Last year eight newborn baby hedgehogs, or hoglets, were found orphaned when a terrible lawn mowing accident took their mother's life. They were still blind and struggling to survive. When they were at the Sadgorod Zoo in Vladivostok, Russia, they found themselves with a new adoptive mother -- a very maternal black and white cat name Musya.
Image via Meowingtons
For the first two days that the hoglets, and yes, that is what baby hedgehogs are called, the zoo staff tried in vain to get them to eat. The hoglets refused sustenance from bottles, syringes, and saucers. Finally the staff decided to try a more loving and maternal approach.
Image via Meowingtons
You really wouldn't expect a cat to take to such prickly little animals that, most of the time, it would rather hunt. They are also prickly which could make grooming them a bit dicey if she ever went against the grain. Musya had recently fostered a litter of kittens and still had milk available to share with the hoglets. The warm body and fresh food did the trick and the tiny tykes started to feast.
Image via Love Meow
Musya didn't seem to mind that this new batch of foster "kittens" weren't entirely normal and she wasn't afraid to give them "what for" if they needed it. This was hardly a permanent arrangement. Musya nursed and cuddled the babies for just a week until they were ready to be weaned and placed on a normal omnivorous hedgehog diet that ranges from insects to melons.
When I have been cuddling with my own kitty girl I have often thought how nice, warm, and sheltered it would feel to a kitten nuzzling up to her belly. Apparently hoglets feel the same way I do!
Sources: Meowingtons, Love Meow, Wikipedia
