Cats Do Funny Cats

The serval - a type of African wild cat - called Shakira was in poor health at a zoo near Munich in Germany after her siblings died.

However, she was rescued by Roland Adam, an animal carer, who introduced her to a canine brood.

Mr Adam said: “Shakira came to us when she was just 14 days old. A friend of mine from the zoo contacted me and told me how Shakira’s mother had not produced enough milk for her litter and her other brothers and sisters had died. When I heard this, I decided to take her in.”

Mr Adam, 53, spent two hours a day nursing the cub back to health, at first feeding her a few drops of milk from his finger in order to build up her weight from just 2lbs 2oz.

Eventually she became strong enough to meet a new family - a pack of Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs. The mother, Katijnga, who gave birth to 11 puppies in July, welcomed Shakira into her clan.

Mr Adam said: “I wanted to provide her with some animal kids that could be a substitute for her own brothers and sisters and for her mother. It turned out that Shakira was integrated immediately into this dog family. She plays hide and seek, catch and even play fights with the dogs. When they tire from playing with each other, the cubs lie down together.