Adorable, Unlikely Friendship Springs Between A Man's Cat And The Baby Squirrel He Saved
Jun 21, 2018 by apost team
This Netherlands man wasn't expecting to become a father of three, but he's taken to his new paternal duties with aplomb. His children just happen to include a squirrel.
During the spring of 2014, Decan Andersen watched a month-old squirrel fall off of his apartment roof.
The poor thing landed in the garden. It had suffered an injury, though, and couldn't scurry away. Rather than intervene immediately, Decan kept watch on the squirrel, assuming that the mother would come back for him. And his mother did come, but for some reason, she left without the baby. Decan knew that the baby would die if he didn't intervene.
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He rushed the baby to his apartment and called wildlife officers to ask for advice.
As he was on the phone, the strangest thing happened. The maternal instincts of his kitty Coco took over. Soon, she was nuzzling and licking the little squirrel. This was particularly strange since cats aren't known for being friendly with squirrels! The maternal instinct must have overridden her predatory instincts when she saw that a baby was in trouble. Maternal instinct doesn't heal all, though. The wound still needed to be tended.
Decan had the squirrel patched up at a vet's office, and then he took the little guy home.
The squirrel is named Tintin after the movie that his children were watching at the time. Tintin became so used to his life in Decan's home that the family realized it would be impossible to release him back into the wild. Especially because he got along with all the cats in the house!
So where is the family three years later?
Tintin is just another member of the Andersen home. His diet isn't as varied as it was originally. The family feeds him a vet-recommended diet of nuts and fruits, but the diet is supplemented by any food that he forages during his outings. Outings are supervised on a leash -- who ever thought they'd get to see a squirrel on a leash?
Tintin is even comfortable enough to head out on adventures with Coco.
Decan says the squirrel has quickly become his third child. Naturally, he emulates parents everywhere by posting about his kids on social media. The human ones and the squirrel. Over the years, a series of splendid shots have shown how close Tintin is with the rest of the family.
More than one hundred thousand people follow the adventures of Tintin on Instagram. What do you think of this squirrel family member? Show this to your friends to put a smile on their face!