Cats and birds do not get along. These tiny, winged creatures often end up as dinner if caught by a house cat. When farmers noticed that a cat had stolen away their ducklings, they feared that she would gobble them up. Instead, she adopted them.
Everything began as Ronan and Emma Lally brought home some duck eggs. Their small farm in Clara (a lovely town in County Offaly in the midlands of Ireland) already had a lively collection of different animals, but the couple still thought that a few vivacious ducks would complete the picture. They were waiting patiently until the day these eggs hatched.
When they finally did, however, they immediately disappeared. Ronan and Emma couldn’t find the ducklings anywhere – so they began to fear the worst had happened. Then they discovered the thief who had taken their ducks. To be honest, they feared the worst, but what they came across was just far beyond their expectation.
“Within seconds of [their birth], a cat jumped down from a pigeon-hole within the shed over there,” Ronan shared with LFC 1892. “I just presumed that the cat had swallowed up the ducklings.”
The ducklings were staying with their cat Dalla, but not for the reason they imagined. Instead of having the baby ducklings for dinner, Dalla had adopted them and protected them as her own. Needless to say, the couple was amazed.
They put the cat back down, and something amazing happened. The ducklings ran up to her and began to suckle. Using her paw, the cat pulled the ducklings close. The couple couldn’t believe their eyes. They didn’t understand why the cat hadn’t eaten these newborns.
Dalla also gave birth to three cute little kittens not so long ago, so it’s safe to say her mothering instincts had kicked in and forced her into being the brave mom of them all.
According to LFC 1892, “It was a very lucky coincidence for the ducklings the cat found them just after giving birth herself. For a narrow window of a couple of hours, mothering hormones were coursing through her body, causing her to love and nurture any small, warm, furry creature she found next to her.”
As the ducklings grew up, they quickly became way more independent than the baby kittens, but their love for their adoptive mama always remained the same.
