Me-wow: Friendly rats care for orphaned kittens at a cat cafe
While cats and rats are not exactly known for their friendship, they are certainly challenging that stereotype at this cafe.
It’s shocking yet adorable that orphaned kittens are being shown a lot of love from rats at a cat cafe in Brooklyn (US).
Emile and Remy are two rats that have been recruited to take care of the sick kittens and even assist with grooming them.
"We started Brooklyn Cat Cafe as a way to have an adoption space, it allows us to have anywhere between 20 to 25 cats fostering in this location, so the cat cafe has been very successful in terms of getting pets adopted," the cafe's manager Anne Levin told the Daily Mail.
The interspecies relationship started when it was discovered a kitten named Ebony was unable to be around other kittens because she was diagnosed with feline leukaemia.
The isolation made her very lonely. So the staff at the cafe decided to introduce her to a rat named Ivory, who was immune to the disease. Shortly after the introduction, the duo formed a strong bond.
After Ivory passed away in February, Remy and Emile came onboard to assist with the cats. The two also have their own personalities. Emile is very paternal with the little ones, while Remy loves to play and share food with them.
'We do hope that Remy and Emile can act as ambassadors to people who don't have any experience with rats outside of the subway. Turn that bad reputation into something more positive,” Levin told the Daily Mail.
This kind of cross species relationship, Levin feels gives people hope that everyone can get along.