Kitten Comforts Frightened Dog at the Vet

 

 

After a big storm, Ginger Biscuit was found in a storm drain. He was soaked and needed help. His rescuer brought him to Greenside Animal Hospital, and since nothing was known about his health, he was placed in an isolation ward where he could mend and recover in quiet.

 

Ginger was a little nervous when he first got to the hospital, which was understandable. He was only 8 to 10 weeks old and very confused, so he was a little wary of everyone walking by and caring for him.

 

“[Ginger] is shy but very loving and likes attention once he has overcome his initial fear of contact with our team who cares for him,” Dr. Joubert Viljoen and Dr. Suzette Greube, owners of Greenside Animal Hospital, told The Dodo. “He is a bit wary of people when they enter the isolation ward until he sees us bringing food, then he is happy to creep out of his shell and interact.”

 

Ginger was lucky because, except for Anne, he had the isolation ward all to himself.

 

 

Anne was also taken to the hospital after being found hiding in a bush at a sports club near the hospital. She had fleas and ticks all over her and was very weak. One of the trainers at the gym took her to the hospital, where it was clear that she was very sick. They acted quickly to try to help her get better and got her set up in the isolation ward.

 

Cats and dogs are usually kept in different areas at Greenside Animal Hospital, but the isolation ward is an exception. Anne’s and Ginger’s boxes were on opposite sides of the room. The staff thought there was no way they could talk to each other. Ginger, however, had something else in mind.

 

 

One day, when staff entered the isolation ward, they stopped in their tracks. Ginger’s crate was empty. Instead, he was in Anne’s crate, curled up with her.

 

 

“We underestimated the kitten’s ability to wriggle itself through the door of the cage he was placed in,” Viljoen and Greube said. “With the little dog being so weak, we never considered her to be a risk to the kitten, but when we saw them together the first time around, there definitely was a moment of panic, seeing as some dogs don’t react well to cats and vice versa.”

 

Everyone’s fears went away right away when they saw how kind Anne was to Ginger and how much they seemed to love each other. The two seemed to calm each other down, and even though the staff tried to separate them again, it didn’t work. Anne and Ginger decided that they should be together, and that was the end of it.

 

 

“After initially discovering them together, we moved the kitten back into his cage, as his litter box, food and water was in there, but he immediately made his way out of the cage and back to his friend,” Viljoen and Greube said.

 

 

Now, Anne and Ginger live together full-time in the same crate, and they couldn’t be happier. When Anne first got to the hospital, she was so weak, but having Ginger there seems to be helping her get better and giving her strength. He gives her something to think about and care about, and she gives him a sense of calm and safety that he had been missing.

 

 

 

“It is definitely a case of ‘yours, mine and ours’ with these two,” Viljoen and Greube said. “They love to snuggle and even have meals together! They have toys, but the kitten’s favourite pastime is chasing Anne’s tail!”]

 

 

The pair may be very different, but it doesn’t matter. Their friendship is strong, and everyone agrees that it’s the sweetest thing ever.