"The Dog Who Adopted A Kat"

A baby Meerkat which was expected to die after being abandoned is now being reared by an unusual adoptive mother - a pet Chihuahua.

Tiny Wilson was born on January 20 - but was immediately shunned by his real mother as the runt of the litter.

Dennis Drew, 30, owner of Mablethorpe Seal and animal Sanctuary, in Lincolnshire had the idea of introducing him to his colleague's pet Chihuahua Kimi - who was going through a phantom pregnancy at the time. She has reared him as her own ever since.

He introduced Wilson to the Dog - who was lactating as part of her phantom pregnancy - and was amazed when the Meerkat fed from her.

After nearly two months together, the pair have forged an inseparable bond. Wilson now follows 18 month-old Kimi around wherever she goes, hitches a ride on her back - and the cute pair can often be seen curled up in a Dog basket together.
'He took to the milk and within a few days Kimi had literally taken over as mother. He started to become bigger and stronger and now he is doing fantastic. The two are pretty much inseparable now and Wilson follows Kimi wherever she goes and they curl up in the basket together.

'Kimi even gets very protective and will growl if anybody goes near Wilson - I have worked with animals for over five years and I have never seen anything like this before.'

He said the Meerkat is on solids now and that he was looking to reintroduce Wilson back to the family who rejected him.

Ms Clark said Wilson had even begun to show signs of acting like a dog. 'He craves human attention and will sit on the sofa for a stroke and watch TV,' she said.

'It's something you wouldn't be able to do with any other Meerkats at the sanctuary. When the doorbell goes and Kimi barks at the door - he will sit in front of her and do the same.

'I'm really going to miss him when he gets reintroduced to the other Meerkats because he feels part of the family now.'

Who said that my mom is small???