanks to a dog. Kyna Porteous has been helping it regain its health.
Porteous immediately took the kitten to an animal hospital where he was cleaned, tested for infectious diseases and prescribed some medication. She then took him home to meet and get acquainted with her two dogs. Along with Lyla she also has a Labrador retriever-pit bull mix called Lexxie.
Both dogs now take turns washing the kitten, who is being called Peanut, and will sleep next to him.
“They’ve really adopted him,” stated Porteous. “Whenever Peanut lets out a little cry Lyla runs right over to check on him. They’re such good dogs. Little Peanut has lots of mothers now.”
Peanut will be fed kitten formula until he is old enough to begin eating some solids, and he will remain with his new human and canine family.
Although Porteous has checked several times she has seen no sign of Peanut’s mother so it is yet unknown whether she was a former pet someone dropped off or a cat born feral, and whether she is even still alive. Abandoned cats often have short lives that are filled with fear, hunger and illness and kittens born to them often don’t survive to become adults. Peanut came close to being just another one of them.
The event also offers another form of pet education. Lyla and Lexxie show how loving and gentle pitbulls can be. Porteous adopted Lexxie when her owner was no longer keep her. Lyla was adopted as a pup, through a rescue group, after she was seized from a dog fighting operation.