Massive Golden Retriever Volunteers To Babysit Kittens & It Couldn't Be Sweeter

The best babysitter in the house might be your dog — as long as the babies have four legs, too. One YouTuber was enthralled by a video of a golden retriever and a cat sharing mama duties for a few kittens. In the clip, the cats cuddle in a basket while the dog noses around as if searching for a treat. It wouldn't be surprising if the creature popped up with a toy or a bit of kibble in its mouth. Instead, when the dog rises, there's a tiny kitten clamped between its jaws. The image is jarring if you aren't used to seeing dogs and cats act like family.

Being carried inside a golden retriever's mouth is probably uncomfortable, but the kitten was perfectly safe. The golden retriever carried the little one across the room to its own rest area, then walked back to the basket and repeated the kitten-snatching process as the mother cat happily watched. One commenter joked, "So Goldie runs the Daytime Daycare. Got it." Another viewer added that the golden retriever and the cat will likely share babysitting duties because they're both mothers.

The flood of hormones, namely oxytocin, released after birth can change a dog's behavior, making them more focused on their puppies. These intense maternal hormones can also sometimes convince animals to care for young outside of their own. There are plenty of stories of dogs "adopting" birds, tigers, and other seemingly incompatible animals. Usually, however, dog moms gravitate toward other mammals, like kittens.

In addition, mother dogs release appeasing pheromones, which can help calm puppies, as well as any others that get "adopted," strengthening that bond. How long the relationship between the dog and the adorable baby animal lasts depends largely on the baby's age. For instance, when a dog adopts a baby tiger, the friendship can thrive if the tiger is young enough to accept the dog as its leader. By the time the tiger's old enough to be dangerous, the relationship with the dog is baked in.