A man who adopted a dog while grieving his adored pet has now unexpectedly become the owner of a kitten—after his new dog formed a strong bond with her.
Former Marine Jeff Amos, 35, has been through a lot, including both physical and mental struggles, and has bonded fiercely with his pets.
After losing his adored rescue dog to cancer last year and struggling with grief, Amos soon decided it was time to help another dog in need—and at the local animal control department, he found Lyla, who was the “perfect fit” for his home.
Amos described his “unfortunate” living situation to Newsweek, explaining that there are numerous stray and community cats who are allowed to roam wild and breed “out of control,” and he tries to give the feral cats a safe space to have their kittens before trying to find homes for them.
“Lyla quickly had to get used to the idea of these wandering kitties, and seemed more scared of them than they were of her,” he said. “Luckily, she’s shown me how incredibly intelligent she can be, training faster than any dog I’ve ever seen. She became fast friends with the few familiar cats we let hang around.”
Recently, Amos and Lyla were outside when they heard “a commotion in the woods behind our house”—and upon investigating, found a kitten being “chased down by a much larger cat.”
“Lyla jumped into action and chased away the attacking cat, while the terrified kitten just hunkered down in fear. Once the threat was gone, Lyla trotted back to the kitten and started licking and cleaning her.”
Lyla and the kitten, who Amos fondly named Ghost, formed a strong friendship, with the kitten appearing every time Lyla was outside, “running to her unofficial mom” where the pair would cuddle and groom each other.
“I knew I had to get a good picture of it, so I had my camera ready and managed to get several adorable pictures of them together,” Amos said.
He shared one photo to Reddit’s r/aww sub via his account u/TravelersTowel, showing the gray tabby nuzzling up against the large dog, and wrote: “My dog has decided to adopt a kitten.”
It had a major reaction, racking up more than 25,000 likes, as one commenter admitted: “I see so many cute pics of dog/cat friendships online I’m starting to wonder why did we ever think they hate each other.”
Cats and dogs can get along, and even develop a close bond, depending on each pet’s personality and how they were introduced to one another.
If both animals are young at the time of their introduction, it’s more likely they’ll strike up a friendship, according to Purina. First meetings should be slow and patient, ensuring the cat feels able to escape if needed, and that the dog is unable to give chase.
Another commenter called it “the beginning of a wonderful friendship,”one described it as “very touching,” while one joked: “You got that reversed. A cat has adopted your dog and more [than] likely, you now.”
At first, Amos was unsure about officially adopting Ghost due to the costs that come with caring for a new pet—but, as he told Newsweek, he came to realize “we can’t tell Lyla ‘no’ about her new baby.”
“They’re attached together at the hip, so we will let Lyla complete the adoption process,” he said.
“Ghost is officially her cat, and we will be taking in the sweet girl!”
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