A 2-week-old stray cat found living in a shed in Woodsboro, Md., is nursing from a familys dog.
Dusty, a white, mixed-breed Terrier who weighs 27 pounds, began lactating about six hours after a stray kitten found in a shed was brought into the familys home, according to the dogs owner, Sherry Summers.
The kitten, after being taken in, was placed on the dogs cushioned bed, and it wasn't long before Dusty began acting motherly then eventually breast feeding, Summers said.
Dusty hasn't been pregnant for years, but she has been hormonal within the last two months. This could be what triggered the false pregnancy in Dusty, causing her to lactate.
A false pregnancy occurs when a female goes into heat and through the heat cycle without getting pregnant. Rather than the hormones declining, they stay elevated for about 45 days, which causes milk production.
Posted: July 26, 2006, 5 a.m. EST