Cat adopts newborn red panda at Amsterdam Zoo

by Stephanie Sobotka | July 10, 2008 at 03:40 pm | 641 views | 1 comment

I’ve never really been a fan of cats, mostly because I’m allergic, but this story makes me love this cat. A little newborn red panda was rejected by his mommy and a domestic cat decided it was going to be its new mom! The cat has been nursing the baby red panda along with her four kittens at the Amsterdam Artis Zoo.

A newborn red panda rejected by its mother in Amsterdam's Artis zoo has been adopted by a domestic cat, the zoo said Friday.

The cat is nursing the red panda, currently about the size of a kitten, along with her own four kittens, the zoo said.

The red panda was born on June 30 and rejected by its mother soon afterwards. Red pandas look like raccoons and when fully grown are slightly larger than a domestic cat -- substantially smaller than the black and white giant panda.

"They are skilful climbers that, when not foraging on the ground, spend most of their time in the trees curled up with their long, bushy tails wrapped around their heads," the World Wildlife Fund conservation charity said on its website

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mchawk

at 13:01 on July 22nd, 2008

Tragic update:

A baby red panda "adopted" by a zookeeper's house cat has died, officials at the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam announced today.
The feline mother initially nursed both babies, but one was too weak and died a few days later.

Zoo officials had hoped the surviving cub would be able to suckle from the cat for three months before moving to a diet of bamboo and fruit.

In a message posted on the Artis Web site Friday, zoo officials said the cub had appeared healthy until its unexpected death last night.
The rest of the cub's adoptive family—the tabby and her four kittens—are in good condition, the zoo reported.