Disbelief Over Who Steps Up as Kittens' Babysitter on Farm–'Dream Situation'

A goat called Phoenix has left the internet in disbelief after a video of him babysitting a litter of kittens went viral on social media.

The post, shared on TikTok by his owner on June 29, under the username @megansnk1988, shows Phoenix looking after five baby kittens. They all lay by him comfortably, and can be heard purring, which, in cat language, usually means that your feline is content.

In the clip, the farm owner can be heard saying: "The goat is on babysitting duty again. You have all five kittens, Phoenix. Are you happy? Are you happy you got all the babies with you? They're all purring away." The heartwarming clip comes with a caption that reads: "Phoenix, the goat, was on babysitting detail again. He takes his job seriously."

The farm owner, Megan, told Newsweek: "I have been living on a small farm in Saskatchewan, outside of Regina for over a year since relocating from Vancouver Island. I suffered two strokes while pregnant with my youngest son, 4-1/2 years ago. Since then I have been unable to work. My animals have become a therapy, of sorts, for me.

"Raising my two young sons to respect and care for all creatures has been the greatest gift I could give my boys. We have horses, chickens, cats, dogs, a calf and, of course, Pheonix the goat. My oldest, Lucas, wanted to buy a baby goat with his seventh birthday money. I split the cost with him. It has taught him the value of money and a lot about responsibility. All of our animals form incredible, and sometimes odd, bonds. It is very neat to watch animals when you allow them to be themselves."

Goats are very affectionate creatures who can make excellent companions, according to the British Goat Society, but it is debatable whether they make good pets.

"Unlike sheep, they require shelter so weather-proof housing is necessary. You therefore need to be prepared to attend to your goats whatever the weather—and how much attention is a goat going to get on a cold, wet, and windy night in mid-winter?" the goat society's website says.

The video quickly gained popularity on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 1.2 million views and almost 200,000 likes on the platform.

One user, Anna Hobby, commented: "TikTok is slowly convincing me I need to live on a farm with 10000000 animals." And Htx._.kameron posted: "That's momma goat, she's the farm babysitter bc [because] she's trustworthy of such job, good job momma goat."

Kimberly Cunningham wrote: "where do I sign up to turn into a kitten babysitting goat instead continuing to be a bill-paying human adult." And Nemesis added: "ma'am.. Ma'am! I'm gonna have to ask you to keep your hands to yourself!"

Another user, Yvette Getty, commented: "She got protective when you went to pet them, this is so flippin cute." And Crystal_vibes420 posted: "This is my dream situation... I see dogs, kittens, and a goat... Purrfect!!"

Marie wrote: "That's a little piece of heaven right there." And Million commented: "And has them sitting down and behaving. How do I hire him?" User megguccine added: "When I say I want to live on a farm this is what I mean."

Update 6/30/23, 11:05 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from the original poster, Megan, and new pictures.

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