cat 'n' rat

Mom’s the word

A cat and a rat can only be rivals, or so we thought. A recent incident that took place in China proves that’s not always so. A cat that has given birth to four kittens has adopted a rat. Sun Shujun, a resident of Yantai City, has claimed that her pet cat has been nurturing a young rat for over a month now, alongside her kittens. This discovery was first made by Shujun’s neighbour, who went to her house to take a look at the new-born kittens. She said that initially she couldn’t believe her eyes and got a flashlight to confirm the unusual scene. She saw the rat suckling from the mother cat. What’s more, it is also getting along well with its kitten ‘siblings’. Shujun, 81, has said that her pet cat’s maternal instincts must have kept it from attacking the little rat as a prey.

No myth

Reality check

So you thought unicorns existed only in myths and fairytales? The Centre of Natural Sciences, a nature reserve in Prato, Italy, says that the first unicorn has taken birth in their reserve. The deer is now 10 months old and has a single horn emerging from the centre of its forehead. Gilberto Tozzi, the director of the reserve has said that the development has taken place due to a genetic abnormality. He also added that its twin has two horns. Seems like the mythical being wasn’t so mythical, after all.