Pepper the cat recently gave birth to a lovely litter of wee ones!
Pepper it seems also had a little helper … Tate the rat!
Wonderful rat actually stayed by the proud mama cat’s side as she gave birth and even began to help Pepper groom the little ones as they made their way into the world!
What a great purr-tnership!
Being in labor, Pepper was “making those strange birthing sounds,” and Tate decided to stay beside her and comfort her as best she could, being a rat.
“They actually didn’t even meet until a couple months ago, when Tate needed a new home,” human of Tate and Pepper told Amy of Love Meow.
Of course, it was better to err on the side of caution and there was always someone nearby to make sure all would be well between Tate and the darling newborn kitties. But before long, it was clear that Tate simply wanted to help care for the little bundles of joy!
“New mom Pepper was bursting with oxytocin and didn’t seem to mind the extra baby at all,” they said. (more: reddit)
“I never really saw Tate as the motherly type, but she really seemed to understand the situation and was very gentle with the little ones, hence why I let her stay for as long as I did. It was definitely an awesome thing to see.”
Turns out, Tate has been spending so much time around the cats, she seems to believe now that she herself is a cat! She likes to play tag with the kittens ans even wrestle with them, in a lovingly, playful way, of course!
“I imagine that she’s going to have lots of fun with the kittens over the next few months.”
Pepper herself is not too keen on playing with Tate, but she is more than OK with Tate entertaining her kids!
“That just made this happening that much sweeter. I’m excited to see how she deals with Tate once the babies get older.” They are getting the mama cat spayed once the kittens are old enough and have already found homes for most of the kittens.”
“Tate herself started loudly purring at this point, and groomed poor exhausted Pepper’s face for her.”
Rats often “brux” when they feel happy and comfy, which is the rat equivalent of a “purr,” more or less.
What a lovely family!
PHOTOS: IMGUR / Source
