What has four legs, a tail and big eyes? A goat? No, a cat! But you can see how quickly these two can be confused. To be fair, there are a lot of animals that fit that description… I’m just pulling your leg, just as one goat will be pulling on a cat’s ear in the story that we’re about to dive into today.
A kitten wandered onto a little farmstead and got intrigued by the goats. So much so, that it decided to join their ranks and embrace the good ol’ goat life! We reached out to their owner Jan Goswick and she graciously shared their story. You herd it here first! Oh no, she’s baaaaack at it with the dad jokes… I don’t know how we goat here, but it is what it is.
If you’re still here after that atrocious attempt at humor, dear amazing wonderful reader, I ask you to leave your thoughts on the story in the comments below, upvote the story, and follow the author if you appreciate their style. Now let’s go(at)!
When Jan Goswick went to check up on her goats one sunny afternoon, she noticed a tiny gray ball of fluff and realized a kitten had found its way into the pen
When Jan Goswick went to check up on her goats one sunny afternoon, she noticed something she hadn’t anticipated. A tiny gray ball of fluff was on one of the dog hammocks that the goats would usually lie on. Believing it was a stuffed toy, she bent down to pick it up, only for the toy to come to life and rush away. She realized that a kitten had found its way into the pen.
Being tiny enough to fit in the palm of her hand, it had no problem running straight through the holes in their fence. Jan ran after the adorable little creature in order to find it but couldn’t. Thirty minutes later, the kitten was back and lying right next to the goats. Thus began the adventures of the kitten they would name GG, the Gray Goat, and, truthfully, he couldn’t have come at a better time.
Jan and her husband decided to become parents to Nigerian Dwarf goats, the first two being named Marvin and Peanut, and they fell head over heels for them
Jan and her husband decided to open their home to Nigerian Dwarf goats. Their children had grown up and left to start their own lives, and with their house at the end of a cul-de-sac and with two and a half acres of land, they believed it was the perfect time to use up some of the space.
In November of 2020 they purchased their first two goats, named Peanut and Marvin. “We knew we would love the goats, but I truly did not anticipate how much I would love these boys,” Jan said. “They are smart, fun and the most loving animals in the world.” She formed a bond with Marvin, as he “had the most amazing personality. He was funny, strong willed.”
Sadly, Marvin unexpectedly passed away. This made Jan buy two other baby goats to keep Peanut company, but the grief and sadness persisted until the kitten showed up
Sadly, Marvin passed away in an unforeseen accident. The loss left Jan “absolutely devastated,” but she had to make some quick decisions for Peanut’s sake. “Goats cannot be alone, they must be with at least one other goat,” Jan explained. “Many people do not understand how fragile goats are, but they are very fragile. I knew the stress of losing Marvy and Peanut being alone may kill him.”
A stranger from a Facebook group offered to take Peanut in with her own goats until Jan could get him more company. “I found two baby brothers that I purchased and brought back home the next day,” Jan said.
Peanut started playing with the cat and then with his new siblings, creating a bond which helped heal the loss of Marvin
“Peanut was obviously struggling with the loss of Marvy, and he was not acting like his old playful self. I was struggling to bond with the two new babies because I was so worried about Peanut. The entire dynamic had changed without Marvy. I knew I had to give it time, but I was struggling to find the joy that I had previously, when I would go to spend time with the goats.”
And then a week and a half later, the gray kitten appeared. GG was always with the goats. “He followed them everywhere they went, played with them, teased them, and would sleep with them at night. It wasn’t until GG showed up, that Peanut started acting like his old self again.” Peanut played with GG, and all three of the goats began to play together, with Jan once again enjoying the time they spent together. A bond started to form between them.
They asked neighbors whether their cat had run away or if they knew of anyone searching for one, but no one did. “I know in my heart he was meant to mend my heart and Peanut’s as well,” Jan said. However, the kitten avoided the human family members for two whole weeks. Until another stressful situation made itself present.
The family asked their neighbors whether they had lost a kitten, but with no leads, they decided to keep it and named him Gray Goat, or GG for short
“I noticed when I went up to spend time with the boys that Peanut was not getting up. After checking him further, I realized he was ill with bloat,” Jan said. Bloat is a life-threatening condition, in which an animal is unable to rid itself of gasses collecting in the abdomen. If not treated properly and in time, it becomes deadly.
