A brave little cat has bonded with his giant dog siblings to the point that he’s started acting like them.
Lincoln the one-year-old cat even goes for walks with his huge Great Dane buddies Liberty, six, Finnegan, five, and Lucy, eight months. He has known the dogs ever since he was a kitten, and owner Jill Whitlow, 49, says he’s never shown any fear. Jill brought 130lb Liberty to the cat shelter a year ago to see what her reaction would be. She and Lincoln hit it off straight away, and the little kitten returned home with them.Watch Out For Your Dogs Feet in the Summer. Hot pavement can burn your dogs paws rather quickly. To see if it’s too hot for your dog place the back of your hand on the pavement – if you can’t hold it there for 5 seconds it’s too hot for your dog. On really hot days consider walking your dog in the woods, on the grass, or waiting til the sun goes down.
The retired corporate executive says: ‘I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to be a horrible mistake.
‘But Liberty was smitten from the get-go and Lincoln wasn’t scared at all.
‘He was in charge from the minute he walked in.
‘He doesn’t have an ounce of fear and didn’t care that he was just a 3lb kitten, he still jumped on them and played.
‘I bought a two-storey cat cage to make sure he was safe whilst I went out, but I only used it once as they were fine.
‘Finnegan and Liberty follow him around. It is very sweet.’Research what type of pet is best suited for your family’s personality and lifestyle. Dogs require more attention, time and energy than cats do, so if you don’t enjoy walks or hikes in the outdoors, or can’t imagine getting up on cold winter mornings to take your pet out to potty, a cat may be more your style.
She’s taken to documenting their adorable friendship online, showing how the cat is really the top dog in their household.
‘People are surprised by how confident Lincoln is. They’re amazed,’ says Jill, who lives in Maine, US.
‘They are great with other animals and really live up to their gentle giant name.
INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: One of the fringe benefits of taking on the responsibility of pet ownership is that animals can be an instant icebreaker, whether they’re with you or you’re just using them as a topic of conversation.
‘Lincoln acts like one of the dogs, and he participates like a dog by running over for a treat when they do.
‘He will wait for me to say “you can eat it now” like the dogs.’
Amazingly, the dogs had never been socialised with cats before they met Lincoln.
‘I have another Great Dane called Oliver, who’s three, but has no interest in Lincoln,’ adds Jill.‘But the others adore him. They are gentle, but Lincoln is rough.
‘He bites and jumps on them – they look stunned.
‘Occasionally, a dog may roll over onto him when they are napping, and Lincoln will get squished, but he lets them know.’
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