Cat Returning Favor to Her Step-mother Dog.
Marimo, hybrid 8-month female cat, was nurtured by Bengie, 4-year old female Maltese dog at the family of Yoshinobu Hayashi, 44-year old office worker, in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan. Recently after Bengie had two puppies, Marimo has been helping Bengie in charge of the puppies. It seems Marimo returns a favor to Bengie, her step-mother.
Last Spring, neighbors picked up a kitten. It was uncertain whether the kitten was abandoned or strayed from her mother cat, Mr.Hayashi was willing to care for her, and named her Marimo. Bengie, senior resident, was also an abandoned dog, and picked up by Mr.Hayashi. When Marimo came to the house, Bengie took care of Marimo instead of her actual mother. As Marimo sucked Bengie's breast, surprisingly her mamma started discharging milk in spite of non-pregnant.
After that, Bengie got pregnant actually and had two puppies at a Christmas' night. As Marimo was growing up to hunt wild birds or lizards, Mr. Hayashi and his wife Hiromi, 48 year-old, were concerned that Marimo might attack against the puppies. They seperated Bengie and two puppies from Marimo with a fence. But two days later, Mr.and Ms.Hayashi found Marimo over the fence and asleep together friendly.
Furthermore Marimo has started taking care of the puppies to lick their rears with her tongue. Bengie is watching tenderly over Marimo taking care of her puppies.
However Marimo, in the midst of dependent age yet, together with the puppies, still sometimes sucks Bengie's mamma. (Toshio Sugiyama, Asahi News, 25th Jan. 2009)
