A tabby kitten being bottle-fed by an adult male in a home setting with blue yoga mat, wooden floor, and tiled wall in daylight. 3:21
GeoBeats Animals channel icon GeoBeats AnimalsOriginal creator 420K views Save

The pit bull who became a kitten mom

Susan took Ginger in just two or three days before the shelter planned to put her down. Ginger was pregnant, and nine puppies were born at Susan's house. more

Susan found homes for all nine puppies. When it was time to find one for Ginger, she couldn't do it. "She was just so sweet and so kind and so gentle," Susan says.

Susan had cats at the time, and they kept drifting over to Ginger. She liked their company just as much. Since Susan planned to keep fostering and rescuing, Ginger stayed for good.

Ginger the pit bull lies on a blanket while a small kitten stands near her, facing her head. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
A kitten stands at Ginger's head while she rests on a blanket.

Now, when kittens come in, Ginger helps raise them. She has no milk, but she lets them nurse on her anyway. She knows when they need to be cleaned and when they need to be fed, and she watches Susan feed them.

Some of the older kittens aren't sure about a "surrogate doggy mommy" at first. Ginger always wins them over. "I don't recall any single kitten who came here kind of skeptical and left in that same way," Susan says.

A tabby kitten being bottle-fed by an adult male in a home setting with blue yoga mat, wooden floor, and tiled wall in daylight. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Susan took Ginger in just two or three days before the shelter planned to put her down.

Many arrive sick and without their mothers. Susan has a background in science and medicine, so she takes in the kittens that need care. Some are sick in ways she can't pin down, but when she puts them with Ginger, they turn around. "There's something in that Ginger magic," she says.

Ginger is now the mascot of Susan's rescue group, Today Tomorrow Forever Animal Rescue. Susan has made career choices that keep her home more, so she can foster more kittens. "Having her has literally changed the course of my life," she says.

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