“I decided to stay with him throughout the night and continue to get him up to walk,” Jan recalled. “We have a covered swing in the goat yard. I brought a pillow to lay down on when I was letting Peanut sleep.”
Although GG barely left the goats, he took his time warming up to the family. It took just over two weeks and Jan spending a night outside looking after Peanut
“After getting Peanut up to walk again, I laid down on the swing and started crying because my boy was not getting better. I was afraid I was going to lose him. As I was laying there crying, I felt something hit my leg. GG jumped up on the swing and climbed up on my chest. That was the first time he had ever let us touch him. He laid on my chest until I got up with Peanut, and he was waiting for me each time I came back to lay down.”
By morning, Peanut was able to release the gasses and made a full recovery. From that point on, GG would come snuggle up to Jan or her husband, or run up to accompany them on their way to the goats. “GG would hide behind a tree, and when we walked past he would bolt out and race up to the gate and wait for us,” Jan said. “He would also follow us down to the house each night after putting them in for the night and, about halfway to the house, he would turn and run back up to the goats and climb into their pen.”
At the moment they have five Nigerian Dwarf goats, or six, if you count GG. The kitten was tiny when it found the enclosure and the more time the animals spent together, the more the cat believed himself to be part of the pack. “GG acts just like the goats, and we think he believes he is a goat,” Jan said.
“One of GG’s favorite pastimes was hiding in the grass, or behind something, and jumping out to attack one of the boys when they walked by,” she laughed at the memory.
Another story she shared was of GG being a sneaky little sneak. The family usually locks their goats up in an enclosure at night for extra safety, but they were unsure of how the kitten was getting in there to sleep with the goats.
So Jan set up a trail camera in the shelter one night. “The next morning, I was reviewing the videos,” she said. “All of a sudden the camera started to shake and move around and a small paw was caught on film.”
“The camera was mounted near the roof of the shelter, which is when we realized GG was climbing a tree next to the shelter after we shut the boys in, and then entered the shelter from above, where we have openings for airflow. He would then go cuddle up next to the boys and sleep all night, and just before we would open the shelter up for the day he would sneak out.”
One month later, GG developed an eye infection. After a visit to the vet, it was determined that the kitten was seriously ill and needed to spend time inside
However, the kitten’s goat days would soon be over as an infection in the eye led to a vet’s visit. The doctor concluded that GG had a respiratory infection, which meant the kitten needed to stay inside. “He hated it!! But we wanted him to get better,” Jan said.
“He would stare out our back door and look up at the goat pen all day.” It seemed the kitten was better but further complications made the vet conclude “that GG should not be an outdoor cat at all anymore.”
After further complications, they decided that GG would have to remain an indoor cat, and GG was not impressed. But after they adopted Pickles the cat, things got better
Considering the amount of hatred the kitten possessed towards living inside and being away from his friends, the family decided to adopt another cat to keep GG company. “We named it Pickles and they have become the best of friends,” Jan said, assuring that “GG is just as crazy in the house as he used to be with the boys.”
GG still has contact with the goats. The oldies visit the back door, and baby goats, which are too small to be living with the grown ups, stay with the cats in a pen inside the house. “GG will remain an indoor cat, with his BFF Pickles, and, hopefully, live a very long and happy life with us.”
Now GG gets visits from his goat family at the back door of the home, and sometimes, baby goats spend time with the cats indoors
Jan started sharing her boys and GG with the rest of the world via TikTok, but never imagined it to grow as much as it has. 105.4k people look forward to their content. Jan said that “it’s been truly awesome” to see the following grow and to get messages about how much people love her pets. “They bring me so much happiness, and I love seeing that others find joy in them, too.”
The family have set up a GoFundMe page for help with medical bills and, potentially, an outdoor enclosure that will allow GG to reunite with his goat family
They’ve recently set up a GoFundMe page, which will help cover some of the medical bills and, perhaps, will one day fund an outdoor enclosure so that GG can once again reunite with the goats that he loves so much.
We wish Jan and her family all the best and hope that this is just the beginning of their beautiful story! Leave us your thoughts and impressions in the comments below and I shall wish you a sunny and goat-iful day!
