Do adult cats normally ‘adopt’ younger ones?

[WarszawaScream]

Ok bear with me, it’s a weird behavioral question: recently a black kitten, just about weaning age, showed up to the feeding station on my porch. My resident feral boy, Squire, was an absolute sweetheart and ignored the little one’s hissing and screaming at him and basically stepped aside so the little guy could eat.

Skip ahead two months and these two have become inseparable; there’s a camera on the feeding station in front of my house, and Squire and Pantera (the kitten) are always there eating together. I gave them separate bowls but more often than not they eat from the same one.

Has anyone ever experienced this behavior before? I’m not at ALL upset lol, I’m actually very glad that Squire didn’t try to chase the little one off - but I was SUPER surprised by it as well just from my experience with indoor cats being crazy territorial. I’m wondering if Pantera is a girl, BUT Squire’s been neutered for over a year now so idk - either he adopted a lost little kitten as his new best friend, OR he’s got a really annoying kitten that just follows him everywhere.

Screengrab from the porch camera of them together attached (yes, it’s called Troublepuff Detector - anybody new who starts eating here regularly gets de-troublepuffed!)

 

[Kris107]

The tiny kittens aren't a threat to the adult cat so they tend to mingle a little better. Even to us humans, their little hisses are kind of humorous. The adult cat reactions can differ though. Some warm up slow and just tolerate. Others (boy or girl) end up practically maternal.

 

[theyremine]

My Rascal (a former feral "brought in at about 6 months old) was 2 yrs old when I brought in Scooter, a semiferal about 7 months old. From the first minute Rascal treated Scooter like his son. To this day, they are 11 and 9 now, they often eat together. While they are together all day long, I put them in separate rooms at night. (a long story) Every night Rascal comes into say "good night" to Scooter; they go nose to nose and rub against each other.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It is not unusual. When Austin, the Grand Old Man of my ferals, was still alive, every year when the Queens started pushing the kittens away, I could look out the back door and spot Austin over at the tree line with a string of kittens following him like ducklings. When Austin went to the Bridge, AJ (Austin, Jr.) took over his duties. Most of the feral queens are gone now, but AJ and his buddy, Cassidy, still hang out with Wyffles, the last kitten we had.

 

[amethyst]

It's not unusual, but it does depend on the individual cat. Years ago I took in 3 young kittens (a male and two females) after their feral mother was killed, and the male and female cats I had at the time loved them and would often play and sleep cuddled with them.

(the two female kittens (Gremlin and Lucky) with my adult cats (Coon and Mystic) a couple months after taking the kittens in)


I also currently have a female that LOVES kittens. When I brought home one of my other cats Misty as a young, just weaned, kitten she was so excited. She'll also come running into the room if I play a video of kittens crying, and start looking around to try to find them.

 

[WarszawaScream]

Awwww gosh I love all these stories! Out of the 15-20 cats I’ve had in my family over the years only one of them was okay with kittens (my gentle giant Kefka, rest his soul.) I was HOPING that my older cat Perry would get along with the four kittens that I took in off the street last year (Squire’s nephews & niece, as well as their mother - his sister - Missy) but she’s… less than thrilled that there are other cats in the house. Unsurprising considering that she’s a spicy little beast

Well fingers crossed that Squire keeps bringing Pantera over, I gotta get that little one vetted and fixed! Hopefully he’ll continue to play Uncle to any other kittens that turn up in our neighborhood; the more that come by, the more I can TNR and with any luck not have any future kittens!

 

[Meowmee]

Ok bear with me, it’s a weird behavioral question: recently a black kitten, just about weaning age, showed up to the feeding station on my porch. My resident feral boy, Squire, was an absolute sweetheart and ignored the little one’s hissing and screaming at him and basically stepped aside so the little guy could eat.

Skip ahead two months and these two have become inseparable; there’s a camera on the feeding station in front of my house, and Squire and Pantera (the kitten) are always there eating together. I gave them separate bowls but more often than not they eat from the same one.

Has anyone ever experienced this behavior before? I’m not at ALL upset lol, I’m actually very glad that Squire didn’t try to chase the little one off - but I was SUPER surprised by it as well just from my experience with indoor cats being crazy territorial. I’m wondering if Pantera is a girl, BUT Squire’s been neutered for over a year now so idk - either he adopted a lost little kitten as his new best friend, OR he’s got a really annoying kitten that just follows him everywhere.

Screengrab from the porch camera of them together attached (yes, it’s called Troublepuff Detector - anybody new who starts eating here regularly gets de-troublepuffed!)

My Wizard adopted Ari, a young kitten who I fostered a long time ago. Actually Ari helped Wizard first because Wizard was being terrorized by Sybil at the time who decided she hated him at first... poor Wizard could not move an inch, one day he was cowering under a table and Ari went to sit with him. Wizard became like a father to Ari, eating with him, washing him and gently playing with him etc.
Then Ari had to leave to be adopted and it broke my heart to separate them... I have never gotten over it and stopped fostering after that. Poor Ari was devastated. Wizard was upset but he had me and his other cat brothers and sisters. I am sure he wondered why I took his bff away.